NHC UPDATE
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Appropriations -March 2010
The budget and appropriations process for 2011 began on February 1 with the release to Congress of the Administration’s budget request.
President Obama had previously announced a budget freeze for discretionary spending, so it was expected that many health and research programs would receive little or no increase. However, in his presentation of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget proposal, Director Francis Collins, MD, noted that the agency was slated to receive an increase of $1 billion, or 3.2 percent above the 2010 level.
In addition to the NIH, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is another priority funding area for the NHC. It was also given a significant funding increase of 6 percent above 2010 levels, and potentially an increase of up to 30 percent, if additional user fees on tobacco, generic drugs and food inspections are put into place by Congress.
Unfortunately, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was only given a small increase of $100 million, and the Administration’s proposal calls for the removal of several budget lines at CDC that are important to NHC members.
The NHC has signed onto several letters of support for increased health appropriations for Fiscal Year 2011, including additional funds for NIH, CDC, FDA, and the Agency for Health Research and Quality (AHRQ). The NHC also continues to work with United for Medical Research (UMR) and all of the stakeholders to present a united community for long-term, sustained increases in health research budgets. UMR has published a booklet called “Investing in Recovery and Discovery” to highlight research that has been funded by the economic stimulus legislation passed last year.
Staff Contact: Kevin Cain, Assistant Vice President, Government Affairs and Programs
