Ranking Member DeLauro Statement at the Fiscal Year 2025 Hearing for the National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee and the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee delivered the following remarks at the Subcommittee's hearing on the National Institutes of Health (NIH):

Thank you, Chairman Aderholt, for holding this hearing on the National Institutes of Health.

My thanks — and a warm welcome — also go to today’s witness, Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, for appearing before the subcommittee today, and for her leadership of the largest and most important biomedical research institution in the world. 

Dr. Bertagnolli, the first surgeon and second woman to hold the position of Director of NIH, is a world-renowned expert on clinical oncology, and over her incredibly accomplished career she has greatly advanced our knowledge on the genetic drivers of cancer. The millions of American families that are directly impacted by cancer are better off for having had Dr. Bertagnolli at the helm of the NIH.

Dr. Bertagnolli has been laser-focused on ensuring the NIH’s life-saving research reaches more patients in more places, especially in rural communities.

And she understands that health policy must be first and foremost based on science and data, and Americans are behind her. The American people do trust the NIH. Over 88 percent of Americans agree that basic scientific research that advances the frontiers of knowledge is necessary, and should be supported by the federal government. 

I am proud of the broad, bipartisan effort that has gone into building up this critical institution that brings hope to millions of American families — as well as patients around the world. From 2015 to 2023, on a bipartisan basis, the Appropriations Committee increased funding for NIH research by nearly 60 percent — from $30 billion in 2015 to $47.5 billion in 2023. 

For 2024, Congress passed another bipartisan bill to fund the NIH — supporting research into cures and treatments for cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, ALS, mental health, and maternal mortality, and protecting funding for so many other areas of life-saving research.

We are a month-and-a-half past the end of the fiscal year, without a final Labor-Health and Human Services-Education bill that can become law. This Committee – and this Congress – should be focused on finishing appropriations before the end of the year.

Some of my colleagues want to delay our work until well into next year by passing yet another continuing resolution. 

America is demanding change. They want border security, public safety, and help with extreme weather, and natural disasters. Those are addressed by government funding bills, and continuing resolutions delay government getting to work. 

Forcing agencies to operate from continuing resolution to continuing resolution without consistent, predictable resources hurts the American people and worsens the issues we examine with each hearing.

At a time when we must be able to quickly respond to crises at home and abroad, delay is irresponsible, dangerous, and a waste of taxpayer dollars. Democrats are ready and willing to negotiate. It is time for our Republican colleagues to come to the table. 

For this subcommittee, it is our responsibility to finish full-year appropriations for health, education, and labor programs – including life-saving research at NIH, which brings me to the topic of today’s hearing. 

The President’s Budget for fiscal year 2025 requests a total of $49.8 billion in discretionary funding for the NIH, an increase of 
$1.2 billion. 

Dr. Bertagnolli, I am very pleased to see the Administration’s proposal to boost funding for women’s health – including your request to double funding for the Office of Research on Women’s Health to more than $150 million annually. NIH-supported research has us on the cusp of curing endometriosis, and they are ramping up investments for menopause, which will ultimately impact half of our country’s population.

During my four years as Chair of this subcommittee, I was proud to double funding for the Office of Research on Women’s Health, bringing it to its current funding level of $76 million. But there is still a long way to go.

The President’s Budget also requests $7.8 billion for the National Cancer Institute, an increase of $615 million. As a survivor of ovarian cancer, I know I am here today by the grace of God and because of biomedical research. Promising advances in cancer research, including immunotherapy, continue to bring hope to millions of Americans facing a life-threatening cancer diagnosis.

One of my top priorities, as both Chair and Ranking Member of this subcommittee, is to address the mental health crisis in this country. Tens of millions of Americans struggle with mental illness and do not have sufficient access to mental health care.

I want to know how research is helping to understand what is happening in our brains, or in our genes, and how science can help to prevent or treat mental illness. 

I look forward to hearing about progress in treating Alzheimer’s, ALS, and diabetes, as well as advances in addressing maternal health, health disparities, and so many other diseases or health conditions facing millions of American families.

However, I want to be clear that I do not support the House majority’s short-sighted proposal to overhaul the National Institutes of Health through the annual appropriations process. Any discussion to reauthorize the NIH needs to be bipartisan and bicameral – including both authorizers and appropriators – and it must be done through a thoughtful process to incorporate the best ideas to maintain NIH’s position as the crown jewel of biomedical research.

I look forward to hearing from Dr. Bertagnolli how she believes NIH can best be modernized to address our most serious challenges. 

As I noted at the outset, I am proud this subcommittee has always had a strong history of bipartisan support for the NIH. The health of our families and communities must always rise above partisan politics. 

I look working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure that NIH remains prepared to face the next global health challenge.

It is also my hope that this subcommittee will resume an effort that began when I was chairwoman in 2019, which was to invite an additional panel of Institute and Center directors to testify. 

I value the research of every Institute and Center, and I believe it would be of great benefit to the subcommittee to have the opportunity to hear from others directly.

Thank you again Dr. Bertagnolli for being here today, and I yield back.