Senate Panel Completes NIH
Doubling
July 19, 2002 - The Senate Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations
Committee July 18 approved an FY 2003 spending bill that completes
the doubling of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget
in five years and provides substantial growth for education
programs. Overall, the bill appropriates $136.6 billion -
a 7 percent increase over last year - in discretionary funding
for the departments of Health and Human Services, Education,
and Labor.
The Committee's bill provides a $3.7 billion increase for
NIH, bringing the total budget to $27.2 billion. Included
in that total is $125 million for extramural facilities construction
within the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR),
an increase of $15 million (13.6 percent) over FY 2002 funding,
and $48 million (62.3 percent) higher than the President's
request. The bill also retains the extramural salary cap at
Executive Level I.
The bill provides $263 million for Title VII and VIII health
professions programs, a $153.5 million (140 percent) increase
over the president's FY 2003 proposal but $125 million (32
percent) below FY 2002 funding. Included in this total is
$160 million for the Title VII programs; however funding is
not listed by individual line item. This is $149 million more
than the $11 million included in the president's budget for
Title VII programs, but $135.2 million (45.8 percent) below
last year's level. The Title VIII nursing programs are allotted
$103 million, an increase of $4.5 million (4.5 percent) over
the president's request and $10.3 million (11 percent) higher
than last year's level. This amount includes $15 million for
the nurse education loan repayment program.
For the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ),
the bill provides $308.6 million, which is a $8.3 million
(2.8 percent) increase over FY 2002 and $56.9 million more
than the President's budget. This includes a $5 million set-aside
for bioterrorism and $5 million for patient safety. The bill
also eliminates the proposed $10 million transfer from AHRQ
to the Census. In this bill, AHRQ would be completely funded
with budget authority.
The Committee's mark provided $189.4 million for the National
Health Service Corps, an increase of $43.9 million (30.2 percent)
over the current year and the same level as recommended by
the President. The Labor-HHS Subcommittee's mark, approved
on July 16, included $4.24 billion for the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), a decrease of $59.7 million
(1.4 percent) over FY 2002, but $369.1 million (9.5 percent)
higher than the President's request. Additional funding was
reportedly provided for CDC as part of a manager's amendment
at the full Committee; however, at press time, no specific
details were available.
The earlier than anticipated mark-up is part of a push by
Senate Appropriations Chair Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) to have
all 13
appropriations bills through his committee by the start of
the August congressional recess.
Sources close to the House Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations
Subcommittee report it is unlikely that subcommittee will
consider its version of the bill until September. The House
subcommittee is hampered by an allocation that is nearly $5
billion less than the Senate's cap.
Dave Moore, Senior Associate Vice President
AAMC Government Relations
dbmoore@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
Jonathan Fishburn, Director, Research, Education and Veterans' Legislative Affairs
AAMC Office of Governmental Relations
jfishburn@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
Erica Froyd, Director, Public Health and Research Legislative Affairs
AAMC Office of Governmental Relations
efroyd@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
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