House Appropriations Subcommittee Approves FY 2006 Funding for HHS Agencies – Funding for NIH in Jeopardy

June 9, 2005—The House of Representatives Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Education (Labor-HHS) Appropriations Subcommittee approved fiscal year (FY) 2006 appropriations legislation for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other HHS agencies earlier today. The bill approved by the House Subcommittee provides $28.5 billion for NIH, a $142.3 million or 0.5 percent increase over FY 2005, but $3 million less than President George W. Bush's FY 2006 budget request. Such a small increase is effectively a cut in funding since this level would not keep up with the cost of medical inflation. The Senate has yet to address FY 2006 appropriations for NIH, and is not expected to take up that bill until early July.

House Labor-HHS Subcommittee Chair Ralph Regula (R-OH) admitted that the subcommittee had to make some “tough decisions” about the $142.5 billion in discretionary spending that they had to work with for FY 2006. The discretionary funding available to the Subcommittee was $164 million below FY 2005 levels—a 0.1 percent decrease—but $924 million more than President Bush’s budget request. Representative David Obey (D-WI), Ranking Democrat on the Subcommittee, said that the limited funds for the subcommittee “stem from irresponsible tax cuts.”

Within NIH, the Subcommittee’s FY 2006 Labor-HHS spending bill includes: $4.84 billion for the National Cancer Institute, a $16.5 million increase; $2.95 billion for the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, a $10 million boost; $1.72 billion for the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, a $8.5 million increase; and $1.05 billion for the National Institute on Aging, a $5 million boost. The funding levels approved for these NIH Institutes are all less than a 1 percent increase over FY 2005 levels.

Other HHS Agencies
The Subcommittee also approved funding levels for other HHS programs including:

• $5.946 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is a $1.44 billion or 32 percent increase over FY 2005, although the Subcommittee provided $1.616 billion of CDC’s FY 2006 funding for terrorism preparedness that had been previously provided through the Public Health and Social Service Emergency Fund. Without the terrorism preparedness funds, CDC received $4.33 billion, a $181 million or 4 percent cut from FY 2005.
• $319 million for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, level funding from FY 2005.
• The elimination of funding for the Sickle Cell Treatment Act (PL 108-357) within the Health Resources and Services Administration. In FY 2005, $200,000 was provided to establish a sickle cell demonstration program and National Coordinating Center.
• The elimination of funding for all Title VII Health Professions Education programs, except for the Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students program. In FY 2005, these programs were collectively funded at $47.1 million.

Outlook
With FY 2006 funding for NIH in jeopardy, please visit the ASH Advocacy Center and send an email to your Members of Congress to strengthen their support for NIH funding. The House Appropriations Committee is expected to act on NIH funding on June 15 and Senate action on this issue is not far behind. In a very tight year for the entire federal budget, grassroots support for NIH funding is critical to gain any traction in the appropriations process. ASH is supporting an NIH budget of at least $30 billion for FY 2006, a 6 percent increase over the FY 2005 level.

If you have questions, or need more information, please contact ASH Government Affairs Manager Jeff Coughlin at (202) 776-0544.