Lawmakers On Capitol Hill Weigh Adding Billions To NIH Budget
The medical research agency's popularity, fears that the U.S. is losing ground to foreign competitors and congressional efforts to show bipartisanship are contributing to political support for the proposed funding increase.
Politico:
NIH Sees Reversal Of Fortune With Proposed Funding Boosts
After a dozen years of flat funding, the National Institutes of Health has become a top target on Capitol Hill — not for less money but more, potentially billions more by 2020. It’s a remarkable turnaround for the huge medical research agency, one triggered by a confluence of circumstances. Fears that the United States is losing ground to international competitors in science and technology synched with lawmakers’ need to show frustrated voters that they can work in a bipartisan manner, and NIH offered “an easy win” on both, advocates say. (Karlin, 7/7)