NIH REAUTHORIZATION BILL PASSES
The 109th Congress may have
passed more legislation in its last day than throughout all of
2006. One of the many measures that passed included the
National Institutes of Health Reform
Act of 2006 (HR 6164), which authorizes significant
funding increases for NIH in FY2007-FY2009, sets up a "common
fund" for trans NIH-research involving more than one Institute
or Center (IC), and expands reporting requirements.
More
Details >
INSIDE (The Beltway) SCOOP
- Jon Retzlaff,
Legislative Director
When Democratic
appropriations chairmen David Obey (D-WI) and Robert Byrd
(D-WV) announced that they would keep most government agencies
operating under their FY2006 budgets until next fall, it
seemed to eliminate any chance of halting the erosion in NIH's
budget that has been occurring since 2003. However, the
Democratic leaders may have provided an opening when they also
said that the final FY2007 spending bills would not include
any congressional earmarks, the targeted appropriations for
special projects in members' home districts. The savings
generated from these earmarks is expected to be in the range
of $8 billion. And, in fact, just within the
Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill, approximately $1
billion is currently reserved for earmarks.
More
Details >
|
