09/29/2011
NIH funding could dip based on Senate committee vote
The funding level for the National Institutes of Health remains at $30.5 billion which is $190 million (0.6 percent) below the FY 2011 level, according to a Senate Appropriations Committee vote last week, the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology reports.
The committee approved its fiscal year (FY) 2012 Labor-HHS-Education (LHHS) spending bill by a vote of 16 to 14 (all Democrats voted “yes” and all Republicans voted “no”) last week, according FASEB.
During the mark-up, LHHS Subcommittee member, Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS), offered an amendment that would have fully restored the NIH funding cut, “offset” (e.g. paid for) by an across-the-board reduction in all other programs in the bill.
The amendment was rejected 14 – 16 (all Democrats opposed the amendment and all Republicans supported it), according to FASEB.
Sen. Moran gave a speech when he introduced the amendment, acknowledging LHHS Subcommittee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) for his long-standing support of NIH and mentioning the importance of sustaining funding for research in order to “to send a clear signal …that this Congress is not going to do anything but support and continue to support medical research.”
Moran also said he wanted to ensure that money would be available to support those that are pursuing careers in medical research, noting that we have to be constant and vigilant to make sure NIH has the resources it needs to do its job.
A summary of the Senate LHHS bill is available at http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news.cfm?method=news.view&id=7f6ba191-8901-402e-86b2-27cd220d14d1.