December 20, 2019 – In approving a sweeping Fiscal Year 2020 federal spending package, Congress has approved continued funding of medical research into deployed warfighter respiratory disease which has been led in recent years by National Jewish Health, the nation’s leading lung research institution. National Jewish Health is a client of The National Group, Washington, D.C.
Working with members of the Colorado Congressional Delegation and the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, The National Group helped present the case for continued DOD funding for warfighter respiratory research to the Appropriations Subcommittee, including submitting for consideration the report of National Jewish’s medical research to DOD’s Defense Health Program on the mid-term results of its current $11.5 million DOD grant for research into respiratory ailments affecting deployed and formerly deployed warfighters. National Jewish won this major DOD research grant in a national competition in late-2016.
Included in the Senate Subcommittee’s report on the FY 2020 Defense Appropriations Bill, and included in the final spending package, is a finding that Congress remains concerned about the deleterious effects of deployed warfighter respiratory ailments on combat readiness and direction that a comprehensive research plan be developed by DOD which would provide for future additional grant funding to research institutions such as National Jewish.
Because of National Jewish’s current research partnership with DOD in this area, the institution will have a major advantage in winning another major research grant which is expected to be awarded in the coming months.