Fate of $5 Million for Staph Research and Monitoring to be Decided Soon
Posted on October 25, 2007
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An additional $5 million for staph research and outbreak tracking could be available to the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in 2008. On Tuesday the senate overwhelmingly approved an appropriations bill with an amendment earmarking $5 million for research into methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
New York’s senior senator Charles Schumer decided to sponsor the MRSA amendment to the 2008 Labor, Health and Human Services bill after his office documented MRSA infections in 12 counties and 22 school districts in New York state in recent months. Senators Judd Gregg and John Sununu of New Hampshire also provided support for the MRSA funding amendment after a New Hampshire child succumbed to MRSA-related complications earlier this month. Senator Sununu said, “I am hopeful these additional resources will play a role in helping to reduce health risks for New Hampshire and other states across the country.”
President Bush is expected to make a decision on the appropriations bill within the next few days. The President is expected to veto the bloated spending bill, but since it passed in the senate by a 75-19 vote, a veto could easily be overridden.
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