Skip to content
News and updates

Category: Biomedical Research

But Will He Sign It?

Posted on

Following the Senate’s lead from last week, the House cleared yesterday the massive spending package that combines the annual Labor-HHS-Education and Defense spending bills by a vote of 361-61.  The Senate approved it by a vote of 93 to 7.  The bill also includes a continuing resolution (CR) that would fund through December 7 the other agencies and programs whose funding bills are not signed into law by next Monday.

Earlier this week, there had been some uncertainty about whether the president would actually sign the package because it did not contain the funding his wants for a border wall along the Southern border.  It now appears that he will indeed sign it.

The CR could now apply to a larger number of bills– seven– than originally hoped for.  House and Senate negotiators have spent the last several weeks trying to reach a compromise on a combined package of four more appropriations measures and it remains uncertain at this point whether an agreement can be reached and signed into law before the House recesses on Friday.  Among the bills under discussion are those that would fund the departments of Interior and Agriculture.

First “Minibus” Expected to be Signed Today

Posted on

Barring any last minute changes, the first “minibus” spending package for FY2019 is expected to get signed into law today.  The measure combines the Energy and Water, Veterans Affairs-Military Construction, and Legislative Branch appropriations bills.

The Senate cleared earlier this week the Labor-HHS-Education and Defense package, which the House is expected to take up sometime next week.

The sides chambers are also currently negotiating over a four-bill minibus that includes the agriculture, interior, financial services, and transportation-housing bills.

Senate Approves Labor-HHS/Defense/CR Package

Posted on

By a vote of 93 to 7, the Senate adopted earlier today a massive spending package that includes the Labor-HHS-Education and Defense appropriations bills as well as the continuing resolution that would keep funded through December 7 parts of the government that do not have their spending bills approved by October 1.

The measure now heads to the House for its consideration.  The chamber is currently in recess and will return next week.

More Action Expected on Appropriations

Posted on

More action on the FY2019 appropriations front is expected today, with the Senate bringing up for the consideration the second “minibus” of spending bills, which contains the Labor-HHS-Education and Defense measures.  The chamber could pass it by the end of the day today.

In addition, the staff for the House and Senate Appropriations Committees are scheduled to meet today to see if the remaining hurdles in the third minibus can be cleared.  This package contains the Interior, Agriculture, Transportation-Housing, and Financial Services bills.

 

Additional Details from Labor-HHS/ Defense Conference Report Available

Posted on

Additional details from the conference report for the Labor-HHS/ Defense package that will be considered by both chambers in the near future are provided below.

As noted before, NIH would receive $39.1 billion, an increase of $2 billion.  The new funding level would include $711 million designated for the agency from the 21st Century Cures Act.  Within the $39.1 billion, the conference report calls for the following:

  • $2.34 billion for Alzheimer’s disease reserach
  • an increase of $86 million for the Precision Medicine Initiative
  • an increase of $29 million for the BRAIN Initiative
  • a $100-million increase for the Cancer Moonshot

Of the $711 million for the NIH that would come from the 21st Century Cures Act:

  • $400 million would be for the National Cancer Institute
  • National Institute of Mental Health and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke would each receive $57.5 million
  • $186 million would be dedicated to the Precision Medicine Initiative
  • $10 million for regenerative medicine

Under the conference agreement, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would receive $7.95 billion and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality is slated to receive $334.0 million.

The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health would receive $336.3 million and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Agency would be funded at $5.47 billion under this bill.

Within the Department of Education, the Institute for Education Sciences would receive $615.5 million in FY2019, an increase of $2 million over the current level.