NIH FISCAL 2007 SPENDING BILL FALLS SHORT OF R&D INFLATION, EMERGING TECHNOLOGY COSTS, GROUPS SAY

Biomedical research groups are disappointed in a Senate-approved NIH funding bill they say fails to cover inflation and new technology costs.

The Senate Appropriations Committee July 20 approved a fiscal 2007 bill that includes nearly $64 billion for HHS discretionary programs. The funding falls short of what biomedical researchers feel is adequate. The House approved its fiscal 2007 bill, H.R. 5647, June 13.

"The funding levels in both bills fail to keep pace with biomedical research inflation, and will not support the kind of groundbreaking research necessary to bring hope to the millions of Americans who suffer from heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases," Raymond Gibbons, president of the American Heart Association, said July 18.

"In general, we're disappointed with the Senate bill, but it is not unexpected given the allocation" the subcommittee had to work with, said David Moore, senior associate vice president for governmental relations with the Association of American Medical Colleges.

Under the Senate bill, the NIH receives an increase of $220 million over fiscal 2006, for a total of $29.5 billion.

"The biomedical research community was advocating an increase of 5 percent, or roughly 1.4 billion," said Moore. That figure reflects the "biomedical R&D price index projected at 3.8 percent in 2007," representing research cost inflation, while "the remaining percentage would [have gone] to cover emerging scientific opportunities."

In a recent Boston Globe editorial, New England Council President and CEO James Brett also supported a 5 percent NIH budget increase, saying a smaller funding increase will have a "detrimental impact on regional economies."