Senate Seeks to Add Additional FY 2008 Funding for NIH

July 25, 2008 – Prior to adjourning for the July 4 recess, Congress gave final approval to legislation (H.R. 2642) that provides funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which included $150 million in additional FY 2008 funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Seeking to build on this victory as Congress prepares to address domestic spending priorities in a second supplemental funding bill, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) who is Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health, and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, is seeking to add another $500 million in FY 2008 funding for NIH. A Senate Appropriations Committee meeting scheduled to markup legislation containing this funding on July 24 has been postponed, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has indicated that he would like the Senate to consider a comprehensive domestic supplemental spending bill following the August congressional break.

Additionally, Senator Harkin and Senate Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Arlen Specter (R-PA) introduced legislation on July 16 to provide NIH with $5.2 billion in additional FY 2008 funding. The bill, S. 3272, would provide the National Cancer Institute (NCI) with $1.2 billion of the proposed funding and allocate the remaining $4 billion to the other institutes at NIH. According to Senators Specter and Harkin, the "supplemental seeks to reestablish NIH funding at levels consistent with inflation and provide the Institutes with the resources to discover cures for cancer and other maladies."

ASH is continuing its advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill throughout the appropriations debate and encourages all members to take action to support increased funding for NIH. Advocacy by the research community is making a difference in securing funding for NIH, and ASH thanks everyone who has participated in the Society's advocacy efforts.