Support Peer-Reviewed Research

Statement Before the House of Representatives
Representative James A. Leach
Support Peer-Reviewed Research
June 24, 2005

Mr. Chairman, I recognize that sometimes committees decide to accept a series of amendments to bills "en bloc" on the House floor and then review them further in conference. In this circumstance, I rise to express great disappointment that the committee has agreed to accept for the time being the Neugebauer amendment which represents a philosophical assault on the peer review process that serves as a hallowed barrier to scientific censorship.

Mr. Chairman, the Neugebauer amendment is about exasperation with NIH research on non-humans - i.e., animals and birds - and targets a grant given a respected research institution in my District - the University of Iowa.

First, let me stress that 60% of all human diseases are zoonotic - that is, derived or related to animals and birds. It is no accident that the remarkable results that have been obtained in developing miracle drugs and intervention approaches in so many diseases begins with research on animals and birds.

Secondly, let me stress that NIH and NIMH operate in a more non-politicized manner than other governmental entities. All their research approaches are peer-reviewed by scientists across the country. We in Congress authorize the appropriations for NIH and NIMH, but scientists rather than politicians determine which research applications should be funded. Science, in this sense, by Congressional directive, has largely been de-politicized.

As for this specific grant, the pigeon has been selected to study because it has a remarkably well developed visual system with such high acuity that it can make extraordinary decisions without the mediation of language.

The research, which focuses on how the pigeon discriminates between visual stimuli, could be singularly important to our understanding of how brains and mental processes operate. The knowledge garnered is designed to be of particular use in the treatment of mental illnesses and disorders like autism and schizophrenia.

Knowledge of the operation of advanced cognitive processes in the absence of language can also provide important clues to possible remedial methods that could be effective with language impaired human patients. New thinking and teaching methods which may develop from research on pigeons and other life forms could better enable impaired individuals to interact with a world of complex patterns and categories, thus allowing them to be productive decision-makers, less likely to need institutionalization.

Mr. Chairman, let me reiterate that research with birds and animals is critical for human health. The pigeon may seem an obscure subject, but the application of research on this bird, which is so talented it can find its way home even if transported and released thousands of miles away.

There is no certainty any research approach will be productive, but there is certainty that politicizing science will shackle its potential for lengthening and ennobling life.

Accordingly, I urge the committee as it reviews this "en bloc" amendment in conference to give particular attention to whether it wants to establish a precedent of political "seers" overriding scientific peers. This is a slippery slope that I hope conferees will not slide down.