NIH boost passed in Senate

The US Senate passed its version of the economic stimulus legislation today (Feb. 10), and life science has faired well, according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). "For the science and engineering community, the two versions of the stimulus bill are a welcome acknowledgement that scientific research, often regarded as long-term and future-oriented, also has a role to play in short-term economic recovery," the AAAS wrote in an linkurl:analysis;http://www.aaas.or

Written byBob Grant
| 2 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
2:00
Share
The US Senate passed its version of the economic stimulus legislation today (Feb. 10), and life science has faired well, according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). "For the science and engineering community, the two versions of the stimulus bill are a welcome acknowledgement that scientific research, often regarded as long-term and future-oriented, also has a role to play in short-term economic recovery," the AAAS wrote in an linkurl:analysis;http://www.aaas.org/spp/rd/stim09s2.htm#tb of the legislation. The advocacy group estimated that the $838 billion Senate version of bill would give more than $10 billion to the National Institutes of Health, thanks to an amendment to the original Senate version proposed by Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) last week. The House version of the bill, which was passed last month, would provide only $3.9 billion in stimulus finding to the NIH, the same amount included in the original Senate version. If the Senate NIH budget bump were to survive full legislative haggling and make it onto President Obama's desk for signing, the NIH would be looking at an FY 2009 budget of approximately $40 billion. While Senators seemed to show a little stimulus love for NIH, physical sciences appeared to get a colder shoulder on the Senate floor. Senators agreed on cutting $200 million from the original National Science Foundation bump, and $100 million a piece from the proposed boosts to the Department of Energy's Office of Science and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Still, the Senate version of the bill would provide these three agencies with a combined $2 billion, putting NSF and NIST (but not DOE's Office of Science) on track for decadal budget doublings. Now legislators will thrash out the details of a final bill in conference, attempting to reconcile the House and Senate versions for the President to sign into law. This is traditionally a long and arduous process that in this case may be made even more daunting by significant differences between the two versions.
**__Related stories:__***linkurl:Senate OKs big NIH bump;http://www.the-scientist.com/blog/display/55398/
[4th February 2009]*linkurl:Bailing out life science;http://www.the-scientist.com/blog/display/55338/
[15th January 2009]
Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Meet the Author

  • From 2017 to 2022, Bob Grant was Editor in Chief of The Scientist, where he started in 2007 as a Staff Writer. Before joining the team, he worked as a reporter at Audubon and earned a master’s degree in science journalism from New York University. In his previous life, he pursued a career in science, getting a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology from Montana State University and a master’s degree in marine biology from the College of Charleston in South Carolina. Bob edited Reading Frames and other sections of the magazine.

    View Full Profile
Share
Image of a man in a laboratory looking frustrated with his failed experiment.
February 2026

A Stubborn Gene, a Failed Experiment, and a New Path

When experiments refuse to cooperate, you try again and again. For Rafael Najmanovich, the setbacks ultimately pushed him in a new direction.

View this Issue
Human-Relevant In Vitro Models Enable Predictive Drug Discovery

Advancing Drug Discovery with Complex Human In Vitro Models

Stemcell Technologies
Redefining Immunology Through Advanced Technologies

Redefining Immunology Through Advanced Technologies

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance in AAV Manufacturing with Analytical Ultracentrifugation

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance in AAV Manufacturing with Analytical Ultracentrifugation

Beckman Coulter logo
Conceptual multicolored vector image of cancer research, depicting various biomedical approaches to cancer therapy

Maximizing Cancer Research Model Systems

bioxcell

Products

Sino Biological Logo

Sino Biological Pioneers Life Sciences Innovation with High-Quality Bioreagents on Inside Business Today with Bill and Guiliana Rancic

Sino Biological Logo

Sino Biological Expands Research Reagent Portfolio to Support Global Nipah Virus Vaccine and Diagnostic Development

Beckman Coulter

Beckman Coulter Life Sciences Partners with Automata to Accelerate AI-Ready Laboratory Automation

Refeyn logo

Refeyn named in the Sunday Times 100 Tech list of the UK’s fastest-growing technology companies