The Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (L-HHS) Appropriations Subcommittee held a hearing on May 21 to examine the fiscal year (FY) 2027 budget request for the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Subcommittee Chair Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) opened by celebrating a bipartisan $415 million NIH funding increase in FY 2026, while Ranking Member Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) focused her opening remarks on concerns regarding multi-year funding policies. In response to concerns expressed by full Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) about the administration’s proposal to cap support for facilities and administrative expenses, NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, indicated that he intends to convene a committee of the NIH’s Advisory Committee to the Director to discuss opportunities to “delink” facilities support from research grants to institutions.
Key medical research topics discussed included type 1 and type 2 diabetes breakthroughs, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease initiatives, nonaddictive analgesics, long COVID treatments, health disparities, and youth behavioral addictions. Sen. Baldwin and full Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) also expressed concern about the reported resignation of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) director and the departure of other NIAID leaders as hantavirus and Ebola outbreaks progress.
- Washington Highlights