Yesterday I posted video of me taking the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, and I noted that ALS research is a cause worth donating to, especially given the drastic cuts to ALS funding by the federal government.
Among those who’ve taken the Ice Bucket Challenge to benefit ALS research was Republican Rep. Paul Ryan, and while it seems commendable that he took the challenge, it shouldn’t go unnoticed that Rep. Ryan voted for legislation (the Budget Control Act of 2011) that defunded ALS research.
The funding cuts, in this case, were caused by the passage of the Budget Control Act of 2011 — otherwise known as the bill to save the United States government from default. As a condition of getting congressional Republicans to sign off on the debt ceiling hike, the Obama White House and Congressional Democrats agreed to budget cuts and future budget cuts that would be delivered via sequestration, an across-the-board cleaver that cut certain agencies’ budgets by roughly 5 percent.
The National Institutes of Health was one of those agencies. It was forced to slash an estimated $1.55 billion from its programs. Among those was the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. In Fiscal Year 2013, the NINDS budget was $1.53 billion, a $92 million decrease from FY 2012. For ALS-specific research, funding went from $44 million to $39 million.
The next time Rep. Ryan wants to help fund ALS research, perhaps he should start by not cutting federal funding for ALS research.
For as much time as Paul Ryan must spend reviewing his appearance in the nearest mirror, he’s never been able to create even a reflection of a statesman.
He’s such a hypocrite about everything not surprised of anything he does any more…no wonder he was voted Biggest Brown Noser at his high school..they already knew back then how much of a douche bag he really is.