The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will receive $32 billion from the omnibus appropriations bill, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies Roy Blunt (R-MO) announced on Wednesday.
“In a tight fiscal environment, we have to ensure that every dollar we spend reflects the priorities of the American people,” Blunt said. “In my view, there is no greater priority than to help every American live a longer, healthier life. This bill does that by increasing funding for NIH, and prioritizing funding for key investments while eliminating more than a dozen ineffective or duplicative programs throughout the bill.”
The $32 billion total marks a $2 billion increase from last year’s funding level thanks to Blunt’s backing during the Senate committee-passed appropriations bill earlier in the year. It is the largest increase NIH has received in the Labor/HHS bill in more than a decade.
“Over the past decade, NIH’s purchasing power has decreased by more than 20 percent, slowing research efforts and advances toward treatments for more than 6,000 incurable diseases,” Blunt said. “I have been proud to lead efforts to increase funding for NIH, and am glad that the omnibus maintains the $2 billion increase we passed in the committee earlier this year. I will continue working to ensure NIH has the resources necessary to address our nation’s health challenges, spur medical innovation, increase U.S. competitiveness, and lower healthcare costs, while ensuring that every taxpayer dollar we spend goes toward advancing these priorities.”
The Labor/HHS bill, in addition to the NIH increase, is focused on increasing the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of government. It eliminates 18 programs while also reducing waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars.