Given the sorry state of the economy and the huge federal deficit, scientists as well as members of Congress are praising the president's proposed $8.78 billion NIH budget as a step in the right direction. But agency officials say it's not large enough to allow them to fund at least 6,000 new grants each year, a goal that Congress has urged NIH to adopt and that many researchers feel is vital to the continued health of academic biomedical science (The Scientist, Sept. 3, 1990, page 1; and Jan. 7, 1991, page 6). During the past decade, NIH has stretched its research dollar by levying across-the-board cuts, called downward negotiations, on grants already approved for funding. Each year the average percentage cut has risen, reaching nearly 15 percent last year. At that point, Congress issued a call to stop this practice.
NIH officials have complied. From now on, says acting NIH ...
