2009-06-18

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius recently testified before both the House and Senate Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittees about the department’s FY 2010 budget request and the administration’s efforts on health-care reform. Though most of her prepared remarks did not focus on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) or medical research, several members of each Subcommittee questioned Secretary Sebelius about the Administration’s FY 2010 funding request for NIH and the Administration’s plan to avoid an impending “cliff” once stimuls funds expire at the end of FY 2010. Secretary Sebelius acknowledged the “enormous dividends” that the stimulus investment in NIH will yield, and pledged to work with the Administration to develop a multi-year plan to address post-stimulus NIH funding beginning in FY 2011.

For FY 2010, President Obama has proposed approximately $31 billion in funding for NIH, a 1.4 percent increase over the final FY 2009 funding levels that were enacted in March of this year. ASH and the biomedical research community have recommended an increase for NIH of at least 7 percent over the FY 2009 funding level. This recommended increase would allow NIH funding to keep pace with a projected Biomedical Research and Development Price Index increase of over 3 percent and make up for lost purchasing power that resulted from inadequate and unpredictable funding over the past several years.

The House has announced a tentative schedule where its version of the FY 2010 Labor-HHS funding bill, which includes NIH funding, would be on the House floor the week of July 20; the Senate has not yet announced a timeframe for consideration of its version of the Labor-HHS bill.

Now is the time to contact your senators and representative to generate their interest in supporting FY 2010 NIH funding. ASH will continue its advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill during the FY 2010 budget debate and encourages all members to visit the ASH Advocacy Center to take action to help influence the budget process and support increased funding for NIH. Your senators and representative need to hear from you about ensuring adequate NIH funding in FY 2010.

Additional information about the proposed FY 2010 budget is available on the ASH Web site. ASH will also continue to keep its membership informed about each step in the debate toward the completion of the FY 2010 federal budget, with frequent updates posted on the Society's Web site. In the meantime, if you have questions, please contact ASH Research Advocacy Manager Tracy Roades at 202-776-0544 or troades@hematology.org.