House Negotiations on FY 2009 NIH Funding Stall —
Senate Appropriations Committee Approves 3.5% Increase

On June 26, House Appropriations Committee discussions on FY 2009 funding for Labor-Health and Human Services (HHS)-Education programs stalled due to disagreements on unrelated issues regarding rising oil prices. In the meantime, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved its version of the FY 2009 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill, which would provide $30.255 billion for the NIH, an increase of $1.025 billion (3.5%) over the FY 2008 level.

The House bill that had been under consideration by the full appropriations committee proposes $30.380 billion for NIH, an increase of $1.150 billion (3.9%) over FY 2008 and an additional $125 million than the Senate version.

The bill also provides the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) with a $40.4 million (12.1%) increase over FY 2008 and $50 million designated for clinical effectiveness research, a $20 million (66.7%) increase.