Robert “Bob” Casey - Senior Senator for Pennsylvania, 2007-2024

Senator Casey receives our grade of a B+ because of his genera support for biomedical funding, notably, in supporting the American Cures Act. As a member of the Committee on Finance and the Subcommittee on Health Care, as well as a member of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and ranking member of the Special Committee on Aging he helps to control the NIH budget. His interest in helping aging Americans would be highly compatible with joining his colleagues in support of additional funding for dementia research, and he could easily raise his grade by co-sponsoring these efforts. 

“We must reverse the decline in NIH funding, and work to support other Federal research programs. The research done by these programs saves lives and improves quality of life. Funding these programs also makes sound economic sense: Federally funded biomedical research is an important driver of economic growth throughout the United States.”

Co-sponsored: S. 1250: American Cures Act

Co-sponsored: S.427 - Autism CARES Act of 2019

Co-sponsored S.Res.223 - A resolution expressing support for the designation of May 17, 2019, as "DIPG Pediatric Brain Cancer Awareness Day" to raise awareness of and encourage research on diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma tumors and pediatric cancers in general.

Patrick “Pat” Toomey - Junior Senator for Pennsylvania, 2011-2022

Senator Toomey receives our D+ grade for repeatedly voting against increasing NIH and NSF funding, and proposing cuts to these institutions historically. He has not supported any beneficial bills proposed this term. He has additionally proposed increasing congressional regulation on which topics the NIH can study, politicising the process. As a member of the Committee on Finance and the Subcommittee on Health Care (Chairman), and Committee on the Budget, his strong focus on fiscal responsibility is likely to be a negative force against efforts to increase funding. 

“The NIH budget is about $32 billion per year. Alzheimer’s research receives less than three percent of the funding. The fact is there are other non-fatal and treatable diseases that receive far more resources in their research. I think we need to increase our Alzheimer’s research, and we need to do it in a fiscally responsible way.”