On February 6, 2006, the President submitted his budget to Congress for fiscal year (FY) 2007. Included in the proposed spending plan is funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), medical research at the VA, and human systems research at NASA. This year the administration chose to focus on the physical sciences, and provided substantial increases for research at the NSF, the Office of Science at the Department of Energy, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. In contrast, biomedical research at the NIH, VA and NASA did not fare as well. The dismal funding situation in part reflects broad economic influences that have stressed the federal budget, including the war in Iraq and the cost of Gulf Coast restoration. Also affecting the budget situation is an attitude in Washington that biomedical research was “taken care of” with the doubling of the NIH budget, and it is now time to focus on the physical sciences. The President’s proposed spending plan now goes to Congress, where funding levels are reexamined and subject to change. See below for details on each agency’s budget.
NIH
Following last year’s budget cut (the first since 1970), the administration’s spending plan would hold NIH funding flat at $28.6 billion in FY 2007. If Congress approves these levels, this would be the fourth year in a row where the NIH increase will fail to keep pace with the Biomedical Research and Development Price Index (3.8% for FY 2007). While the overall budget is being held flat, most institutes will receive small cuts to their budgets (<1%). For example, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s budget will decline by $21 million, a decrease of 0.7%. These declines counterbalance modest increases in the budgets of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, which will receive $12 million over last year (0.3% increase), and the Office of the Director (OD), which is expected to receive an additional $140 million, for a total of $668 million. Under the proposed spending plan, funding for biodefense countermeasures in the OD would rise by $110 million, accounting for much of the increase.
The budget for research project grants (RPGs) will decrease by $230 million, with an overall loss of 642 grants. Nevertheless, the number of new competing grants is expected to increase by 275 over last year. Declining numbers of non-competing grants account for the overall drop in awards.
In this tough budget environment, NIH has placed a priority on programs for new investigators, and this year will devote $15 million to the new Pathways to Independence program. The new K99/R00 grant mechanism will support senior post-doctoral fellows as they transition to faculty positions and are able to apply for traditional R01s.
The NIH Roadmap for Biomedical Research will be increased by $113 million, for a total of $443 million. The OD will provide $111 million from the Director’s discretionary fund, and the other $332 million will come from the institute and center budgets (representing approximately 1.2% of each IC’s budget).
The APS, FASEB and other advocacy organizations are recommending a 5% increase over FY 2006 funding, which would allow the budget to keep pace with inflation, as well as allow NIH to take advantage of existing scientific opportunities.
NASA
The budget request for NASA in FY 2007 is $16.8 billion, a 3.2% increase from the FY 2006 budget (excluding emergency money for Hurricane Katrina recovery). Despite the overall increase for the agency and a renewed focus on manned space flight, funding for the Human Systems Research and Technology theme will be decreased by 56%, down to $274.6 million. This follows a cut of 19.7% in FY 2006, and is counter to FASEB’s recommendation that NASA restore funding for basic life sciences and human countermeasures research.
VA medical and prosthetic research
The administration’s proposed budget for VA medical and prosthetic research is $399 million in FY 2007, a $13 million decrease from last year. The VA predicts this will result in the loss of approximately 66 research projects, and the agency has outlined plans to refocus resources on acute and traumatic injury, mental illness, substance abuse, and central nervous system injury. The FASEB recommendation for VA medical and prosthetic research is $460 million to allow the agency’s budget to keep pace with inflation and engage in research that is critical to the health care of returning veterans.
NSF
As part of the administration’s focus on the physical sciences this year, the NSF’s proposed budget includes a 7.9% increase to $6.02 billion as the first installment in a ten-year plan to double the agency’s budget. Under the proposed spending plan, the Directorate for Biological Sciences will receive an increase of 5.4%, to bring its total budget to $607.85 million.
Despite the significant increases proposed for the agency, supporters point out that the request still falls short of the level authorized by Congress under a 2002 plan to double the budget. Some in Congress are also raising concerns about plans to reorganize NSF’s highly successful education initiatives and in particular the lack of support for K-12 programs.
For FY 2007, FASEB called for $6.4 billion for the NSF. While the proposed $6.02 billion falls short of that level, this is a clear victory for the agency.