2009-03-11
The Senate, by a vote of 62-35, has given final approval to a $410 billion bill to fund most federal departments and agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), for the remainder of fiscal year (FY) 2009.
Under the terms of the FY 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act (HR 1105), NIH will receive a total of $30.3 billion for FY 2009, $938 million (approximately 3.2 percent) above final FY 2008 funding levels. House appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-WI) noted that this funding will help NIH “capitalize on unprecedented scientific opportunities with almost 10,600 new research grants.”
President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law later today. The House passed the bill on February 25 by a vote of 245-178.
Below is a summary of the final budget numbers for the Institutes of particular interest to ASH:
National Institutes of Health Funding
(Dollars in Thousands)
| |
FY 2008 Final
(Including Supplemental Funding) |
FY 2009 Proposed
(President Bush) |
FY 2009 Omnibus |
| NIH (total) |
29,379,524 |
29,229,524 |
30,317,024 |
| NHLBI |
2,936,562 |
2,924,942 |
3,015,689 |
| NCI |
4,827,556 |
4,809,819 |
4,968,973 |
| NIDDK |
1,863,037 |
1,658,467 |
1,911,338 |
| NIA |
1,051,038 |
1,048,278 |
1,080,796 |
| NCRR |
1,153,953 |
1,160,473 |
1,226,263 |
Final approval of the FY 2009 omnibus comes nearly six months into the current fiscal year. Because of a shortened congressional schedule due to the elections, the 110th Congress was not able to complete work on the FY 2009 spending bills before adjourning in December 2008. Consequently, Congress passed a continuing resolution prior to the end of the fiscal year that allowed the federal government to continue operating at their FY 2008 spending levels through March 6, 2009; a second short-term continuing resolution extended funding through March 11, 2009.
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