Tapping Clinton plan for research

WASHINGTON - Senators Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Mark Hatfield (R-Ore.) have proposed an amendment to the Clinton administration's Health Security Act that would increase research funding at the National Institutes of Health by 50 percent, or $5 billion per year.

The proposal, which has been endorsed by 75 research-related organizations and patient groups, would establish a Fund for Health Research to prevent a continuing decline in U.S. medical research under the congressional budget agreement that freezes discretionary spending for five years...