The President's Budget:
On February 13, President Barack Obama released his budget recommendations to Congress. Unfortunately, the National Institutes of Health budget was frozen at $30.86 billion for FY13. This was a disappointing outcome for many in the advocacy community, as grant success rates are at an all-time low, and the NIH's purchasing power continues to decline. Research!America and others are recommending a funding level of at least $32 billion in FY13.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention received the most significant cut, totaling nearly $600 million, or 10%. The Food and Drug Administration's budget authority will remain relatively flat at $2.5 billion. FDA user and inspection fees are expected toincrease; however, these funds are meant to supplement, not supplant, the agency's appropriated funding. The National Science Foundation, however, received a significant increase of $370 million, or 5.3%, more than the previous year's budget level. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality was given a boost of $40 million, which amounts to an 11% increase. The budget request for NIH also includes significant funding for the National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NCATS) of $639 million, which is an 11% increase from FY12. New funding for Alzheimer's disease research is available in FY12, totaling $50 million; the FY13 budget recommends an additional $80 million for Alzheimer's research at NIH. While there is some positive news, the results for NIH, CDC and FDA are of serious concern. The benefits of investing in these agencies accrue not only to the health of Americans but to the strength of our economy. We cannot afford to tread water as other nations up their investment in business producing, job-creating R&D, norshould we stand down as serious health conditions grow in prevalence and costliness.Budgets are about priorities, and we must fight to ensure NIH, CDC and our nation's other health research agencies receive the resources they need to advance our nation's goals.Congress has already begun considering agency budgets for FY13, and appropriationshearings should be held starting in March and April. Contact your representatives in Congress and let them know that letting medical progress lag is not an acceptable option.