Specter-Harkin Amendment Passed 95-4

(March 14, 2008)

The Senate passed the Specter-Harkin amendment on March 13, 2008 by a vote of 95 to 4. The Specter-Harkin amendment adds $2.1 billion for NIH to the Budget Committee’s resolution and increases the NIH budget by a total of $3 billion over FY2008.

Senator Specter Voices Support for Harkin Amendment, $2.1B Increase in NIH Funding for FY09

(March 13, 2008)

On March 12, 2008, Senator Harlen Specter (R-PA) delivered a staement from the Floor supporting the Harkin Aendment to add $2.1 billion to the Senate budget resolution for NIH. Senator Specter specfically mentioned in his statement: "The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering will be unable to pursue opportunities in advanced imaging, which are crucial to early diagnosis and treatment."

Original co-sponsors of the amendment include Senators Harkin (D-Iowa), Snowe (R-Maine), Collins (R-Maine), Casey (D-Pa.), Kennedy (D-Mass.), Dole (R-N.C.), Mikulski (D-Md.), Clinton (D-N.Y.), Levin (D-Mich.), Sununu (R-N.H.), Dodd (D-Conn.), Inouye (D-Hawaii), Brown (D-Ohio), Menendez (D-N.J.), Stabenow (D-Mich.), Coleman (R-Minn.), Kerry (D-Mass.), Durbin (D-Ill.), Stevens (R-Alaska), Smith (R-Ore.), Bingaman (D-N.M.), Cochran (R-Miss.), Cardin (D-Md.), and Rockefeller (D-W.Va.).

Click to read/download the text of Senator Spector's statement (PDF reader required)

Major Medical Research Coalitions Urge Congress to Accelerate Medical Progress by Increasing Investment in NIH

(February 29, 2008)

The Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research, the Campaign for Medical Research (CMR), the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), the National Health Council (NHC), and Research!America issued a joint statement on February 28, 2008, calling on Congress to increase the NIH budget by $1.9 billion in FY 2009. 

Congressional Letter to House Budget Committee Urges NIH Funding Increase Match Biomedical Inflation Rate

(February 29, 2008)

Reps. Markey (D-Mass), Reichert (R-Wash.), Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Shays (R-Conn.), Courtney (D-Conn.), and Chris Smith (R-N.J.) wrote the Chair and Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee on February 28, 2008, urging them "to allocate sums necessary to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that at a minimum includes an increase relative to the cost of biomedical inflation." 

CIBR and ARR Respond to President Bush's Inadequate FY09 NIH Budget Request

(February 5, 2008)

The Coalition and the Academy of Radiology Research have called upon Congress to reject President Bush's dangerously inadequate FY09 Budget Request for NIH. Instead, we urge them to provide NIH with $31.1 million for FY09, a 6.6% increase over FY08.

To read the text of the press release, click here.

NIH Director's Pioneer and New Innovator Award Programs Launch 2008 Application Cycles

(November 15, 2007)

NIH is calling for applications for 2008 NIH Director's Pioneer Awards and New Innovator Awards. Both programs are part of the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research and support exceptionally creative scientists who take highly innovative approaches to major challenges in biomedical or behavioral research.