00:00I will now turn to my friend and colleague, the vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Murray, for her opening statement.
00:11Thank you, Senator.
00:21Thank you very much, Madam Chairman.
00:23And just a point of personal privilege before I speak about this topic, I do want to acknowledge the tragedy in Texas, and our thoughts are with the families who lost loved ones, and we thank all of our first responders who rushed into danger.
00:37I know that all of us here are ready to help Texas recover and rebuild, and I say that on behalf of all of us here in this committee.
00:44And with that, thank you again, Chair Collins, for again convening this really important, impressive hearing to talk about the NIH Special Diabetes Program's critical work that supports life-changing research for millions of people who are living with type 1 diabetes, and in particular to hear from all the kids and young adults who are living with type 1 diabetes who came all the way here today to talk about why this program matters.
01:13I know all of you have traveled from all over the country.
01:16I don't think anybody made it here from Washington State.
01:19It's a long trip, but, oh, in the back, awesome.
01:22Great to see you.
01:25And I want you to know that your voices make a huge difference in making sure that Congress takes action to treat and eventually cure type 1 diabetes.
01:34It's important that all of us understand your experiences with diabetes, which is, of course, what this hearing is all about.
01:41And, of course, it is important that we improve our understanding of this disease itself, which is what the NIH Special Diabetes Program is all about.
01:52This program has a great history of accomplishment, getting new artificial pancreatic devices to market, bringing us new medication to delay type 1 diagnosis,
02:04and improving care for patients with serious complications, and more breakthroughs that we all know are just around the corner.
02:11This work is life-changing, which is why I do want to really express my concern today about the fact that the Trump administration is terminating or freezing more than 260 grants
02:25from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the care and research that people are counting on is really in jeopardy, and your voices are important today.
02:37Four of those canceled NIDDK grants are in my home state of Washington, including a clinical trial looking at blood pressure in 200 hemiodialysis patients
02:47and a grant to train the next generation of researchers, and I know that at Columbia University, President Trump terminated funding
02:54for research on how type 1 diabetes affects bone strength in kids.
02:59I don't think anyone here needs us to explain why that's so important.
03:03We need to strengthen bones and avoid fractures so everyone can run and play and compete in sport and live life to its fullest.
03:10So I want to be clear here today, Trump does not get to decide funding for diabetes, Congress does.
03:17And I know members on both sides of the aisle are committed to making sure we maintain strong investments in this work.
03:23But we need more than just talk right now, we need to stand up and reject what is happening right now to biomedical research at NIH,
03:32and I know that my colleagues understand that as well.
03:34So again, I really want to thank all of you for being here today, because when it comes to defending this research,
03:41when it comes to pushing back against these kinds of cuts and funding freezes that we're seeing,
03:46the most effective tool we have is our voices, like the advocates in this room.
03:51The strongest way all of you can push back is by speaking out, just like you're doing today,
03:56sharing your stories, which are so important, and make sure everyone knows what is at stake.
04:02And I know that with the incredible advocates like all of you, we're going to keep making progress,
04:08and we're going to keep investing in life-changing research and eventually cure type 1 diabetes.
