Murphy, McMorris Rodgers lead bipartisan call for full funding of NIH BRAIN Initiative

U.S. Reps. Tim Murphy (R-PA) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) led a bipartisan congressional call on Tuesday for full funding of the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative.

In a letter to leaders of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies, the bipartisan group of lawmakers called for robust funding for the BRAIN Initiative that was outlined in Murphy’s Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act. That bill was included in the 21st Century Cures health care reform package that was signed into law last year.

“Mental illness and substance use disorders are brain diseases,” Murphy said. “Investing in brain research is a critical component to unlock the best medical treatments and cures. Funding the reforms outlined in the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act has been a bipartisan effort. We will continue to advance full funding of the BRAIN Initiative to fulfill our promise to patients and families.”

The BRAIN Initiative, a public-private effort that was initiated under former President Barack Obama, was designed to explore the pathology of various brain disorders in hopes of developing new therapies to treat or cure them.

“Brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, autism, epilepsy, schizophrenia, depression and traumatic brain injury are projected to be some of the most disabling and costly chronic diseases in the 21st century,” the letter states.

“One in three Americans will have a brain or nervous system disorder sometime in their life and the cost of treating neurological disorders is more than $500 billion each year. These statistics are grave, and regrettably we do not currently know enough about the brain to begin to meet this health and economic challenge. The BRAIN Initiative seeks to change that,” the letter said.

Understanding and mapping the human brain would usher in a new era of treatments, cures and prevention techniques for conditions that affect up to 50 million people in the United States.

Murphy and McMorris Rodgers were joined by U.S. Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) in sending the letter.