NHC UPDATE
<< Return to September 2009 Council Currents
Appropriations -September 2009
Both the House and Senate appropriations committees have moved quickly this year to complete their work before the end of the fiscal year. The Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill has been passed out of committee in the Senate and has already passed the full House. The Senate is expected to schedule a floor vote soon.
In the House, the NIH was funded at $31.3 billion, an increase of $942 million from FY 2009 and $500 million above the President’s request. The Senate bill funds NIH at $30.8 billion, an increase of $442 million from FY 2009 and equal to the President’s request.
The NHC has signed onto several letters of support for increased health appropriations for Fiscal Year 2010, including additional funds for NIH, Centers for Disease Control, and the Food and Drug Administration. 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 officially launched its new website at http://www.unitedformedicalresearch.com/.
In August, NHC President Myrl Weinberg met with Rob Nabors, Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget, to discuss funding for NIH in FY 2011 and beyond. Also participating in the meeting were Darrell Kirch, President of the Association of American Medical Colleges; Mark Lively, President of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology; and Howard Garrison, Deputy Executive Director of Public Affairs of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. See Council Currents article on OMB for more information about the meeting.
At present, Congress is on schedule to move all of the appropriations bills before the end of the fiscal year, which is September 30.
Staff Contact: Kevin Cain, Assistant Vice President, Government Affairs and Programs
