Senate Approves FY 2006 Labor-HHS Bill

Provides 3.7 Percent Increase for NIH and $2 Million for the Sickle Cell Treatment Act—Act Now to Strengthen Support for Research Funding.

October 27, 2005—The Senate approved the fiscal year (FY) 2006 Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Education (Labor-HHS) Appropriations Bill (HR 3010) late today. For the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Senate bill provides $29.42 billion in FY 2006, a $1.05 billion or 3.7 percent increase over FY 2005.

The funding level approved by the Senate sets up a showdown with the House in the upcoming conference committee over NIH. On June 24, the House approved $28.5 billion for NIH, a $142.3 million or 0.5 percent increase over FY 2005, but $3 million less than the $28.845 billion in President George W. Bush's FY 2006 Budget Request for the agency. The funding levels approved by the House and requested by President Bush are both effectively cuts in funding since neither would keep up with the cost of medical inflation (the cost of medical inflation is expected to be at 3.5 percent in FY 2006).

The legislation approved by the Senate includes several other provisions of interest to ASH, such as:

• Sickle Cell Treatment Act (PL 108-357)—The Senate approved $2 million to continue the implementation of this law in FY 2006. The House eliminated funding for this program in its FY 2006 bill. In FY 2005, $200,000 was provided to establish a sickle cell demonstration program and National Coordinating Center.

• Health Professions—The Senate bill includes $454.4 million for Health Professions programs. This amount restores funding to these programs that were eliminated in the President’s Budget.

• Embryo Adoption—The Senate approved $2 million for an embryo adoption awareness campaign, an increase of $1 million over the FY 2005 level. This idea has received increased public attention due to support by opponents of embryonic stem cell research.

Outlook
The debate over FY 2006 funding for NIH and other HHS programs now moves to a House-Senate Conference Committee that is charged with resolving the differences between the House and Senate-approved bills. At this stage of the deliberations, it is critical for ASH members to visit the ASH Advocacy Center and send an email to their Representatives and Senators to strengthen support for NIH funding as well as the Sickle Cell Treatment Act (PL 108-357).

FY 2006 has become an extremely tight year for federal discretionary spending programs such as NIH. With funding for hurricane-related relief and rebuilding efforts taking precedence on Capitol Hill, Congress is under pressure to cut spending in other areas to restrain the growth of the federal deficit. NIH is a target of those policymakers that want to rein in federal discretionary spending. Your grassroots support for NIH and the Sickle Cell Treatment Act is extremely important as the House-Senate Conference Committee begins to finalize FY 2006 spending.

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