Don’t Cut an Agency So Vital to Our Health

To the Editor:

Re “Long Government’s ‘Crown Jewel,’ Health Institute Is Becoming a Target” (news article, Dec. 3):

Your article describes the National Institutes of Health as a “crown jewel” of the federal government based on its track record of success in driving medical and health research and innovation. The article also captures the longstanding bipartisan support for the agency and its work.

When asked in a national survey we commissioned this year, Americans of all political persuasions expressed their support for federally funded research:

Eighty-eight percent of Americans agree that basic scientific research is necessary and should be supported by the federal government.

Some 62 percent would be willing to pay $1 per week more in taxes to support additional medical and health research.

And 89 percent say it is important that the U.S. is a global leader in research to improve health.

Continuing to treat the N.I.H. as a top national priority is a strategy that will spur new treatments and cures for the health threats facing our population. It will also drive U.S. business and job growth across the life science, technology, manufacturing and service sectors that in the end will keep us globally competitive.

Mary Woolley
New York
The writer is the president and C.E.O. of Research!America.