Today on Capitol Hill, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius caught a little guff from Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Arlen Specter (D-PA) about the paltry increase -- just about $442 million -- that HHS is proposing for the National Institutes of Health's 2010 budget. "I would urge you to take another look at that figure," Specter said to Sebelius at a Senate subcommittee linkurl:hearing.;http://www.senate.gov/fplayers/CommPlayer/commFlashPlayer.cfm?fn=appropsA060909p&st=35 "We are in jeopardy of losing a generation of young research scientists. And I think we have to maintain the growth rate." Sebelius responded that, in terms of keeping the NIH's funding healthy, she too wants to "make sure we don't reach a cliff and fall off the edge of the cliff." "I share the concern that we continue to invest in science and research," Sebelius said. But she maintained that the $10 billion that NIH scored in the stimulus bill would...

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