In Brief
Congress Agrees to Deal to Avert Shutdown
Late Wednesday afternoon, Congressional leadership agreed on a deal to fund six of the 12 annual spending bills and extend the deadline for the rest until March 22. This tentative agreement should help the government avert a shutdown scenario. The six bills included in the agreement Agriculture-FDA, Energy-Water, Military Construction-VA, Transportation-HUD, Interior-Environment, and Commerce-Justice-Science bills. The House of Representatives voted earlier today to support the short-term extension, with the Senate vote expected later this evening The full language is expected to be released over the weekend and passed early next week. The remaining six bills, including Labor, Health and Human Services – which includes the National Institutes of Health, will need a bit more cooperation amongst members to reach an agreement. President Joe Biden is now on schedule to deliver his State of the Union address on March 7 without the threat of a shutdown on the horizon and then release his fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget on March 11.
Bertagnolli Faces Uphill Battle for FY24
With a laddered continuing resolution (CR) expiration date of March 22 just around the proverbial corner, NIH Director Dr. Monica Bertagnolli staring down an uncomfortably tight FY24 budget that could force a reduction in grants at American research universities. The Republican-controlled House has proposed an 8%, $3.8 billion budget cut to the $48 billion NIH got last year, while the Democrat-controlled Senate wants to keep the agency's funding almost flat, offering a meager $265 million increase. Regardless of the form it takes, a budget cut or flat funding, would also mark a major change in direction for the agency. While Bertagnolli is adamant on putting as much money as possible into funding biomedical research, grant funding for FY24 will be under significant strain to work within proposed budget allocations this year.
Senate Republicans Set to Battle for Leadership Post
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) quietly announced his intention to resign his leadership position effective November 2024. It took less than 24 hours for two candidates to emerge for the top Republican spot: with Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) announcing his bona-fides in past high-profile positions and Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD) making his candidacy known shortly thereafter. While it is expected that GOP Conference Chair John Barrasso (R-WY) will also be throwing his hat into the ring at some point in the coming days. Given the timeframe until the election, more candidates may also emerge within the divided conference who have struggled to show any unity on major initiatives this congress.