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Congress is continuing the process of drafting the bills that will fund federal departments, agencies, and programs for fiscal year (FY) 2008 and your Senators and Member of Congress need to hear from you about funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Your efforts are crucial to help influence increased funding for NIH next year!
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 full House Appropriations Committee is tentatively scheduled to consider the FY 2008 Labor-HHS funding bill the week of July 9.
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.
It is important to note that both the Senate and the House proposed funding levels for NIH in FY 2008 essentially represent a cut in NIH funding since the small increases provided do not keep pace with the projected 3.7 percent increase in biomedical inflation for 2008.
With the debate still pending in Congress, now is the time to contact your Senators and Member of Congress to strengthen their support for FY 2008 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 and Member of Congress will make a difference.
If you have any questions, or need additional information, please contact ASH Research Advocacy Manager Tracy Becker at tbecker@hematology.org or (202) 776-0544.
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