National
Institutes of Health FY 2008 Funding
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Related ResourcesAAMC Documents | |
Current StatusOn December
26, 2007, President Bush signed the "Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008"
[P.L. 110-161], which provides NIH with an appropriation of $29.229 billion, an
increase of $329 million (1.1 percent) over FY 2007. The final appropriation also
includes a $196 million increase from 2007 to 2008 in the transfer from NIH to
the Global HIV/AIDS Fund, which results in a program level for NIH of $28.942
billion, an increase of $133 million (0.46 percent) over FY 2007. AAMC
Action In a December 18 statement,
AAMC President Darrell G. Kirch, M.D., noted "The AAMC is particularly frustrated
with this outcome for the NIH, given that members from both sides of the aisle
in the House and Senate approved a conference agreement in early November that
provided a $900 million (3.1 percent) increase for the NIH. Despite this strong
bipartisan support, the White House's insistence on an unrealistic spending cap
has resulted in what is essentially a freeze on all domestic spending." Following
the President's November 13 veto of the FY 2008 Labor-HHS appropriations bill,
AAMC President Darrell G. Kirch, M.D., issued a statement
calling for the Congress to override the veto and sent a letter
on November 14 to all Members of the House of Representatives urging them to vote
to override the veto. The AAMC signed an October 18 letter
with 850 health, education and labor groups urging the Senate to pass the S. 1710. The
AAMC signed a July 17 letter
urging the House to pass H.R. 3043, joining nearly 1,100 education, training,
disability, public health, health and biomedical research, aging and child welfare
organizations, elected officials, and labor unions representing the full range
of stakeholders for the programs of the Departments of Education, Health and Human
Services and Labor bill. The AAMC supported the recommendation of the Ad
Hoc Group for Medical Research, which calls for a 6.7 percent increase in each
of the next three years (FYs 2008-2010). The first installment of this request
called for an increase of $1.9 billion for a total of $30.8 billion in FY 2008. Congressional
Activity
Congress completed action on December 19 on a $555 billion
omnibus FY 2008 spending package when the House approved the measure 272-142,
sending it to the President. The House initially passed the "Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2008" on December 17 as an amendment to the State-Foreign
Operations appropriations bill (H.R.
2764). This was done so that the Senate could further amend the omnibus bill
to provide additional Iraq funding. The Senate passed the measure 76-17 on December
18, sending it back to the House for final approval of the additional war spending.
For programs funded under the Labor-HHS-Education bill (Division G), the
omnibus provides $144.8 billion in discretionary spending for FY 2008, an increase
of $316 million (0.2 percent) over the FY 2007 funding level, but $5.8 billion
less than in the Labor-HHS conference agreement the President vetoed on November
13. Most of the programs in the Labor-HHS portion of the omnibus were subject
to a 1.747 percent across-the-board cut to meet the President's spending limit.
For NIH, the omnibus provides an appropriation of $29.229 billion, an increase
of $329 million (1.1 percent) over FY 2007. The omnibus also includes a $196 million
increase from 2007 to 2008 in the transfer from NIH to the Global HIV/AIDS Fund,
which results in a program level for NIH of $28.942 billion, an increase of $133
million (0.46 percent) over FY 2007. The House of Representatives November
15 failed to override President Bush's veto of the FY 2008 Labor-HHS-Education
Appropriations bill (H.R.
3043). The 277-141 tally fell 2 votes short of the two-thirds majority needed
to override the veto. A total of 51 Republicans voted to override; no Democrat
voted to sustain the veto. The conference agreement on H.R. 3043 was sent
to the White House November 8 after the House approved it by a vote of 274-141.
A total of 51 Republicans voted for the measure; no Democrat opposed it. The House
had earlier passed the conference report on H.R. 3043 when it included both the
FY 2008 Labor-HHS-Education and Military Construction-Veterans Affairs spending
bills. Democratic congressional leaders had combined the two bills to force the
Administration to agree to approximately $10 billion in additional funds above
the President's request in the Labor-HHS bill. The Senate November 7 considered
the combined Labor-HHS and MilCon-VA spending package. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
(R-Texas) offered the point of order against the package, and the Senate failed
(47-46) to approve a motion by Senate Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee
Chair Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) to waive the point of order. After the MilCon-VA funding
was stripped from the package, the Senate then voted 55-37 to approve the Labor-HHS
conference agreement and send it back to the House for final approval. The
House of Representatives initially passed the FY 2008 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations
bill (H.R. 3043) on July 18 by a vote of 276 to 140. A total of 53 Republicans
voted for the bill; the only Democrat to vote no was Rep. Melissa Bean (Ill.).
The House Appropriations Committee approved H.R. 3043 on July 11 and filed the
committee report (H. Rpt. 110-231) on July 13. The Senate approved its
version of the FY 2008 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill (S. 1710; S. Rpt.
110-107) on October 22. The bill was approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee
on June 21 and the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee on June 19.
Administration Activity On December 26, 2007, President Bush
signed the "Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008" [P.L. 110-161], which
provides NIH with an appropriation of $29.229 billion, an increase of $329 million
(1.1 percent) over FY 2007. The President vetoed the conference agreement
on H.R. 3043 on November 13. In his message returning the bill to the House of
Representatives, the President stated, "This bill spends too much. It exceeds
the reasonable and responsible levels for discretionary spending that I proposed
to balance the budget by 2012. The Congress is on a path to spend $205 billion
more over the next 5 years than I requested. This puts a balanced budget in jeopardy
and risks future tax increases." Noting that the bill includes nearly $10
billion more than he had requested, the President said, "Health care, education,
job training, and other goals can be achieved Contacts
| Dave Moore, Senior Associate Vice President
AAMC Government Relations
dbmoore@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525 |
Tannaz Rasouli, Legislative Analyst
AAMC Government Relations
trasouli@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525 | | 
