The Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research issued the following statement in response to funding included for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the draft fiscal year (FY) 2021 spending bill released by the Senate Appropriations Committee.
“The Ad Hoc Group is immensely grateful to Senate Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) for his leadership in including a $2 billion increase for the NIH’s base budget in the draft spending bill released today.
Everyone benefits from the federal commitment to meaningful, sustained growth in medical research funding, which allows patients the hope of a healthier tomorrow through new and better diagnostics, preventive interventions, and cures; fortifies a reliable career path for the next generation of scientists; and boosts our global competitiveness and local and regional economies. These outcomes have earned NIH the strong bipartisan support that the agency holds, and we look forward to working with Chairman Blunt, Ranking Member Patty Murray (D- Wash.), and their House counterparts toward quick enactment of a final bipartisan spendingpackage that continues the tradition of robust investment in the agency.
Now more than ever, we are seeing the value of the nation’s investment in NIH-funded research, which has been instrumental in our progress against the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to quick enactment of a final FY 2021 spending bill with at least $2 billion in increased funding across the agency’s broad portfolio of science, we also urge passage of at least $15.5 billion in emergency funding for NIH to advance new COVID-related research and to mitigate the impact of the public health emergency on our nation’s research enterprise.
The investments we make in medical research today determine our resilience against and response to ongoing and future threats. We urge our leaders to recognize the urgent need to support NIH and to act without any further delay to complete both the FY 2021 appropriations process and emergency funding for NIH.”
Read the United States Senate Committee's press release here.
Read Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Patrick Leahy's (D-Vt.) statement here.