Inadequate and unpredictable funding for NIH over the past several years has jeopardized the agency’s ability to sustain the momentum of discovery. Since FY 2003, NIH has lost more than 14 percent of its purchasing power due to federal funding lagging behind the rate of biomedical inflation. The $10 billion provided for NIH in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was a needed first step to reverse the agency’s budget trends and to rebuild the vitality of NIH. The next step is to build on this investment through predictable and sustained long-term growth in NIH funding in the FY 2010 budget and beyond.

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.