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Take Action to Override President Bush's Veto of Research Funding Bill
Pr The conference agreement on the Labor-HHS bill includes $30 billion for NIH in FY 2008. This is an increase of $1.1 billion (3.8 percent) over the FY 2007 level. The conference number also includes the $300 million transfer for Global HIV/AIDS as proposed by both the House and Senate, so the adjusted number for NIH is $29.7 billion, which is a net increase of $899 million (3.1 percent) for NIH over FY 2007 levels. This bill is the first step in reversing the downward funding trend NIH has experienced in recent years and lawmakers need to know that future biomedical research depends on passage of this legislation. Efforts by ASH and others in the research community to push for a higher NIH funding level were instrumental in securing an additional $100 million for NIH. There is no word at present on when the House or Senate will vote on the veto override. Continued grassroots advocacy is needed to help ensure that Congress will have enough votes to override the President's veto. Take Action: We need you to take action today to help ensure that lawmakers will override the presidential veto. Unless your Senators and Representative hear from you, final FY 2008 may fall significantly short of the 3.1 percent increase agreed upon by Congress. Please take a moment to send the e-mail below to your Senators and Representative urging them to support funding for NIH and override the President's veto.
Dear [ Decision Maker ] , As a hematologist interested in research on blood disorders, I write to urge your support of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by voting to override the President's veto of the FY 2008 Labor-HHS Appropriations bill. I am seriously concerned that the FY 2008 budget levels being discussed by the White House for NIH actually provide an insufficient funding level for NIH and its research that is critical to furthering science and America's health. In FY 2008, the NIH budget must grow by 3.7 percent just to keep pace with inflation. If not funded sufficiently, NIH may be forced to choose between ongoing basic research efforts or new clinical research activities, resulting in an overall slowdown in medical discoveries. Inadequate funding for NIH hinders the Institutes' ability to sustain the momentum of discovery. Unless NIH is adequately funded, it will be extremely difficult for hematologists and other health professionals to train promising researchers, create research advances, and improve the health of all Americans. For hematology, sub-inflationary funding increases at NIH will effectively freeze research resources into cures and treatments for millions of Americans with blood cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma; bleeding disorders such as hemophilia; clotting problems such as thrombosis; and, genetic disorders such as sickle cell disease, and Cooley's anemia, among others. Congress recognized the importance of NIH by providing a 3.1 percent increase for the Institutes in the version of the FY 2008 Labor-HHS Appropriations bill that was sent to the President. Please continue to support the highest possible funding level for NIH in FY 2008 and vote to override the President's veto of the FY 2008 Labor-HHS Appropriations bill. Thank you for your interest in this issue and I appreciate your support. Please contact me if I can provide additional information to you.
Sincerely, |
Campaign Launched: |
| Background Information |
The release of the President's FY 2008 Budget Proposal in January initiated the annual appropriations process for the year. Overall, this year's domestic discretionary budget was trimmed down, with the President committed to reducing the federal budget deficit. Most of the FY 2008 budget increases in his proposal were dedicated to the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security. As a result, other agencies, such as NIH, are facing a difficult time in securing additional funding.
On June 7, the House Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations Subcommittee began drafting its version of the FY 2008 Labor-HHS spending bill. The House version of the bill provides $29.65 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an increase of $750 million (2.6 percent) above the FY 2007 funding level and $1.029 billion (3.6 percent) above the President's FY 2008 request. Taking into account the proposed transfer of $300 million from NIH in FY 2008 to the Global HIV/AIDS Fund, the net increase proposed by the House for the NIH budget in its draft bill is $549 million (1.9 percent) over FY 2007. The bill was approved on the House floor (H.R. 3043) by a vote of 276 to 140 on July 19, 2007.
Similarly, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved its version of the FY 2008 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill on June 21. The Senate version of the bill includes $29.9 billion for NIH, an increase of $1 billion (3.5 percent) over the FY 2007 level. However, the Senate bill takes the same approach as the House subcommittee in transferring funds from NIH to the Global HIV/AIDS fund; as a result, the net increase proposed by the Senate for the NIH budget in its draft bill is $799 million (2.8 percent) over FY 2007. The full Senate approved the bill by a vote of 75-19 on October 23.
In early November, House and Senate negotiators reached an agreement on and passed legislation containing final funding levels for NIH in FY 2008. $30 billion in funding is provided for NIH in FY 2008, an increase of $1.1 billion (3.8 percent) over the FY 2007 level. The conferees added an additional $100 million beyond what the Senate had proposed and $350 million beyond the level proposed by the House. However, the final bill takes the same approach as earlier versions drafted by the House and Senate and transfers funds from NIH to the Global HIV/AIDS fund; as a result, the net increase proposed by the final agreement is $899 million (3.1 percent). This bill passed the Senate passed on November 7 by a vote of 56-37; the House passed the measure for a final time on November 8 by a vote of 274 to 141.
Though the 3.1 percent increase provided by congressional appropriators in this bill is a major victory for ASH and NIH supporters, the funding levels are still not final and must be signed by President Bush, who vetoed the bill on November 13 because of the funding increases contained in the bill. The House and Senate are expected to vote to attempt to override the President's veto in the near future.
More information about the President's proposed FY 2008 budget, a summary of the proposed FY 2008 NIH budget, and information from the House and Senate Appropriations Committees is available online.
