Healthy America (September 2011)

Before I was a congresswoman, I was a survivor of ovarian cancer. I was lucky — my cancer was found in its earliest stage, and I have now been cancer-free for 25 years. I know I am alive today by the grace of God and the innovations of biomedical research. But today, our longstanding commitment to funding medical research is in real danger, putting both our economy and the health of millions of Americans at risk.

With the markets seesawing and unemployment rising, creating and maintaining jobs remains Americans’ top priority. Spurring job creation in a field that actually improves people’s lives would be doubly beneficial, which is why health innovation remains a top public policy objective. 

For the first time in our nation’s history, our children and grandchildren are on track to live shorter lives than their parents. They will be sicker and less healthy than the generation that preceded them — our generation.  

A soda and a candy bar for lunch? That’s the kind of choice too many kids make when spending their school lunch money. The result is skyrocketing obesity rates that have left nearly 30 percent of U.S. children overweight or obese. This is not the way it has to be!

Americans might expect their prescription drugs to be “Made in the U.S.A.,” but just like clothing or electronics, their medicine is increasingly produced in developing nations. In fact, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, at least 80 percent of the ingredients in U.S. drugs now originate overseas. This could be real cause for concern.