Panel includes Paula Cohen, Professor of Genetics; Director, Center for Reproductive Genomics; Associate Vice Provost for Life Sciences; Cornell University

America’s ability to compete globally in biomedical innovation is being threatened. China, India, Russia, and other competitors have meaningfully increased their government support for biomedical research, which has allowed them to challenge U.S. leadership and lure researchers and life sciences support staff away from the United States for high-paying, reliable jobs in other countries.

How can we ensure that America can compete economically, create jobs here in the United States at all salary levels, and remain a leader in R&D? By funding the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Federal funding for NIH was flat or cut from 2003 to 2016. Despite unprecedented bipartisan support and four years of $2 billion increases, the NIH still remains underfunded by $5 billion as compared to 2003 levels, even though U.S. GDP has grown by more than one-third. Closing this gap and setting NIH on a trajectory for annual inflation-measured funding increases must be a priority for this Congress and legislators for decades to come.

Please join ITIF and an expert panel to discuss a new report examining the role NIH funding plays not just in treating and curing diseases, but also in reducing health care costs and ensuring the United States is able to compete globally in the biomedical research industry.