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Join ASH's Advocacy Efforts to Increase NIH Funding
Your Senators need to hear from you about fiscal year (FY) 2006 funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Time is running out to help influence increased funding for NIH next year! On July 14, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved FY 2006 appropriations legislation for NIH and other Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agencies that provides NIH with $29.42 billion in FY 2006, a $1.05 billion or 3.7 percent increase over FY 2005. On June 24, the House of Representatives approved FY 2006 appropriations legislation that provides NIH with $28.5 billion, a $142.3 million or 0.5 percent increase over last year. With the cost of medical inflation expected to be at 3.5 percent in FY 2006, the 3.7 percent approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee proposes only a slight increase for NIH next year, while the funding level approved in the House is effectively a funding cut since it does not keep up with inflation. With the debate still pending in the full Senate, now is the time to contact your Senators to strengthen their support for FY 2006 NIH funding. It is a very tight year for the entire federal budget. Grassroots support for NIH funding from across the nation is critical to gain any traction in the appropriations process. The email that you send to your Senators will make a difference. It is imperative that ASH members contact their Senators in support of a NIH budget of at least $30 billion for FY 2006, a 6 percent increase over the FY 2005 level. Thanks for your help with ASH’s grassroots advocacy efforts! If you have questions, or need more information, please contact ASH Government Affairs Manager Jeff Coughlin at (202) 776-0544 or jcoughlin@hematology.org.
Dear [ Decision Maker ] , As a hematologist interested in research on serious blood disorders, I write to urge your support of NIH to advance groundbreaking basic, clinical, and translational research. I support an NIH budget of at least $30 billion for FY 2006, a 6 percent increase over the FY 2005 level. I am seriously concerned that the FY 2006 budget levels being discussed for NIH provide an insufficient funding level for the Institutes and its research programs that are critical to furthering science and America's health. In FY 2006, the NIH budget must grow by 3.5 percent just to keep pace with inflation. The funding levels under consideration may force NIH to choose between ongoing basic research efforts or new clinical research activities, resulting in an overall slowdown in medical discoveries. 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. While I appreciate the need for fiscal restraint, FY 2006 could be the third consecutive year that NIH funding does not keep pace with inflation which 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. Please support an NIH budget of at least $30 billion for FY 2006. 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 |
On July 14, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved fiscal year (FY) 2006 appropriations legislation for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agencies. The bill approved by the Appropriations Committee provides NIH with $29.42 billion in FY 2006, a $1.05 billion or 3.7 percent increase over FY 2005. With the cost of medical inflation expected to be at 3.5 percent in FY 2006, the 3.7 percent approved by the Committee provides a slight increase for next year. With the Senate nearing completion of the FY 2006 appropriations process for NIH, time is running out to increase NIH funding for next year.
On June 24, the House of Representatives approved FY 2006 appropriations legislation for NIH and other HHS agencies (HR 3010). The bill provides $28.5 billion for NIH, a $142.3 million or 0.5 percent increase over FY 2005. On February 7, President George W. Bush released his FY 2006 budget proposal and offered only a 0.7 percent increase for NIH. Such small increases are effectively funding cuts since these levels would not keep up with the cost of medical inflation.
Overall, this year’s federal budget is trimmed down, with Congress and the President committed to reducing the federal budget deficit. Most of the FY 2006 budget increases under consideration are dedicated to the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security. Other agencies, such as NIH, are facing a difficult time in securing additional funding.
This year’s NIH budget situation is exacerbated by the after-effects of the five-year effort that doubled the NIH budget between FYs 1998 and 2003. When the doubling project was completed in FY 2003, policymakers anticipated that the Bush Administration would curb its commitment to significant biomedical research funding increases. Moreover, many other officials in Washington, DC, feel that NIH received more than its share of a limited amount of discretionary dollars between FYs 1998-2003, and other programs are due to receive increases in lieu of more funding for NIH.
However, the reach of NIH funding provides biomedical research advocates like ASH with a unique opportunity. With NIH grant recipients located in most states and many Congressional districts, the chance to build nationwide grassroots support for increased NIH funding is achievable. The first step for ASH is to have its membership explain to their Members of Congress how vital NIH funding is to the medical research enterprise as well as how valuable NIH-sponsored research is to the health and well being of their constituents.
Your grassroots activism is only one part of ASH’s overall plan to advocate for increased FY 2006 NIH funding. The Society will continue to work with House and Senate medical research champions and our advocacy partners to ensure that the nation maintains a commitment to medical research.
More information about the Senate's deliberations on NIH funding, the House's recent actions on NIH, and the President's FY 2006 NIH budget proposal are available online.
Thank you for your interest and support.
