( CNN ) -- At every congressional recess , the question remains : What has Congress accomplished to advance medical innovation , or for that matter any of our national priorities ? A ritual of leaving town with no meaningful action on pressing issues seems to have taken hold as lawmakers once again meet with voters in their districts . Indeed , much will happen during this break , but as elected officials hold yet another town hall meeting , Facebook or Twitter chat or public event , thousands will be diagnosed with cancer or get the dreaded confirmation from a physician that they or a loved one has Alzheimer 's disease . Thousands will suffer a heart attack or stroke , and thousands of parents will learn that their child has a rare disease . Researchers are racing against the clock to identify a new gene or molecule that could lead to the next medical breakthrough and bring us closer to cures and new therapies to halt disease . Time is of the essence in the scientific community , but unfortunately , our elected leaders continue to squander precious time in political , ideological battles that yield little or no results . Is this the Congress you elected ? This is not the first elected body to tackle formidable challenges , but it may be the first that has failed miserably in addressing critical issues that will have short- and long-term implications for the health and well-being of Americans . Spending bills to fund the National Institutes of Health , the Centers for Disease Control and other agencies in the next fiscal year remain in limbo as sequestration , across-the-board spending cuts enacted in March , tightens its grip on medical innovation . As a result of these mindless budget cuts , researchers are delaying or scrubbing promising studies . Institutions across the country have closed labs , reduced their work forces and implemented hiring freezes . Young scientists are rethinking their career paths or moving abroad to countries that have accelerated investments in research . Many commentators have noted that the 113th Congress is on track to be the least productive in recent history . Fewer than three dozen bills have been passed by this Congress and signed into law . This new style of legislating , when there is any , seems to be brinksmanship at the last possible moment : Hail Mary passes to avert a government shutdown and the like . If the head of a Fortune 500 company performed in this manner , he would be given the boot . Perhaps voters should think the same of those obstructionists on Capitol Hill who block action on measures to advance science and innovation the next time they head to the polls . In the meantime , it 's important for all of us who care about the future of biomedical and health research to get engaged . It 's a myth that members of Congress do n't pay attention in the month of August . On the contrary , during this recess , they are meeting with their constituents to at least shore up support for their next campaigns . This is the time to tell them that voters are expecting action , not more heated rhetoric . It 's time to tell them that tax and entitlement reform is essential -- rational proposals that will reduce health care costs and sustain investments in research and development . Research and development is now classified as an investment rather than an expense by the Bureau of Economic Analysis in calculating the gross domestic product , a sensible approach in recognizing the value of R & D in generating future income and bolstering our economy . Now , if only our esteemed leaders in Washington will do likewise . They must abandon the notion that research is n't highly valued by most Americans compared with bread-and-butter issues . In fact , more than half of Americans are willing to spend more in taxes if they were certain that all of the money would be spent on additional medical research , according to polling ( PDF ) commissioned by Research ! America , a nonprofit advocacy alliance . Americans understand the importance of a long-term investment in medical and health research to spur private-sector innovation and produce the therapies , medical devices and treatments that will save lives . The importance of long-term priorities is , by the way , one of the ways a nation stands apart from a corporation beholden to shareholder demands for immediate return . A nation 's leadership must view research through the prism of future generations : our children and grandchildren , who will benefit from both a health and economic standpoint as a result of today 's scientific discoveries . Imagine a world free of cancer , free of AIDS , free of Alzheimer 's , free of heart disease . It 's certainly possible if elected officials get beyond the rhetoric and take decisive action to strengthen our nation 's investments in research . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of John E. Porter .
Former Congressman Bill Porter says Congress has done little up to August 2013 . Among the issues he says Congress has n't done is more funding for health research . He says people support more research , and most people pay more taxes for research . Porter : Health research is an investment that will benefit our childen and grandchildren .