Congress to Spend Billions on Medical Research
By Jack Urquhart September 30, 2016
Republican leaders Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell say Congress’ top priority after returning from electioneering will be pouring billions into “medical research.”
Nonsense.
This Republican-dominated Congress has shown no interest in legitimate healthcare legislation. It has bitterly fought all thoughtful measures that target America’s most pressing healthcare problem–a healthcare system that is available to too few and costs too much.
Carefully conceived and well administered federal grants for medical research are both wise and necessary.. The minimum requirement for a workable program is sufficient federal agency oversight. This Congress will not meet this minimum. It has relentlessly under-funded NIH and FDA. Expecting proper program administration from a poorly funded agency is absurd.
The initial give-away would be splashy. A headline grabber. A mess would follow.
A taxpayer funded multi-billion dollar slush fund for “medical research” is callous politics and poor healthcare policy.
It’s all baloney until Congress gets its hands dirty, takes political risks, and works on making healthcare more accessible and less expensive. For example, it would not take billions of taxpayer dollars for Congress to stop obscene drug pricing. While Congress may bluster, it will not take on the powerful interests that dictate American drug pricing.
Daily, more Americans face the beast that is our “healthcare crisis”–a healthcare system that is available to too few and costs too much.. This crisis will not be solved by Obamacare bashing or showy contributions to “medical research.”