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News and updates

FY09 Omnibus Appropriations Bill to Move Forward this Week

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The House and Senate will likely advance the remaining 9 fiscal year 2009 spending bills this week, as part of an omnibus appropriations package that will fund much of the government through September 30, 2009. Only 3 of 12 appropriations bills have been completed to date: defense, homeland security, and veterans affairs. At an earlier stage of the FY09 appropriations process, former President George W. Bush indicated that he would veto spending bills that exceeded his domestic discretionary spending caps. As a result, in order to advance desired increases, Congress decided to wait for a new administration to take office in order to closeout the FY09 appropriations process. The omnibus appropriations bill will contain an estimated $410 billion in spending for mostly domestic programs.

Congressional aides have indicated that the omnibus FY09 appropriations bill is not likely to contain significant changes from the draft created during the 110th (last) Congress. The omnibus package will increase government spending approximately 6.7% over the FY08 budget. For a recap of key health and education funding levels in the draft FY09 appropriations bills, see the budget section of this website or contact Jonathan in the UW Office of Federal Relations. The Office of Federal Relations will repost key FY09 appropriations figures as bill moves towards finalization. In a Tuesday speech to a joint-session of Congress and the nation, President Obama will provide some details on his FY10 budget request, which will be presented in outline form later this week and in full in the spring.

**UPDATE**

The House Appropriations Committee has released fact sheets on each of the remaining 9 FY09 spending bills (see below):

Omnibus FY09 Appropriations Bill (Conference Agreement)

Agriculture Approriations

Commerce/Justice/Science Appropriations

Energy and Water Appropriations

Financial Services Appropriations

Interior and the Environment Appropriations

Labor/Health/Education Appropriations

Legislative Branch Appropriations

State and Foreign Operations Appropriations

Transportation/Housing and Urban Development Appropriations

The Week at a Glance: February 23-27

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The Senate reconvenes Monday for a reading of President George Washington’s farewell address. Freshman Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., will do the reading.

On Tuesday, President Obama will address a joint session of Congress. The Senate will also consider the nomination of Rep. Hilda L. Solis , D-Calif., to be secretary of Labor.

For the remainder of the week the Senate is expected to work on a bill that would permanently expand the House to 437 members by adding one representative from the District of Columbia and one from Utah.

Later in the week, the House is scheduled to take up an omnibus fiscal 2009 appropriations package.

The chamber also might consider a bill that would mitigate foreclosures for homeowners filing for bankruptcy.

Source: CQ

OMB Releases Recovery Act Implementation Guidance to Federal Agencies

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Peter Orszag, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director, has issued guidance (see link below) to federal agency heads on how to implement use of funding provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The linked memorandum provides the first installment of government-wide guidance for carrying out programs and activities enacted in the legislation. As was explained by NIH Acting Director Raynard King in a briefing yesterday, the memo states that an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability will be required of those receiving funds from the Recovery Act.

The OMB guidance issued yesterday contains action steps that federal agencies must take immediately in order to meet these objectives and to implement the Act effectively. Of particular note, the guidance addresses federal agency requirements to provide spending and performance data to the “Recovery.gov” website. The guidance establishes requirements for various aspects of Recovery Act planning and implementation. These requirements are intended to meet accountability objectives:

  • Funds are awarded and distributed in a prompt, fair, and reasonable manner;
  • The recipients and uses of all funds are transparent to the public, and the benefits to the public are reported clearly, accurately, and in a timely manner;
  • Funds are used for authorized purposes and instances of fraud, waste, error, and abuse are mitigated;
  • Projects funded under this Act avoid unnecessary delays and cost overruns; and
  • Program goals are achieved, including specific program outcomes and improved results on broader economic indicators.

Additional guidance providing further detail and covering a fuller range of items will be issued within the next 30-60 days. As individual agencies issue implementation guidance, the UW Office of Federal Relations will post details to this website.

OMB Recovery Act Guidance to Federal Agencies (click here)

NIH Outlines Spending Plan for $10.4 Billion of Economic Recovery Package Funding

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Today in a briefing at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Acting NIH Director Raynard Kington provided an outline of the plan his agency will utilize to spend the $10.4 billion provided in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. However, Dr. Kington mentioned many times during the briefing that the details of the plan are still being worked out within NIH and the Office of Management and Budget. NIH plans to obligate the funding provided within two years and does not assume that funding will be added to the base budget.  He added that there will be no across-the-board percentage increases in grants or programs. 
 
Dr. Kington emphasized that use of the economic recovery money would not be business as usual; there will be unprecedented reporting requirements, such as information on economic impact and the number of jobs created and retained as a result of a research grant. 

Dr. Kington described the funding streams in the bill as follows:  

  • $8.2 billion for research activities, of which $7.4 billon is to be allocated across the NIH Institutes, Centers, Divisions, and the Common Fund (which includes cross-cutting activities such as the NIH Roadmap); $800 million will remain in the Office of the Director; 
  • $1 billion for extramural construction, repairs, and alterations through the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR); the review process for construction and renovation projects has not been determined (operating funds will not be provided); 
  • $300 million for shared instrumentation;
  • $500 million for construction and improvements on the NIH campus; and
  • $400 million transferred from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality for comparative effectiveness research. 

Research funding will be allocated in three general ways:

  • Funding of grant applications from FY08 and FY09 that were judged to be “highly scientifically meritorious” but not funded.  Among the criteria of the selection process will be whether meaningful progress toward project goals can be achieved with two years of committed funds, rather than the usual four years of funding.  
  • Supplements to existing grants to accelerate and/or expand their work.  This may include added equipment, training positions, and summer jobs for students.  Such additions will not be made by formula, but will be based on scientific opportunity and public health needs.  The new money will not be used to restore cuts made to project proposals during earlier negotiations.  
  • NIH Challenge Grants.  There will be a “reasonable” number of awards made under this new program aimed at supporting cross-cutting research. The Institutes, Centers, and Divisions will have an opportunity to identify areas in which they would like to see applications.  NIH will issue a Request for Applications for the program soon.  

Funding will not be provided in a lump sum, but over a two year period. Given that we are dealing with funds intended to stimulate the nationally economy, geography will be a factor in awarding funding. Additionally, there will be some focus on new investigators and junior scientists. When asked if the grants would have carryover authority, Dr. Kington reminded participants that the money was intended as “a short-term stimulus” and said universities should not ask for money they didn’t think they could spend in two years. Dr. Kington explained that in rare cases, no-cost extensions may need to be granted. However, he also explained that at the end of two years, grants that have not been spent will draw scrutiny by government and result in significant embarassment to the scientific community. Dr. Kington did not give a timetable for the release of further details, but given the two-year timetable for use of funds, he expects details to be laid out in the next few weeks.