**Update - March 16th, 2006**

With a vote of 51-49, the Senate passed a $2.8 trillion 2006 budget resolution that includes $7 billion for health and education. The Specter/Harkin Amendment adds $7 billion discretionary spending to programs of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, Education, and Related Agencies, restoring funding to FY2005 levels. While it's still not enough - it is a great start! Contact your representative today to make sure that this budget passes in the House!

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) predict that in the near future, doctors will have the ability to identify life-threatening diseases years before they strike and that new treatments for cancer, heart disease, and diabetes are just years away from discovery. These breakthroughs will reduce suffering and allow people to live healthier, longer lives. The ability to predict and intervene in the cycles of disease will not only impact countless people but will ultimately reduce long-term health costs for our aging society. Unfortunately, the current NIH budgetary crunch will severely limit the enormous potential to achieve these medical advances and improve the quality of life of all Americans.

A Budgetary Blow for NIH

This past December, President Bush signed the FY2006 Labor, HHS, Education Appropriations Bill into law, allocating only $28.6 billion to the NIH - a less than 1% increase over 2005 funding levels. At nearly 3% below the inflation rate for medical research, the appropriation essentially amounts to a funding cut.

Between 1999 and 2003 a 15% increase to the NIH budget heroically aimed at doubling NIH funding. Tragically, these levels fell to an increase of only 3.2 % in 2004 and 2% in 2005. This year’s funding “increase” is the lowest percentage increase since 1970, and the first time the budget has lagged behind inflation since the early 1980’s.

Of the 27 NIH institutes, the greatest portions of the appropriations were allocated to the National Cancer Institute at $4.84 billion, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at $4.45 billion, funding levels which are approximately equivalent to 2005 appropriations. Because of a 1% across-the-board cut in discretionary spending, the NIH budget will actually be smaller than in FY2005.

Support in Congress

Congressional proponents of NIH’s commitment to medical research have lobbied for a continued double investment in the agency. In a statement to his constituents, Senator Arlen Specter of PA wrote that he “…firmly believe[s] that the NIH is the crown jewel of the Federal Government, and substantial investment in the NIH is crucial for the continuation of breakthrough research into the next decade.”

In the recent battle over the appropriations bill this fall, the Senate allocated $29.4 billion for NIH, an increase of $905 million over the President’s budget request. The Senate instructed its conferees to seek additional NIH funding specifically for medical research. The House rejected the conference report in November and later approved a revised report, which appropriated a slight increase over the President’s budget.

NIH Medical Advances

Recent accomplishments in medical research aptly illustrate the vital importance of continued investment in the research priorities of NIH. In 2005, NIH-funded biomedical scientists achieved notable advances in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of some of the most dreaded and deadly diseases including:

• Cancer: A new immunotherapy uses the patient’s own white blood cells to shrink melanoma tumors. Cells are removed from the patient, “re-educated” to attack tumors, and then reintroduced to boost the immune system.
• Alzheimer’s Disease: A recent study showed that long-term physical activity enhanced the learning ability of mice and decreased the level of the plaque found in the brain and believed to be linked to the disease. Continued studies will explore whether or not physical activity has the same positive effect in humans.
• Blindness: Research teams found a gene that apparently increases the likelihood (up to seven times) of developing age-related macular degeneration, a common cause of vision loss and blindness in the elderly.
• Parkinson’s Disease: A mutation in a recently discovered gene is now known to be the most common genetic cause of Parkinson’s. A genetic test could be developed to detect this mutation in individuals at risk for the disease.

In addition to these groundbreaking advances, NIH began a new exciting initiative in 2003, the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research that aims to accelerate research and translate scientific results into treatments and cures. However, without ambitious funding that will further advance findings, support exciting initiatives like the NIH Roadmap, and encourage future scientific endeavors, many of our hopes for the future of public health will be dashed. Our highly trained scientists must receive NIH support and funding so that they can continue to address the nation’s biomedical research needs.

A Look Ahead

Now is the time to increase funding allocations for NIH as the oldest of the Baby Boomers reach age 60. This massive generation will place a devastating burden on the medical system. Health care spending is expected to exceed $3 trillion in the next decade, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, with nearly $100 million projected in hospital costs per year.

Lawmakers must be convinced that a substantial investment in NIH is mandatory if our society is to benefit from revolutionary scientific advances that reduce the economic burden and personal suffering associated with disease. The research that NIH conducts and supports today will be the basis for countless future advances in science and improvements in health tomorrow.