Labor-HHS
Appropriation FY 2009
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Related ResourcesAAMC Documents
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Current StatusOn February
4, President Bush sent his Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 budget to Congress. The $3.1
trillion spending plan proposes to increase discretionary spending (i.e., programs
that receive funding through annual appropriations legislation) by $46.2 billion
(4.9 percent) over FY 2008. But, as in the past several years, the Administration
would direct almost all of this increase toward "security funding,"
proposing $594.5 billion for defense, homeland security, and international affairs,
an increase of $44.9 billion (8.2 percent) over FY 2008. All other discretionary
programs would receive $393 billion, an increase of $1.3 billion (0.3 percent).
The Department of Health and Human Services would be cut by $2.2 billion (3.1
percent) to $68.5 billion while the Department of Veterans Affairs is slated for
a $5.3 billion (13.5 percent) increase. National Institutes of Health:
The President's budget requests $29.230 billion in discretionary budget authority
for NIH through the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations, which freezes the agency's
budget at the FY 2008 appropriation level. The budget also assumes $78 million
though the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee for the transfer from the Superfund
to the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), $150 million
in mandatory appropriations for type I diabetes, and $8 million in evaluation
funds for the National Library of Medicine (NLM), for a program level of $29.465
billion, the same as in FY 2008. In addition, the budget proposes to transfer
$300 million from NIH to the Global Fund for HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
This is an increase of $5 million over the FY 2008 transfer. According to
the agency's Congressional Justification, the President's budget would support
9,757 new and competing renewal research project grants (RPGs), a decrease of
14 from FY 2008, and a total of 36,526 RPGs, an increase of 17 over last year.
The budget proposes again to eliminate inflationary increases for RPGs. While
the budget assumes no inflationary increases are provided for direct, recurring
costs in non-competing RPGs, increases will be provided where NIH has committed
to a programmatic increase in an award. The average cost of competing RPGs will
remain at the FY 2008 level. The President's budget proposes to increase
support for research centers to $2.963 billion, a 0.7 percent increase above the
FY 2008 level, to provide program growth for the Clinical and Translational Science
Awards (CTSAs). For training, the budget proposes modest stipend increases
of 1 percent for both pre- and post-doctoral fellows. Pre-doctoral fellows, who
currently receive $20,772, have not seen a stipend increase since FY 2004. Post-doctoral
fellows, who begin at $36,996, have not seen a stipend increase since FY 2006
(for 0 to 1 year of experience only). The budget would support 17,586 Full-Time
Training Positions (FTTPs), an increase of 17 FTTPs over the FY 2008 level. The
budget once again proposes to reduce the cap on salaries on extramural grants
to Executive Level II ($172,200 in 2008). Extramural salaries are currently capped
at Executive Level I ($191,300 in 2008). Health Professions: The
President's budget eliminates funding for all Title VII health professions programs
($194 million). For Title VIII nursing education programs, the President proposes
$110 million, a $46 million (30 percent) cut. Health Professions Student
Loans: The President's budget request proposes a rescission of the "Federal
portion of all the liquid assets" of the Health Professions Student Loan
(HPSL), Primary Care Loan (PCL), Loans for Disadvantaged Students (LDS), and Nursing
Student Loan (NSL). This rescission would require participating institutions to
return the Federal capital contribution of revolving funds that have not yet been
dedicated to students. The Federal capital contribution amounts to roughly 8/9ths
of the institution's cash-on-hand, or as much as $4 million from participating
institutions. The Administration estimates this proposal will recall over $100
million from the student loan programs. The President proposed this rescission
in FY 2008, but the FY 2008 omnibus appropriations included a smaller, $15 million-rescission
from the Title VII loan programs. National Health Service Corps:
The President's budget request includes a total of $121 million for the National
Health Service Corps (NHSC), a $3 million (2.4 percent) decrease from the FY 2008
omnibus appropriations. The NHSC Recruitment allocation, which provides funding
for the NHSC Scholarship and Loan Repayment Program awards, would be increased
$11 million (13.1 percent) to $95 million. The budget proposes to decrease the
NHSC Field allocation, which provides funding for recruitment and retention administrative
functions, by $14 million (35 percent) to $26 million. Children's Graduate
Medical Education: The President's budget eliminates funding for the Children's
Graduate Medical Education, which was funded at $302 million in FY 2008. Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality: The President's budget requests $325.7
million for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), an $8.9 million
(2.7 percent) reduction. This request includes $30 million for comparative effectiveness
research, as provided in FY 2008, and $32.1 million for patient safety research,
a $2.1 million (6.1 percent) cut. As provided in FY 2008, the President requests
$44.8 million for health information technology. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention: The President's budget proposes $5.691 billion for
CDC, a cut of $685 million (10.7 percent). The budget request maintains funding
for public health research at $31 million and proposes $125 million, an $11 million
(9.6 percent) increase, for the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).
NCHS is funded primarily through transfers from other Public Health Service agencies.
Bioterrorism and Emergency Preparedness: The President's budget
proposes $811 million within the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund
(PHSSEF) for bioterrorism and emergency preparedness, a $156 million (24 percent)
increase over FY 2008. The PHSSEF figure includes $776 million, a $143 million
(22.6 percent) increase, for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness
and Response (ASPR), the coordinating hub for HHS bioterrorism and preparedness
activities. Within the ASPR total, the President's budget recommends increasing
funding for advanced research and development of medical countermeasures by $148
million (145 percent) to $250 million and provides $22 million for Project BioShield,
a $1 million (4.8 percent) increase. The ASPR total also directs $362 million
for the Hospital Preparedness program, a $62 million (14.7 percent) cut. Within
NIH, the President's budget proposes $1.7 billion for biodefense activities, a
$20 million (1.2 percent) increase. This figure includes a $113 million for research
on medical countermeasures against weapons of mass destruction, a $19 million
(20 percent) increase. National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation
Research: The President's budget proposes $106 million, equal to the FY 2008
appropriated level. Education: The President's budget eliminates
the Perkins loan forgiveness program for a total savings of $65 million. The budget
also eliminates $1.1 billion in new Perkins federal capital contributions. The
President's budget also proposes legislative changes to programs created under
the College Cost Reduction and Access Act. In particular, the budget would limit
eligibility for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program to loans disbursed
after July 1, 2009, instead of the statutory July 1, 2007, for a total savings
of $1.464 billion. Additionally, the budget would eliminate a provision of the
new Income-Based Repayment (IBR) program that requires the Secretary to pay interest
that accrues on subsidized loans for the first 3 years of participation in IBR.
The budget estimates this change would save approximately $457 million. ContactsDave Moore, Senior Associate Vice President
AAMC Government Relations
dbmoore@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
Matthew Shick, Legislative Analyst
AAMC Government Relations
mshick@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
Tannaz Rasouli, Legislative Analyst
AAMC Government Relations
trasouli@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525 Abigail Schopick, Legislative Analyst
AAMC Government Relations
aschopick@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
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