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FY 2006 Research Funding
At the close of fiscal year (FY) 2005 on
October 1, 2005, Congress had finalized only two of the 12 appropriations
bills that will fund federal programs in FY 2006. To avoid having to
combine the remaining bills into a single omnibus measure, Congress passed
a series of continuing resolutions that funded federal programs at last
year’s level through the fall while members continued to work on passing
the individual bills. By the end of November, ten of the appropriations
bills were finished. Contained in the ten completed bills was funding for
biomedical research at NSF, the VA and NASA. As of mid-December, the
unfinished Labor-HHS-Education bill that will fund the NIH was mired in
controversy over decreased funding for health, education and social
programs.
While all four agencies are expected to receive an increase over last
year’s appropriation, the budget growth in most cases fails to keep up
with inflation. This year’s budget was dominated by unanticipated costs
for Hurricane Katrina, the war in Iraq and rising energy prices. To
control federal spending, Congress was expected to impose a 1% across the
board cut to all non-defense discretionary spending in the final
appropriations bill.
Details for each agency are provided below. The totals do not reflect the
anticipated 1% cut.
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
NIH was expected to be funded at $28.8 billion in FY 2006, which
represents an additional $253 million dollars (0.9% increase) over FY
2005. This falls below the projected rate of inflation for biomedical
research, currently estimated at 3.2%. Of the $253 million added to the
NIH budget, $100 million is targeted for the Global Fund to Fight
HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis, making the overall increase for the
agency closer to 0.5%. With the anticipated across the board cut, this
will effectively decrease the NIH budget for the first time since 1970.
NIH predicts that this level of funding will decrease the number of
research project grants funded and drop success rates to an average of 21%
across institutes.
National Science Foundation (NSF)
For FY 2006, Congress allocated $5.6 billion to NSF, a 3% increase over
last year’s level. Following a 2% cut last year, this returns the budget
to roughly 2004 levels. This funding level still falls short of the
authorized level, established in legislation passed in 2002 that declared
Congress’ intent to double NSF’s budget.
Following a 10% cut last year, the Education and Human Resources budget at
NSF is reduced again, falling 4.4% in FY 2006. This is despite strong
support in Congress for NSF education programs, and reflects an effort by
the administration to shift programs such as the Math and Science
Partnerships from NSF to the Department of Education. The Research and
Related Activities budget is increased over last year; however, a
significant portion of the increase ($48 million) will go for Coast Guard
icebreakers that provide access to Artic and Antarctic facilities, a new
financial responsibility for the agency.
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Medical and prosthetic research at the VA will receive $412 million in FY
2006. This represents an increase of 2.4% over last year and a 4.8%
increase over the administration’s request, which would have cut funding
to $393 million.
NASA
For FY 2006, NASA received an allocation of $16.4 billion, a 1.3% increase
over last year. Despite the overall increase for the agency, funding for
Human Systems Research and Technology at NASA falls to $799 million from
$925 million last year (a decrease of 13.6%). Funding at the agency has
been redistributed to reflect new priorities, including a return to manned
space flight. |
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Conferees Delete Akaka Restrictions
In late October Congress dropped a
provision from the FY 2006 agriculture appropriations bill that would have
barred funding from research facilities that purchase animals from certain
USDA-licensed dealers. The amendment, backed by Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI),
had been added to the must-pass spending bill in late September.
In introducing the legislation, Akaka said that his amendment would
protect family pets by forcing institutions to stop using so-called Class
B dealers to supply non-purpose-bred dogs and cats for medical research.
He claimed this step was needed because the pet theft is a significant
problem and, in any case, non purpose-bred dogs and cats are not good
research models. To counter the potentially deleterious effects of this
bill, the APS engaged in concerted efforts to educate members of both the
House and Senate about existing pet protection legislation and the
importance of ongoing research involving non-purpose bred dogs and cats.
The APS underscored the importance of protecting family pets, as well as
the need to preserve important animal models of medical research.
The Akaka amendment quickly created alarm in the research community
because it was written so broadly. If enacted, it would have cut off USDA
funding to institutions that purchased any animal regulated under the
Animal Welfare Act from dealers holding Class B licenses, which would have
affected a large number of institutions. Fortunately, the Members of
Congress who drafted the agreement reconciling the differences between the
House and Senate versions of the agriculture funding bill recognized the
seriousness of the situation and dropped the provision in conference.
However, the fact that a measure intended to ban research with non-purpose
bred dogs and cats scored an easy preliminary victory may encourage
activists to try a similar gambit in the near future. |
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Focusing on Young Investigators at NIH
Among the many priorities at the National
Institutes of Health (NIH), the success of trainees and new investigators
is considered one of the most important. With tightening budgets,
officials at NIH worry that next generation of scientists will be
disproportionately affected by falling success rates, and they have taken
a number of steps to identify and correct potential problems.
Tuition and NRSA Fellowships
On November 30, 2005, officials at the NIH met with members of the
biomedical research community to discuss the problem of rising tuition
costs associated with training grants. Tuition increases that outpace
inflation have caused the current tuition payment policy for Ruth L.
Kirschstein National Research Service Awards (NRSAs) to become
unsustainable. NIH has already taken the step of freezing tuition payments
on competing renewals of NRSA awards in 2006 while they consider permanent
solutions.
NIH presented the community with three options: capping tuition payments,
providing a fixed allowance per trainee for tuition, or maintaining the
current system with the understanding that fewer trainees would be funded
each year. Currently, the NIH pays the first $3,000 of each student’s
tuition, and 60% of the remainder. NIH predicts that maintaining the
current system would result in the loss of 4,000 trainees over the next 10
years.
Representatives from several universities and associations presented their
comments at the meeting, and views varied widely on the proposed options.
APS and FASEB both submitted comments in response to this issue, stressing
the importance of maintaining benefits for trainees as a solution is
developed. Under the current funding formula, tuition and health insurance
funds are combined in the same category on training grants. The APS and
FASEB expressed concern that if this category is limited in order to
control tuition costs, trainees may risk losing their health benefits.
A draft policy is expected to be prepared in January, followed by issuance
of the final policy in March or April. To see the comments submitted on
behalf of APS, go to:
http://www.the-aps.org/pa/action/news/NRSA.pdf
Two Ways to Help Young Investigators
Achieve Independence
When the Advisory Committee to the NIH Director met in early December, a
working group recommended a new grant mechanism that would help
researchers transition from postdoctoral fellow to independent
investigator. The awards would provide up to five years of support,
starting with a one to two year advanced fellowship, followed by three
years of support as an independent researcher. MDs, PhDs and MD/PhDs would
be eligible to apply, but the program is contingent upon the awardee
securing an independent research position. This award program still needs
to be approved by NIH director Elias Zerhouni, MD, but the goal is to
accept applications beginning in February and distribute the first round
of awards by the end of 2006.
In another effort to aid new investigators take the next step in their
careers by securing their first major R01 grants, NIH announced a pilot
study to shorten the review cycle for first-time applicants. A limited
number of study sections will participate and accept revisions from new
investigators on an accelerated schedule. The results of the pilot study
will then be reviewed before more extensive changes are made. This is part
of a larger effort at NIH to streamline and modernize the peer review
system.
For more information, see the notice in the NIH Guide to Grants and
Contracts:
http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-06-013.html.
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