Supporting the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health and the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the Food and Drug Administration Act

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about S. 1662, the Supporting the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health and the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the Food and Drug Administration Act. The companion version of this bill, H.R. 3743, was led by Energy and Commerce Committee colleagues Representatives Hudson and Eshoo and passed the House in December.

Unleashing biomedical innovation in the United States is critical in saving lives and maintaining our global competitiveness. We saw how important it was to invest in creating new treatments during the COVID- 19 pandemic, and we need to carry that momentum into the future.

S. 1662 authorizes increased transfer authorities from the FDA and NIH to the Reagan-Udall Foundation and the Foundation for NIH, respectively. Allowing FDA and NIH to transfer additional resources to these public-private partnerships will give the Reagan-Udall Foundation and the Foundation for the NIH more flexibility to meet the growing research demands and accelerate future medical innovations.

And I close with this: I was in Brussels last week. I am on the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. I was with our allies as everything took place that we all saw in Europe.

This is the Energy and Commerce Committee. We have done some wonderful work on these bills, and they are important. But I will tell you, as I just talked about innovation and world leadership, it reminded me of this. We were energy independent a couple of years ago, and I will tell you, people in my part of the country, and I am sure all over the country, are struggling with what they are paying for gas. But I will tell you this: I was with our European allies, and they are terrified about what this is going to do to the oil markets.

What we are doing now is just not sanctioning the Russian oil because we are all terrified of that. So hopefully, the Energy and Commerce Committee will have the opportunity to look at the policies, why we are no longer energy independent and how we can move forward.

I saw the President's Press Secretary, Ms. Psaki, talking on an interview show yesterday. They asked her was the President going to do something to relieve fossil fuels, and her answer was, well, this just shows why we shouldn't be dependent on fossil fuels. Well, the answer is this is why we shouldn't be dependent on foreign fossil fuels when we have them available to ourselves. Of course, the interviewer didn't ask the following question: Well, maybe that is the case, but what are we going to do in the next weeks, months, and through the summertime?

We all know, because we see it on the television, that it is a dire situation. But when you look them in the eyes and you see it in their faces--the Ukrainians were eligible to come to this meeting, but obviously, they weren't there. We did have Zoom meetings with them. But we looked at our European allies, and it is a tough situation.

We can make it better. We can make it better for ourselves. We can make it better for them. I think it is the right thing to do.

So, hopefully, we will have the opportunity to move forward. But the bills that we are talking about today in my subcommittee are important, and I recommend this bill be passed, as well.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1662, Supporting the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health and the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the Food and Drug Administration Act, to increase funding for the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the Food and Drug Administration and for the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health.

The Reagan-Udall Foundation for the Food and Drug Administration is an independent 501(c)(3) organization created by Congress ``to advance the mission of the FDA to modernize medical, veterinary, food, food ingredient, and cosmetic product development, accelerate innovation, and enhance product safety.''

The Foundation embodies FDA's vision of collaborative innovation to address regulatory science challenges of the 21st century and assist in the creation of new, applied scientific knowledge, tools, standards, and approaches the FDA needs to evaluate products more effectively, predictably, and efficiently, and thereby enhance the FDA's ability to protect and promote the health of the American public.

The Foundation serves as a crucial conduit between FDA and the public, providing a means for FDA to interact directly with stakeholders, including industry and consumers.

The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) has created hundreds of cross-discipline consortia and partnerships whose initiatives have generated new ideas, overcome obstacles and achieved groundbreaking biomedical research results.

The FNIH has created an environment where trust and the exchange of new ideas can thrive, resulting in scientific innovations.

The FNIH and its partners have successfully generated and implemented new research models that are lowering the cost and accelerating the progress of biomedical research nationwide and across the globe.

Article I, section 8 of the Constitution grants Members of Congress the powers and the authority to ``promote Science and useful Arts.''

As Members of Congress, it is our duty to award funding to these institutions, so they may continue their groundbreaking work in their respective fields.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this legislation and urge all Members to vote for the S. 1662, Supporting the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health and the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the Food and Drug Administration Act.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 1662) to increase funding for the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the Food and Drug Administration and for the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on S. 1662.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise today in support of S. 1662, the Supporting the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health and the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the Food and Drug Administration Act.

In December, this Chamber considered and passed the House companion

of this legislation by a vote of 374-52. Earlier in the year, the legislation advanced out of the Energy and Commerce Committee, where it garnered bipartisan support.

I commend the House bill's sponsors, Health Subcommittee Chairwoman Eshoo and Representative Hudson, for their strong leadership and commitment to this bill.

The Foundation for the NIH is an independent nonprofit organization established by Congress in 1990 to develop private-public partnerships and advance American leadership in biomedical research.

Likewise, the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the FDA was established by Congress in 2007 to advance the mission of the FDA and catalyze innovation, modernize medical product development, and improve safety.

The NIH and FDA are authorized to transfer funding to their respective foundations, but that limit has not been increased since 2007.

This bill, S. 1662, would increase the transfer authority for both foundations, allowing the foundations to continue and expand upon the important work they have been doing. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, they have done important work to enhance the FDA and NIH's work on COVID-19 vaccines and diagnostics.

This bill will help build upon our ongoing efforts to advance biomedical research and promote better public health outcomes.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support S. 1662, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, again, there is bipartisan support for this bill, which I also believe would be going to the President, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 76, S. 1662.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the bill be considered read a third time and the Senate vote on passage.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.