Readers of The Scientist by now should be familiar with the aims of Research!America, the Alexandria, Va.-based national nonprofit advocacy organization for biomedical research that was founded in 1989. Chairing its annual membership meeting on March 12, former Congressman Paul Rogers discussed the remarkable progress Research!America has made in advancing the cause of biomedical research. Mary Woolley, the organization's president, reported on the public's increased awareness of the need for greater funding of biomedical research (M. Woolley, The Scientist, March 18, 1996, page 10).
This grass-roots awareness has become apparent to both Republican and Democratic members of Congress. While the latter have been the traditional boosters of National Institutes of Health funding, some Republicans have recently taken up the cause with great fervor. Republican members of the House of Representatives such as John E. Porter (Illinois), as well as Sens. Arlen Specter (Pennsylvania) and Phil Gramm (Texas), among others, have ...
