CIBR is pleased to announce that over 4,500 letters have been to sent to Capitol Hill through its website. The recipients of the letters include more than 270 Members of Congress in over 40 states.
These letters express concern about the impact of the congressionally-mandated sequestration cuts on imaging research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In 2013, the first year of sequestration, the Institutes experienced a 5.3% across-the-board cut. However, that was the just the first in a planned ten-year schedule of cuts. If Congress does not soon pass legislation to stop sequestration, then the NIH’s budget will be reduced an additional 7% in January 2014.
“The NIH is the world’s premier medical research institution. But sequestration threatens today’s scientific discoveries and jeopardizes tomorrow’s health advances,” remarked Renee Cruea, the President of CIBR. Cruea emphasized that sequestration impacts patient care because NIH-supported imaging research gives physicians new and improved tools for detecting, diagnosing, and treating many different types of diseases and conditions. Under sequestration, however, the NIH may no longer be able to support this important work.
“Thank you to everyone who took the time to contact Congress about sequestration and its impact on the NIH. I ask all of the members of the imaging research community to do the same by visiting http://action.imagingcoalition.org/. These letters only take a minute to send but they have a large impact on Capitol Hill,” urged Mike Kalutkiewicz, CIBR’s Vice President of Government Affairs.
This website is only part of CIBR’s work on sequestration. The coalition is also meeting with Congressional offices and organizing events on Capitol Hill that demonstrate the impact of medical imaging research on patient care. Researchers who are interested in becoming involved in these efforts should contact CIBR at (202) 347-5872.
