NIH Budget Tracks Doubling Goal

No one expects the events of Sept. 11-and the subsequent drains on the U.S. Treasury's surplus-to keep Congress from keeping its promise made in 1998 to double the National Institutes of Health budget by 2003. The proposed $22 billion-plus appropriation for Fiscal Year 2002 is close to the ensuing year's expected amount of about $26 billion. Congressional committee changes to President George W. Bush's NIH request prior to Sept. 11 have remained untouched. But the monies that Congress wants to

Written byChristine Bahls

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But the monies that Congress wants to spend on bioterrorism research and other security measures will come from the treasury's surplus, recently projected to drop from $237 billion to $127 billion. "Clearly," says Melissa Merson, communications director for the Congressional Budget Office, "a substantial amount of the surplus is being consumed. It's not unlikely that we will end up with a deficit for 2002."

So the question-and some say it's rhetorical-that could be asked is: what will happen after the NIH budget is doubled? Will the increases continue to keep pace with the commitments that the NIH has made to its grant recipients, in the face of a near-certain recession and surplus-less treasury? According to Bill Burton, spokesman for Sen. Tom Harkin, (D-Iowa) chairman of the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations subcommittee, right now, Harkin is focused on the 2002 allotment. "Where the 2003 numbers come from, ...

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