Endocrine Insider
August 11, 2010

(See full issue)

In his August 10 Washington Post blog, Ezra Klein references and links to a report by United for Medical Research (UMR) highlighting the benefits of Recovery Act funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  UMR is a coalition of leading research institutions, patient and health advocates, and private industry that have joined together to seek steady increases in federal funding for NIH.  The Endocrine Society is a founding member of UMR and was a major contributor to the report. 

“Investing in Recovery and Discovery: How NIH Recovery and Reinvestment Act Grants are Improving Health and the Economy” illustrates the short-term economic and health benefits of biomedical research projects funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).  UMR shared the report with Mr. Klein in response to his August 9 blog post in which he covers a report by Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) and implies that scientific research projects, no matter how well conceived, do not have immediate impact on the economy and thus do not meet the objectives of ARRA.