As Congress considers legislation to strengthen the nation’s infrastructure and bolster economic recovery, we urge you to include, among the other key national priorities, investments in the infrastructure underpinning the medical research enterprise.Like the physical roads and bridges that we traditionally consider infrastructure, our nation’s medical research facilities and research personnel are critical infrastructure that are essential to improve our health and prosperity. As you know, the federal commitment to medical research supported and conducted by NIH not only has been core to the extraordinary progress the U.S. has made against COVID-19 through multiple effective vaccines and other countermeasures, but also is instrumental in combatting every other health threat facing patients and their families. In addition to promoting a healthy and productive population, support for NIH also generates local and regional economic activity nationwide, catalyzes the growth of new industries and wellpaying jobs, and promotes our national competitiveness.We are grateful to Congress for the strong, bipartisan investments in NIH through the annual appropriations process in recent years, and we look forward to working with you to continue that trajectory of sustained, robust growth in FY 2022. Likewise, we appreciate the supplemental nfunding that Congress has directed to NIH over the last year to advance research on COVID-19. To fully optimize the nation’s potential to advance new therapeutics, diagnostics, preventive interventions, and cures, however, we call to your attention additional npriorities that remain in urgent need of action through one-time emergency investments.#GPAC2021#COVID-19#LettersandComments