Emergency Funding Package for COVID-19

December 3, 2020 

The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Majority Leader
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi 
Speaker of the House 
U.S. House of Representatives 
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Leader McConnell and Speaker Pelosi: 

On behalf of Research!America and the organizations listed below, thank you for your vigilance and leadership during this profoundly challenging period in our nation’s history. As COVID-19 continues to take lives, cause immense suffering, and thwart urgently needed medical, economic, and societal progress, we urge you to address two national imperatives: 

1. Before a government shutdown compounds the plethora of challenges already confronting the United States and the American people, please act to secure passage of an FY21 appropriations package that bolsters the budgets of such COVID-relevant and strategically pivotal agencies as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). The significance of these research and public health agencies has never been more apparent; their work saves lives, fuels solutions for societal challenges; creates jobs; and contributes in multi-faceted ways to individual and national security. Please provide an increase of at least $2 billion for NIH, $380 million for CDC, $250 million for FDA and $133 million for AHRQ. 

2. As the escalating COVID-19 crisis breeds more suffering, takes more lives, further corrodes the financial self-sufficiency of the American people, dangerously weakens the foundations of a stable economy, and hobbles medical progress needed to save lives lost to cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, mental health and substance abuse disorders, and a plethora of other deadly and debilitating health threats, our nation simply cannot afford inaction on emergency spending legislation. 

In addition to protecting families from financial catastrophe, restoring jobs, and hastening an end to the scourge of COVID-19, we firmly believe this emergency package should prevent further erosion in U.S.-driven medical progress and job-producing R&D. The pandemic upended ongoing research at universities, academic medical centers, independent research institutes and clinical trial sites, stalling the science but not the associated costs. Federal grant dollars as well as research funding from the patient and philanthropic communities were affected, jeopardizing the viability of life-saving research across our nation. We ask that you provide at least $26 billion to reboot this crucial research. 

When our nation invests in itself, we are unstoppable. Through your leadership, and given the reality that the wellbeing Americans and our future as a nation hang in the balance, we believe the 116th Congress can achieve passage of a robust Fiscal Year 2021 budget and vitally important emergency spending. We stand ready to support your efforts and express our profound gratitude to you and your respective staff members for your extraordinary efforts. 

Sincerely,

Research!America 
Academy for Radiology & Biomedical Imaging Research 
AcademyHealth 
Allergy & Asthma Network
Alliance for Aging Research
Alliance for Stronger FDA
ALS Association 
American Association for Dental Research
American Association of Colleges of Nursing
American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy 
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN)
American College of Clinical Pharmacy 
American Heart Association 
American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering
American Physiological Society 
American Psychiatric Association
American Psychological Association 
American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 
American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
American Society for Tropical Medicine & Hygiene 
American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy
American Society of Human Genetics
American Society of Nephrology
Association of American Cancer Institutes 
Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges
Association of Anatomy, Cell Biology and Neurobiology Chairs
Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO)
Axis Advocacy 
Beyond Celiac
Biophysical Society
Burroughs Wellcome Fund 
Carnegie Mellon University 
Consortium of Universities for Global Health
EveryLife Foundation for Rare Diseases
Fight Colorectal Cancer 
FNINR 
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center 
Friedreich's Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA)
Illinois College of Optometry 
JDRF 
Johnson & Johnson
Kent State University
Lasker Foundation 
Lupus Foundation of America 
Lymphatic Education & Research Network
National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research
National Alliance on Mental Illness 
National Alopecia Areata Foundation 
National Foundation to End Child Abuse and Neglect
National Multiple Sclerosis Society 
National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD)
NDRI 
Nebraska Coalition for Lifesaving Cures 
North American Vascular Biology Organization
Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
Patrick Risha CTE Awareness Foundation
Rosenfeld Heart Foundation 
Scleroderma Foundation
Sepsis Alliance
Shepherd University
Society for Neuroscience 
Society for Women's Health Research
Solve ME/CFS Initiative 
State University of New York College of Optometry
Texas Biomedical Research Institute 
The Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University
The Wistar Institute 
UMSL Optometry at the University of Missouri -St. Louis
University of Delaware 
University of Florida College of Nursing
University of Miami 
University of South Florida 
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
UsAgainstAlzheimer's 
Wayne State University
Yale University