2009-09-17
Although
congressional leaders made significant progress in advancing their respective
versions of bills to fund the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in fiscal
year (FY) 2010, none of the FY 2010 appropriations bills have yet been
finalized. As in past years, Congress is
not expected to finish appropriations before the end of the fiscal year on
September 30. Instead, congressional
leaders are expected to pass a continuing resolution to fund federal
programs, including NIH, at current levels
into the beginning of FY 2010.
The
House passed its version of the FY 2010 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education,
and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, which contains $31.3 billion for biomedical research at NIH, on
July 24. The House-passed funding level
represents an increase of $500 million over the President's request and $942 million over final FY 2009 funding levels.
On
July 30, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved its version of the Labor-HHS Appropriations bill. The Senate bill includes $30.8
billion to fund biomedical research at NIH, an amount equal to the President's request and
approximately 1.65 percent over FY 2009. However, the bill has not yet been considered by the full Senate and
although Senate leaders have indicated they would like to complete action on
most of the appropriations bills prior to September 30, a scheduled vote of the
FY 2010 Labor-HHS bill in the Senate has not been announced.
Grassroots Action Still Needed: There is still time to contact the
Senate to urge support for increases in NIH funding. ASH encourages all members
to visit the ASH Advocacy Center to send an
e-mail to their senators. Your senators need to hear from you about ensuring
adequate NIH funding in FY 2010.
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.
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