In Brief
August Recess Kicks Off with NSF Up and NIH Down in Appropriations-palooza
The House and Senate officially went into the August recess period on July 28, but not before the Senate passed the Labor, Health and Human Services (LHHS) appropriations bill with a bipartisan vote of 26 to 2. The bill provides $47.8 billion—a $943 million increase in discretionary funding over fiscal year (FY) 2023—for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The bill also includes $1.5 billion for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). The Senate’s modest 2% increase is below the rate of biomedical inflation for FY24 but is generous when compared to the -6% cuts laid out by the House. The House proposal specifically targets three Institutes - NCI, NIGMS and NIAID are looking at further cuts in funding of -2.95%, 2.62% and a historic -22.86% respectively.
The Senate LHHS bill proposes one major change for NIH, which has bipartisan support, which would urge adoption of a new policy that would limit directors of NIH’s 27 institutes or centers to two 5-year terms. Senators supporting this change citing an ‘overall benefit to medical research by ensuring the periodic introduction of fresh perspectives.’
The House and Senate both agreed to give the National Science Foundation (NSF) more money - $9.63 billion and $9.5 billion, respectively – than many had expected given Republican demands to curtail overall federal spending. However, those numbers still fall short of the $9.88 billion NSF received in FY23 thanks to a one-time billion dollar increase from the CHIPS and Science Act. These numbers are also a far cry from the president’s request for a 15% boost, to $11.33 billion, much less the whopping $15.6 billion that the CHIPS act set as a FY24 target.
The House and Senate have until September 30 to reach agreement on the twelve appropriations bill, when the current fiscal year ends. If they fail to reach an agreement or pass a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government at current levels, the federal government will be facing a shutdown which would disrupt ongoing research efforts.
Register Now for the 2023 Rally for Medical Research
Register now and join the Biophysical Society (BPS), and more than 300 national STEM organizations and professionals, at the 2023 Rally for Medical Research in Washington, DC. The Rally, scheduled for September 13-14, is an opportunity to advocate for significant, long-term, sustainable funding increases for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). While the NIH has seen continued increases in funding since fiscal year (FY) 2016, the funding outlook for FY24 is much less promising for all federal agencies funding scientific research, but particularly for NIH.
BPS is calling on you, the researchers in the lab, to join us in Washington, DC on September 14 to urge Congress not to undo decades of investment into the NIH and essential basic and biomedical research. Register Now!
Applications Are Open for the Biophysical Society 2024–2025 Congressional Fellowship
Interested in using your science skills to inform science policy? Does spending a year working on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, helping develop policy sound exciting? The Biophysical Society’s Congressional Fellowship program (https://www.biophysics.org/policy-advocacy/congressional-fellowship) is your opportunity to participate directly in the process of law-making that impacts how research is funded and regulated. This year-long opportunity provides fellows a chance to utilize their science knowledge to inform the public policy process. Fellows will gain firsthand knowledge and experience on how Congress works, and participate in the esteemed AAAS Science and Technology Fellows program that provides ongoing training and networking opportunities during the fellowship year and beyond. Visit https://www.biophysics.org/policy-advocacy/congressional-fellowship for more details about the program or contact Leann Fox at [email protected] or (240) 290-5606. The application deadline is December 8, 2023.