Senate Passes and President Signs FY2008 Supplemental Appropriations Bill 

On the evening of June 26, before adjourning for the Fourth of July recess, the Senate approved the $162 billion fiscal year 2008 (FY2008) emergency supplemental appropriations bill (H.R. 2646), passing the second amendment that consists of domestic spending by an overwhelming vote of 92 to 6. The Senate approved the domestic spending package a week after the House of Representatives gave its endorsement and after FASEB had thanked House leaders for including science funding therein. The Senate passage came after months of partisan wrangling and negotiations between House leaders and the White House and after all parties had reached an agreement on the substance of the bill about two weeks prior to the vote.

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Appropriations Committees Continue Markups

During the past few weeks, committees in the House of Representatives and the Senate have continued to mark up the fiscal year 2009 (FY2009) appropriations bills. While House Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-WI) said this week that the House will not consider any further FY2009 appropriations measures this year, the Senate is planning to complete its full committee markup of the twelve appropriations bills by the end of July before members leave for their month-long August recess. So far, the bills provide substantial funding increases for research at government agencies over last year.

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New FASEB President Richard Marchase, Ph.D. Describes Priorities for Upcoming Year

Richard B. Marchase, Ph.D. took office as the 93rd president of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) on July 1, 2008. Marchase serves as the Vice President for Research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and as a professor of cell biology. FASEB is a coalition of 21 member societies, which represents more than 80,000 biomedical research scientists worldwide.

On June 25, the Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF), of which FASEB is a member, held its Fourteenth Annual Exhibition and Reception in the House of Representatives. The exhibit, which FASEB co-sponsored and helped organize, was a huge success with an extremely large turnout. Over 400 people attended the event, including seven members of Congress. Representatives who participated in the event were: Judy Biggert (R-IL); Jim Moran (D-VA); Vern Ehlers (R-MI); Rush Holt (D-NJ); Ralph Hall (R-TX); Dennis Kucinich (D-OH); and David Price (D-NC).