President Releases FY 2014 Budget Plan
President Obama released his FY 2014 budget plan with ambitious increases for most biomedical research funding agencies.
113th Congress Brings Modest Changes to House and Senate
The 113th Congress will provide no major power shifts in Washington. Democrats gained a few seats in each chamber, and there are changes in the leaders and members of some key committees.
Congress Averts Fiscal Cliff with Last Minute Deal
On January 1, 2013, Congress passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (H.R. 8) with broad bipartisan support. Passage of this legislation prevents the country from going over the “fiscal cliff”, a term widely used to describe the effects of a set of tax increases and spending cuts that were scheduled to go into effect on January 2, 2013.
Update on FY 2013 Funding
As summer arrived, a bitterly divided Congress continued its work on legislation to fund the federal government in FY 2013 including the research budgets of the NIH, the NSF, NASA, and VA medical and prosthetic research.
Senate Panel Recommends $30.7 B for NIH; More Is Needed
The American Physiological Society applauds the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee for its continued support for medical research. Under the leadership of Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Richard Shelby (R-AL), the Subcommittee recommended $30.723 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for the fiscal year starting October 1 (FY 2013).
President Proposes Flat Budget for NIH, Increase for NSF
President Obama’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 budget recommendations announced February 13, 2012 include flat funding for the National Institutes of Health and a 4.8% increase for the National Science Foundation. Medical and Prosthetic Research at the Department of Veterans Affairs would be increased by 0.3%.
APS Comments on Managing NIH Resources
In response to a request for input from the NIH on how best to manage resources in fiscally challenging times, the APS submitted a response recommending that the NIH consider the long term consequences of any changes to funding policy and focus on maintaining success rates at a level of at least 30%. APS also recommended using a diversity of approaches to alleviating the funding crunch, and continuing to prioritize funding for early stage investigators. (PDF)
Congress Works to Rein in Federal Spending
The recently passed Budget Control Act will essentially freeze the budget at fiscal year 2011 levels for the next two years to allow the economy time to recover before imposing funding cuts.
Congress Finalizes FY 2012 Research Budgets
On December 17, 2011, Congress passed an omnibus spending bill containing fiscal year (FY) 2012 funding for most of the federal government, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and VA medical and prosthetic research.
APS Recommends $35 Billion for NIH in FY 2012
On May 10, 2011 the APS sent a letter to Members of Congress recommending that the NIH be funded at a level of $35 billion in fiscal year 2012. (PDF)
Congress Finalizes FY 2011 Budgets
On April 14, 2011, Congress passed a bill to fund federal programs and agencies for the remainder of the current fiscal year.
APS Leadership Visits Capitol Hill
On Tuesday, March 15, 2011 APS leadership met with several Congressional offices to discuss funding for biomedical research, the humane use of animals in research, and publications access.
Stimulus Legislation Contains Major Boost for Science
The NIH, NSF, VA,and NASA all receive additional funding under the provisions of the 2009 stimulus package.