WIKIMEDIA, SLGCKGCThe viral video/charity stunt that has been sweeping the internet in recent weeks has reached the halls of Congress. Several US legislators have participated in the so-called ice bucket challenge, which involves filming people while they dump a bucket of frigid water over their heads to raise awareness and money for research on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). But, as the Huffington Post first pointed out, 16 of those sopping-wet lawmakers also voted for a bill in 2011 that whittled federal funding from ALS-specific research programs administered by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).
Nine Democrats and seven Republicans both took the ice bucket challenge and voted for the passage of the Budget Control Act of 2011, which came at the end of tense negotiations between the Obama administration and Congress. That year, Congressional Republicans refused to raise the debt ceiling and save the U.S. from defaulting on its loans until substantial budget cuts were made at the federal level. Obama and Congressional Democrats relented at the 11th hour, and conceded serious budgetary trimming that included an across-the-board sequestration that sapped about $1.5 billion from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Funding for ALS research, which falls under the umbrella of NINDS, dropped by $5 million.
Subsequent legislation reduced the losses experienced by NINDS, and about $1 million was ...
