In the current, lame-duck session of Congress, an economic stimulus bill introduced yesterday (Nov 17) would give the National Institutes of Health a $1 billion boost for FY 2008.

The legislation and its billion-dollar-NIH-bump is being applauded by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, a biomedical research association, but no one involved, including the bills authors, holds out much hope for passage of the legislation before the end of the year.

The Reid/Byrd Economic Recovery Act of 2008, authored by Senators Robert Byrd (D-WV) and Harry Reid (D-NV), is the same that would give $25 billion to America's "big three" automakers, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler.

A spokesperson from Sen. Reid's office said that the Senate would probably vote on the bill tomorrow. "The likelihood is that it will be blocked, but who knows what will happen," a FASEB spokesperson told The Scientist. If the bill makes it onto the floor of the Senate tomorrow, it is thought that Republicans will delay a vote until the next Congressional session in January 2009.

(Correction 11/19: In the original version of this story, Harry Reid was mislabeled "(R-NV)." The mistake has been corrected, and The Scientist regrets the error.)