WASHINGTON — In a letter sent Friday, top congressional Republicans urged President-elect Donald Trump to keep Dr. Francis Collins as director of the National Institutes of Health.
Collins received the endorsement from key GOP members of Congress: outgoing House and Energy Commerce chairman Fred Upton, Senate health committee chairman Lamar Alexander, and the two chairmen of the appropriations committees that oversee NIH: Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri and Congressman Tom Cole of Oklahoma.
“Dr. Collins is the right person, at the right time, to continue to lead the world’s premier biomedical research agency,” they said in the letter.
I suppose we must be careful about calling someone a hero–we are all only human. But this man is, without doubt, the man I admire most. As noted earlier, he responded to a personal issue I was dealing with and his care and concern clearly showed.
As a Volunteer Patient Advocate for the NPAF I am familiar with the work Mr. Collins does. He is a valuable asset to not only NIH, but our country. He should be treated respectfully for the service he provides and be able to continue his fine work. He is needed.
I have multiple Rare Diseases and have talked to literally 100’s of doctors. They don’t care or take the time to learn about the Rare Diseases that 30,000,000 Americans live with daily. When you talk with Dr. Francis Collins you not only feel understood and validated, you feel like their is hope and you are not alone.
I received a personal response from Dr. Collins regarding an issue in my life. This man truly cares about people. The world is surely a better place with Dr. Collins, because of both his intelligence and his profound love for humanity.
I have met Dr Collins and in my opinion his leadership at NIH is without question an integral part of its success. He has a plan for the future of scientific research and is accountable for every dollar spent. He believes in a patient centered approach to problem solving and backs it up in action.