Washington, DC, Oct 12, 2006 - Representative John Carter (TX-31) hailed recent House action to reform the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and enhance the federal government’s ability to treat and cure diseases. The National Institutes of Health Reform Act will reauthorize and reform NIH, streamline its operations, and help accelerate breakthroughs in treatments and cures by creating a common fund to support research that involves multiple NIH agencies.

“These common-sense reforms will enhance the federal government’s ability to treat and cure diseases,” Congressman Carter said. “The establishment of a common fund at the NIH will be an invaluable tool in advancing medical research. The NIH is critical to improving the health of our nation and the world, and it we need to provide support and resources in order for it to continue to discover new medical treatments and cures.”

Specifically, the bill authorizes a five percent annual increase in NIH’s budget for fiscal years 2007 – 2009; launches a new, agency-wide electronic reporting system to catalogue all of the research activities of the NIH in a standard format; limits the overall size of the NIH to the current 27 institutes and centers; sets up a “common fund” to support particularly promising research that cuts across multiple institutes and centers; and creates a Scientific Management Review Group to evaluate NIH’s structural organization at least once every seven years and propose any restructuring plans it deems necessary.