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Contact Your Senators on NIH Funding Today!
This week the Senate is voting on the fiscal year (FY) 2006 Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Education (Labor-HHS) Appropriations Conference Report that was narrowly approved by the House late yesterday. Under the final and revised version, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) would receive $28.6 billion, an increase of 0.9 percent. If enacted, this would be the smallest increase for NIH since 1970. Please send the email below to your Senators to help encourage increased funding in the FY 2006 Labor-HHS Appropriations Conference Report. In addition, it is highly likely that Congress will conclude the legislative year by enacting an additional 1 percent across-the-board cut in all discretionary spending (including NIH). The net result would be a real cut in funding for the biomedical research portfolio at NIH. Moreover, combined with the expected medical inflation rate of 3.5 percent next year, 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. The medical research community’s final opportunity to influence the FY 2006 appropriations for NIH rests this week with the Senate. A vote is expected to take place this week. We encourage all ASH members to contact their two Senators immediately and encourage them to vote against the FY 2006 Labor-HHS Appropriations Conference Report. ASH is supporting an NIH budget of at least $29.4 billion for FY 2006, the same level approved by the Senate on October 27. 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. Please vote against the current version of the FY 2006 Labor-HHS Appropriations Conference Report that will come before the Senate later this week. I support an NIH budget of at least $29.4 billion for FY 2006, the same level approved by the Senate on October 27. 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 vote against the current version of the FY 2006 Labor-HHS Appropriations Conference Report and support an NIH budget of at least $29.4 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 November 17, the House of Representatives rejected the fiscal year (FY) 2006 Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Education (Labor-HHS) appropriations bill (HR 3010) by a 209-222 vote. The defeated bill provided NIH with an FY 2006 increase of $206 million, a boost of only 0.7 percent.
With the rejection of the Labor-HHS House-Senate Conference Committee agreement, the House reworked the bill and it was narrowly approved by the chamber on Wednesday, December 14. The bill comes before the Senate on Thursday, December 15 with a chance to be approved. For the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the revised bill includes $28.6 billion, an increase of 0.9 percent. ASH is supporting an NIH budget of at least $29.4 billion for FY 2006, the same level approved by the Senate on October 27.
In the October 27 vote, the Senate bill provided $29.42 billion for NIH, 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 Senate provides a slight increase for next year.
The House of Representatives approved FY 2006 appropriations legislation for NIH and other HHS agencies (HR 3010) on June 24. The House version of the bill provided $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.
With the FY 2006 appropriations process near completion, time is running out to increase NIH funding for next year.
FY 2006 funding is extremely tight as Congress is under pressure to cut spending in other discretionary spending areas such as NIH. This year’s NIH budget situation is also 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 Labor-HHS House-Senate Conference Committee, Senate's deliberations on NIH funding, the House's actions on NIH, and the President's FY 2006 NIH budget proposal are available online.
Thank you for your interest and support.
