Tell Congress to Support NIH Funding for FY 2020
Fiscal year (FY) 2020 spending bills have stalled in Congress, forcing the passage of a second Continuing Resolution (CR) to extend FY 2019 funding for federal programs and agencies and allowing the government to remain open until December 20. This new CR will give appropriators four additional weeks to decide final spending levels for FY 2020 and provides an opportunity for you to remind your legislators about the importance of funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The House of Representatives passed its FY 2020 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) appropriations bill, which funds the NIH and other public health programs, in June. The House-passed legislation includes just over $41 billion in funding for the NIH in FY 2020, a $2 billion increase over the agency’s current funding level. The bill also contains $8.3 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an increase of $921 million above FY 2019 levels, as well as an additional $2 million for the CDC sickle cell disease (SCD) data collection program authorized by the Sickle Cell Disease Research, Surveillance, Prevention, and Treatment Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-327).
While the Senate was unable to pass any spending bills prior to the start of the new fiscal year, a proposal released by Senate appropriators in mid-September seeks to provide NIH with a $3 billion increase in funding. The differences between the Senate proposal and the House-passed bill will need to be worked out in conference before a final version of the bill can be voted on in both chambers.
ASH needs the help of all members to urge lawmakers to support a robust funding increase for NIH. You can help by quickly sending an email to your Representative and Senators to urge them to act. Simply click "Take Action" below, enter your contact information on the next page, and click “Submit Message.” Sending a message will not take much time, but it can have a big impact on how your elected officials vote.
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