FY2008 APPROPRIATIONS BILLS

NIH: House Passes Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Bill

On July 19, 2007, the House of Representatives passed the FY2008 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Bill by a vote of 276-140. The bill provides NIH with a $750 million increase (an increase of 2.6%) in FY2008. However, the actual NIH program increase would be $549 million (a 1.9% increase) because the House would require that NIH transfer $201 million of its increase to the Global AIDS fund.

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DOE'S OFFICE OF SCIENCE FY2008 FUNDING LEVELS

Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science: House Passes Energy and Water Appropriations Bill
On July 18, 2007, the House of Representatives passed the FY2008 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill (H.R. 2641) by a vote of 312-112. The bill would provide the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science with an FY2008 appropriation of $4.516 billion, an increase of $717 million over it’s FY2007 funding level ($3.799 billion) and $116 million more than the President proposed for FY2008. This significant increase would amount to a nineteen percent increase over FY2007. The increase will allow DOE’s Office of Science to support 3,500 additional researchers and allow almost all of the science facilities to operate at maximum capacity. The President’s FY2008 request for DOE’s Office of Science was $4.4 billion.

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NSF FY2008 PROPOSED FUNDING LEVELS

National Science Foundation: House Appropriations Committee Passes Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Bill
On July 12, 2007, House Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Committee recommended that NSF receive a $593 million increase in FY2008, to $6.51 billion (a 10% increase). The House’s proposal is $80 million over the President’s FY2008 request ($6.429 million). The momentum for the proposed increase comes from the Innovation Agenda to keep America competitive in the global market.

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INSIDE (The Beltway) SCOOP
- Jon Retzlaff, Legislative Director

Despite the House’s successful efforts to complete action on the FY2008 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Bill, it is beginning to look like we will be facing another continuing resolution once October 1, 2007, arrives. With the Senate not showing any interest in taking up the FY2008 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Bill before the August recess, it would leave only the month of September to debate the bill on the Senate floor, conference it with the House and send the bill to the President. And, with the President already stating that he intends to veto the bill, the process could be significantly delayed if there are 146 Republicans willing to sustain the President’s veto.

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FASEB SUPPORTS RESEARCH!AMERICA’S YOUR CONGRESS-YOUR HEALTH INITIATIVE & ENCOURAGES YOU TO TAKE ACTION!

FASEB works with numerous organizations to ensure that our interest and support for science is well represented in the Halls of Congress. One organization that FASEB has enjoyed a long-standing working relationship with is Research!America. Research!America is currently undertaking an initiative to ask members of Congress to complete a questionnaire on where they stand on health issues. FASEB is proud to assist in their efforts to encourage Congressional Members to respond to the questionnaire.

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CLINICAL RESEARCH ADVOCACY TOOL

FASEB Releases Clinical Research Advocacy Tool
On July 12, 2007, FASEB launched a new advocacy resource, “Clinical Research: Bridging the Gap between Basic Science and Improved Human Health.” This PowerPoint presentation was created to assist clinical research advocates in conveying to the scientific and policy communities the excitement and significance of this area of investigation. The slides provide information on what clinical research is, why it is important, and how it is funded. They also describe the relationship between clinical and basic research and highlight some of the challenges facing the clinical research enterprise. FASEB hopes this resource will be of value to the clinical research community and to anyone with an interest in promoting biomedical science. To view this new resource, please visit: Clinical Research Advocacy Tool

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CONGRESSIONAL SCHEDULE

The House and Senate are in session.

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