On February 25 NIH reversed a decision, made January 21, that took between 4 and nearly 20 percent from each grant to make sure the agency did not run out of money before the end of the fiscal year September 30. The Reagan administration has proposed that $334 million of NIH's $6.2 billion budget for this year be held until next year, although Congress is unlikely to go along with such a reduction. NIH Deputy Director William Raub said that congressional approval later this spring would require grants awarded in the final quarter of the year to be cut by "as much as 40 percent."
Biomedical and university groups last month threatened to sue the administration on the grounds that the plan violated the will of Congress. But James Miller, director of the Office of Management and Budget, signaled the administration's retreat February 24 in a letter to Health and ...
