June 14, 2012
Today the Senate Appropriations Committee marked up the LHHS appropriations bill. The following is a UMR statement in response:
“At today’s Senate LHHS Appropriations Committee markup, Senator Moran (R-Kan) continued to show his dedication to research funding by offering an amendment to increase the NIH FY13 budget to $32 billion. A bold champion for biomedical research, we applaud Senator Moran for his unrelenting efforts to stop the erosion of NIH funding and improve our nation’s health and economic vitality.
“When factoring in inflation, the Senate Appropriations Committee’s proposed funding level represents a decrease in dollars and endangers an agency that faces historic cuts in January 2013 through the looming budget sequestration. This would mean a 7.8 percent cut in funding for the NIH, resulting in 30,000 fewer jobs across the U.S. and a $4.5 billion decrease in economic activity, according to a recent UMR report. Congress must act immediately to prevent the largest cuts in NIH history. Our nation’s health and economic wellbeing are at stake.”