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BIO Testifies to House Committee on Health Care Spending in a New Economic Stimulus
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BIO Testifies to House Committee on Health Care Spending in a New Economic Stimulus
By Paul Winters
On Nov. 13, The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health held a hearing on "Treatments for an Ailing Economy: Protecting Health Care Coverage and Investing in Biomedical Research." This was the subcommittee's second hearing on the role health care should play in any new economic stimulus legislation.
Describing the purpose for the hearing, Committee Chairman Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), noted in his opening statement, "Earlier this fall, after the collapse of the housing market and failures of key economic institutions, Congress acted to pass the Emergency Economic Stabilization Package of 2008, which was signed into law on October 3, 2008. The continued loss of jobs and revenues for States, however, underlines the need for a second stimulus package. That package needs to be targeted to include funding for infrastructure, unemployment insurance, and health care in the form of increased federal funding for Medicaid to the states."
Rachel King, CEO of GlycoMimetics of Gaithersburg, Md., testified on behalf of BIO. In her prepared remarks, King told the subcommittee, "Of course, one way to both spur the economy and provide support for biomedical research is increasing federal funding of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)."
King went on to say that it was critical to improve the investment climate for emerging biotech companies. "The financial crisis facing our national continues to have a profound impact on biotech companies and threatens biomedical innovation and U.S. competitiveness," she stated. "Biotech companies are facing the need to shelve promising therapies or delay their development to conserve cash, postponing the availability of new therapeutic options for patients."
King recommended several tax provision reforms and incentives that could reinvigorate investment in the biotechnology industry. "The biotechnology industry can serve as an engine to build an innovation-based economy and help create economic growth by creating high-value, high-wage U.S. jobs, continuing U.S. leadership in innovation, and addressing and advancing solutions to pressing healthcare, global warming, environmental, energy security and agricultural issues," King stated.
Paul Winters is director of broadcast media at BIO.
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