By Lisa Seachrist

Washington Editor

WASHINGTON - The Clinton administration's fiscal year 2001 budget aims to establish a prescription drug benefit for senior citizens on Medicare and looks to continue the rapid growth in funding for the National Institutes of Health.

Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala presented the president's proposal Monday, saying the plan will provide freedom from want.

"Our 2001 budget will help make us free from the want of lifesaving prescription drugs," Shalala said. "Our 2001 budget will help make us free from the want of research infrastructure strong enough to unlock the cures to our worst killers. Our 2001 budget will help make us free from the want of safe food and protection against infectious diseases."

The total Department of Health and Human Services budget for 2001 encompasses $421.4 billion dollars. The administration is proposing to use $38.1 billion dollars over five years to create a prescription drug benefit for the nation's seniors.

"Does anyone seriously believe that if we were building a Medicare system today, we wouldn't include a prescription drug benefit?" Shalala asked. "That's like saying if we built a car today, we wouldn't include seatbelts. Not only would building such a car be illogical, it would be immoral. Even as I speak, three in five seniors do not have dependable drug coverage. The longer we wait, the worse this problem is going to become."

Shalala called on visions of science fiction when referencing the billion-dollar increase in NIH's budget for this year.

"2001: A Space Odyssey was utopian fiction," Shalala said. "But our FY 2001 budget is designed to make great scientific advancements - from biomedical research to disease prevention to quality health care - a national fact. In the last two years, the budget for the National Institutes of Health grew by over 30 percent. This year's NIH budget is $18.8 billion. That is a $1 billion increase over last year."

Shalala said the increase was a case of "throwing good money after good. From detecting genetic disorders to [therapies for] AIDS to new prevention strategies, the National Institutes of Health is the master goldsmith in the golden age of biomedical research."

The NIH budget also includes $73 million funding over two years to build a national neuroscience research center at its facilities in Bethesda, Md.

In addition to NIH, the FDA will be seeing an increase in funds. The administration is requesting an additional $16 million for the FDA to reduce preventable medical errors. A 13 percent increase is proposed for the FDA over last year, which would bring its funding to $1.39 billion. The agency also will receive $10 million for an initiative to protect consumers from illegitimate Internet pharmacies.