Senate OKs $1 billion boost for NIH
| 28 July, 2010 | Adie Chan |
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Image: Revisorweb via Wikimedia Commons
A US Senate panel gave its seal of approval to a $1 billion bump in the National Institutes of Health’s 2011 budget yesterday (27th July). The Senate’s Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies echoed the sentiment of its House of Representatives counterpart by OKing the billion dollar bump, which would bring the NIH’s 2011 budget to about $32 billion — a 3.2% raise over the agency’s 2010 Congressional allotment. US President Barack Obama originally requested the amount this February, at the same time calling for increased drug development efforts in 2011.
The House and Senate versions of the bill containing the NIH boost now move on to the full appropriations committees in both bodies, where the details will get hashed out before being considered by the full legislature. According to ScienceInsider, a vote on the final bill is not expected until after this November’s midterm elections.
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[March 2010]
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[27th January 2010]
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While a $1B boost in the NIH budget is better than nothing, it is insignificant compared to the defense budget and the supplemental appropriations for the two wars. How will our current representatives in Congress be able to explain to us and our children that they were willing to put supporting two wars (that have not and will not improve the safety of the country) ahead of finding cures for diseases that are likely to afflict all of us? I would like to remind members of Congress that a very large percentage of biomedical scientists in this country cannot obtain funding from NIH to work on understanding and curing diseases. Diseases that are likely to afflict them and their children.
I am so glad the US Gov’t came to its senses. Why with its lab in Hamilton Montana protected by 1950’s era volunteer firemen, why now they can afford the 21st century protections needed to protect federal property and unsuspecting “post-docs” who thought they were working in the last best place, or best place, as per this magazine. The general population and US citizens surrounding and down river (read: Seattle, Portland) don’t matter. Its only us important research scientists, and government collaboating agencies like EPA, US Fire Administration, and of course NIH.
NIH will have certified mail stolen, NEPA directors ignore comments from public to cover this up. And, my training is in the sciences too…but not he microscopic hidden kind.