2009-02-13

House and Senate negotiators have reached an agreement on a final version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (HR 1) which includes $10 billion in funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The conference agreement provides $8.2 billion for research funding, with $7.4 billion designated for the Institutes, Centers, and Common Fund for research projects, and $800 million retained for the Office of the Director for research activities. The agreement also provides $1.3 billion for the National Center for Research Resources, with $1 billion designated for construction and renovation at extramural research facilities and $300 million for "shared instrumentation and other capital equipment." The conference agreement also provides $500 million for construction and renovation of NIH intramural buildings.

Both the House and Senate are expected to vote and give final approval to the bill today, allowing President Obama to quickly sign the measure into law.