Calling for the establishment of a new unit of the National Institutes of Health, to be known as The National Institute of Viral Diseases, to increase research in the field of viral disease causes, prevention, and treatment.

IV 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 93 Calling for the establishment of a new unit of the National Institutes of Health, to be known as The National Institute of Viral Diseases, to increase research in the field of viral disease causes, prevention, and treatment. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 3, 2021 Ms. KAPTUR submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce RESOLUTION Calling for the establishment of a new unit of the National Institutes of Health, to be known as The National Insti- tute of Viral Diseases, to increase research in the field of viral disease causes, prevention, and treatment. Whereas the pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (in this preamble referred to as ‘‘COVID–19’’) is perhaps the greatest threat to the health and prosperity of the United States since the Great Depression, and COVID–19 has sickened more than 26 million people in the United States, has killed more than 440,000 people, and has left hundreds of thousands of survivors with long-term vascular, neuro- logical, and other complications; VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 Feb 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR93.IH HR93 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 93 IH Whereas COVID–19 has exceeded 102,000,000 cases and 2,100,000 million deaths worldwide; Whereas projections, using the optimistic assumption that COVID–19 will be controlled by the fall of 2021 by vac- cines still untried or fully tested, foresee economic costs estimated at more than $16 trillion, almost 90 percent of the annual gross domestic product of the United States; Whereas the toll in illness, death, and direct economic dam- age caused by COVID–19 justifies a fundamental reorga- nization and significant expansion of the commitment of the Federal Government to fund research on diseases caused by viruses and their prevention and treatment; Whereas COVID–19 is only one of more than 130 viruses known to cause diseases in humans, these diseases sicken millions of people in the United States each year, and they range from relatively mild to devastating, including the common cold, infectious diarrhea, HIV/AIDS, mea- sles, chicken pox, hepatitis, mumps, cervical cancer, and certain forms of leukemia; Whereas viruses also pose serious health and economic threats to domestic pets, farm animals, and food crops; Whereas scientists predict that the toll from viral diseases will increase in the future, with new disease-causing vi- ruses spreading from animals to people due to human in- trusion into previously wild environments, increased international travel, and mass migrations resulting from war, famine, and national disasters; Whereas despite the scope and seriousness of this problem, there is no treatment or cure for most viral infections in humans and existing treatments can only relieve symp- VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:19 Feb 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR93.IH HR93 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 93 IH toms while victims wait and hope that their immune sys- tem will fight off the virus; Whereas vaccines can protect people from some viral disease, but no vaccine exists for the most common viral infec- tions, including the common cold, and vaccines for influ- enza provide only temporary protection and must be re- newed annually; Whereas viruses called bacteriophages are one of the most promising ways of treating anti-biotic resistant bacteria, but Federal investment in scientific research in this area lags; Whereas the House of Representatives recognizes the impor- tance of biological sciences research and its contributions to advancing medical countermeasures for the betterment of the American public; and Whereas the virus-related funding of the Federal Government is fragmented, uncoordinated, and not uniquely focused as it is allocated among multiple Federal agencies, in- cluding the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases, the Centers for Disease Control and Preven- tions, the Food and Drug Administration, the Health Re- sources and Services Administration, the United States Agency for International Development, and the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That— 1 (1) the Director of the National Institutes of 2 Health should establish a new research institute of 3 the National Institutes of Health, to be known as 4 the National Institute of Viral Diseases, to focus, co- 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:19 Feb 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR93.IH HR93 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 93 IH ordinate, and increase research funding on the 1 causes, prevention, and treatment of diseases caused 2 by viruses; and 3 (2) all existing and future research of this kind 4 should be coordinated through the new National In- 5 stitute of Viral Diseases. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:19 Feb 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR93.IH HR93 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS