Mikulski, Van Hollen Pledge to Fight Cuts to Maryland Biotech During Tour of National Laboratory for Cancer Research in Frederick

Senator and Congressman Vow to Fight Across the Board Cuts to Maryland Biotech, Supporting Nearly 90,000 Maryland Jobs

October 5, 2012

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski and Congressman Chris Van Hollen (Both D-Md.) today pledged to fight across the board cuts to Maryland biotech through sequestration, affecting thousands of Maryland jobs. On Wednesday, they toured the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR), the only federally owned research and development center in the nation dedicated to biomedical research and development. The National Institute of Health (NIH), which oversees the NCI, is facing a $2.5 billion cut from sequestration under the Budget Control Act. If NIH funding is cut, about 700 grant awards will not get funded, and NIH will not have the resources it needs to recruit the brightest scientists and remain the worldwide leader for research and development investments.

"In Maryland, biotech means jobs, jobs, job," said Senator Mikulski, a senior member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. "I will not stand by as sequestration threatens across the board cuts to NIH, HHS and Maryland's biotech industry. Every day, the men and women of the NIH make new discoveries that treat and cure diseases and improve health care in America. I will continue to fight for Maryland's research and innovation economy that creates new ideas, leading to new products and new jobs."

"We all agree we need to get our fiscal house in order – but we can't do it at the expense of life-saving research," said Congressman Van Hollen, top Democrat on the House Budget Committee. "Every day, the scientists at NCI and NIH are working to find treatments and cures for the diseases that impact millions of Americans. Funding cuts don't just mean jobs lost in Maryland; they also mean lives lost across the country. We will fight these cuts and work to reduce the deficit in a balanced way that doesn't hurt families."  

Sequestration would have devastating cuts to Maryland's biotech research & innovation economy:

The total cut to NIH would be $2.5 billion, allocated across the NIH Institutes and Centers;
The National Cancer Institute alone would be cut by more than $400 million;
NIH would have to cut about 700 grant awards from current levels to medical researchers nationwide;
All 50 states would suffer across-the-board cuts to life sciences research, costing jobs.  

At the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Senator Mikulski and Congressman Van Hollen toured the Advanced Technology Research Facility, which houses biomedical research laboratories and a wide range of biomedical advanced technologies. It is also home to a drug development and manufacturing operation that can produce candidate diagnostics and therapeutics for human clinical trials. The new, 330,000 square foot ATRF consolidates staff and operations formerly scattered among more than 30 separate buildings on the National Cancer Institute's main FNLCR campus located within the perimeter of Fort Detrick.