FY '96 Funding for the
National Institutes of Health

This is in reply to the plea for preventing a reduction in the National Institute of Health's budget.

Everything that the Federal government does seems to have the degree of success or accomplishment equated with the amount of dollars spent when nothing could be farther from the truth.

Even though we have spent many billions of dollars during the past 50 years on cancer research the death rate from cancer is essntially the same as it was 50 years ago. Now I am not suggesting that we eliminate cancer research but I am suggesting that we do not assume that if we increase or decrease spending by 25% we will increase or decrease cancer mortality by a similer percent.

We have tripled spending per student on primary and secondary education since 1960 but there is evidence that the level of educational attainment has not improved or has declined during this period. Federal spending on education is 32 billion dollars per year and they put no teachers in the class room where education takes place.

We have massivbely increased spending on a multitude of welfare programs since 1960 and the result is more people on welfare and sky rocketing teenage pregnancy rates.

We have steadilly increased spending on drug prevention and control with little to show for the money.

We must learn that it is not how much money we throw at problems that is important. The important consideration is WHAT we do and HOW we spend money to solve a problem and get results.

Sometimes a cut in spending can improve results by forcing us to better concentrate and focus our resources.