‘Constituents Are Literally Begging For Their Lives’: Maxine Dexter Decries Looming NIH Funding Cuts

During House floor remarks on Thursday, Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-OR) slammed potential National Institutes of Health funding cuts.

Transcript

00:00Mr. Speaker, this year I received a letter from Rachel, a mother in my district with

00:07stage 4 lung cancer, who is living on borrowed time. She's depending on future innovation

00:15driven by NIH research to see her son grow up. Her words are more powerful than mine,

00:23so I will read them directly. Quote, I could write endless words about how many will be

00:31devastated by these funding cuts, but this is not that kind of letter. Despite my generous nature,

00:37cancer has taught me to be selfish. Every single day, I think about my mortality. How long do I

00:44have left? Is that shoulder pain or something else? Will I be alive to see my son graduate from high

00:51school? He turned 11 in February, and I made him a lemon cake. NIH funding cuts will no doubt shorten

01:00my life. There is no truth about which I have ever been more certain. End quote. Mr. Speaker,

01:09our constituents are literally begging for their lives. As a physician and a mother, I cannot speak

01:16enough about the harm that this bill, this cut to NIH funding will do. I understand the importance

01:26of NIH funding because that is the driver of innovation and scientific discovery. To my Republican

01:34colleagues, now is the time to show courage. Stop these cuts to the NIH. Do not undermine scientific

01:42innovation. And to Rachel, I will fight for you with everything I have. You deserve to see

01:50your son graduate. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I yield back.

01:54The chair now recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania, Mr. Thompson, for five minutes.

01:59This

02:00is a

02:13Also, I'm going to take a chance of