Statement of Research!America on President Biden’s FY24 Budget Proposal
Research!America appreciates the many positive aspects of President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) budget request (view budget chart); however, the proposed funding level for the National Institutes of Health runs counter to the best interests of our nation and the American people.
National Institutes of Health (NIH): The nominal (1.7%) increase proposed for NIH cannot be reconciled with the priority Americans rightfully assign to accelerating the pace and reach of medical and public health progress. A recent survey commissioned by Research!America found that a bipartisan majority (63%) support paying an additional $1 per week in taxes if they could be certain all the money would be spent on additional medical and health research.
“The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the multi-pronged significance of public and private sector-fueled medical progress. If the NIH is not equipped to rise to the challenge against threats as far-reaching as COVID-19, as prevalent as cardiovascular disease, and as tragic as rare childhood diseases, we as a nation will be gambling with the health, security, and prosperity of the American people for generations to come,” said Mary Woolley, Research!America president and CEO.
“Rather than tread water as health threats we can overcome rob Americans of health, hope, and time, our nation should escalate the priority of ending deadly and debilitating diseases and pursue research innovation with the urgency life-taking threats demand. We believe a 10% increase in the NIH budget, or $4.7 billion, is more than justified by the strategic significance, scientific opportunity, and needless suffering and loss these threats impose on us all,” said Woolley.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): We appreciate the priority the President has assigned to increasing the resources the CDC can deploy against the rapidly evolving spectrum of public health threats confronting Americans and populations across the globe. We hope that Congress builds on this starting point, working on a bipartisan basis to increase the CDC’s FY24 budget by at least the 25.6% the President has proposed.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA): Research!America strongly supports the President’s proposed FY24 increase of 11.9% for the FDA. It would be difficult to overstate the demands or significance of FDA’s role in assuring the quality, safety, and effectiveness of products bearing on the health and well-being of Americans and the global community.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): We applaud the President’s proposed 20% increase for AHRQ in FY24. The value of medical progress hinges on evidence-based health care: if Americans cannot access or are not well served by the health care system, medical progress cannot achieve better health or save lives. AHRQ plays an outsized role in addressing deadly and costly weaknesses in our health care system.
The proposed increase for AHRQ is consistent with bipartisan action in the last Congress to reverse years of under-funding by beginning to bolster AHRQ funding. We look forward to working with members of Congress from both sides of the aisle to ensure this rebuilding continues in FY24.
National Science Foundation (NSF): The budget request recommends an 18.6% increase for NSF in FY24. We are pleased to see the administration’s continued commitment to supporting science and technology (S&T). Ensuring that funding is in place to meet the goals and commitments of the landmark CHIPS and Science Act – among other S&T priorities – is essential to America’s economic and national security. Our survey found that more than 9 in 10 Americans say it is important for the U.S. to be a global leader in science and technology, but 77% of Americans are concerned China will surpass the U.S. as the world’s S&T leader.
“Robust investment in S&T through strong funding for NSF is one of the surest ways to accelerate American global competitiveness. It is also essential to help strengthen domestic supply chains for critical technology components and to build a robust talent pipeline for the STEM workforce necessary to drive the economy and American innovation for decades to come,” said Woolley.
Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H): ARPA-H was established in 2022 to fill a unique role in the public-private R&D ecosystem for health, pursuing big ideas that—when successful—mark major leaps in medical progress. We support the President’s proposed increase for ARPA-H, and, in addition, advocate for a 10% increase for NIH, the global leader in basic biomedical research and other critical research arenas.
We look forward to continuing to work with the President, his Administration, and Congress to recommit to ensuring that scientific, medical, and public health progress are accorded the top priority Americans expect and deserve.
Contact Tim Haynes, Senior Director of Communications, at 571-482-2737 or thaynes@researchamerica.org with press inquiries.