NIH talking points on the vote to override the President’s veto
on the FY 2008 Labor-HHS appropriations bill (H.R. 3043)
November 14, 20071

• The bipartisan House-Senate conference agreement on the FY 2008 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Bill (H.R. 3043) provides $30 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an increase of $899 million (3.1 percent) over last year’s funding level. This represents the largest increase in the past five years.
• If Congress fails to override the President’s veto of the bill, the alternative may well be the Administration’s FY 2008 budget request of $28.6 billion, which is nearly $1.4 billion below the bipartisan House-Senate conference agreement and nearly $480 million (1.7 percent) below the FY 2007 funding level.
• According to the House Appropriations Committee, the President’s proposed cut in the NIH budget for FY 2008 would lead to about 800 fewer research grants than last year. The bipartisan House-Senate conference agreement would result in over 1,400 more research grants into life threatening diseases.
• Since 2003, the NIH budget has failed to keep pace with biomedical inflation. The agency has lost $2.4 billion or nearly 9 percent of its purchasing power in just four years, which threatens to derail the momentum gained from the investments in discovery to this point. The bipartisan House-Senate conference agreement is a critical step toward stabilizing this investment.
• At a time of unparalleled scientific opportunities and unprecedented health challenges, the NIH should be able to support more research, not less.
• At a time of global competitiveness in scientific research, this nation should invest more resources into discovery, not fewer.

To find additional information on your Member of Congress, visit http://capwiz.com/jscpp/home/

¹All talking points courtesy of AAMC

As expected, the President vetoed the FY 2008 Labor-Health and Human Services-Education (Labor-H) appropriations bill that contains $30 billion in funding for the NIH.

The President vetoed the Labor-H bill because it exceeds his budget proposal by $10 billion. The Congress will now attempt to override this veto. When the House voted to adopt the Labor-HHS-Education conference report Nov. 8, it fell three votes short of the two-thirds majority that would be needed for an override.

Democrats are hoping they can persuade a few GOP moderates to join them in voting for an override. It is critical that you contact your Member of Congress now. Congress needs to know that their constituents feel strongly about the importance of properly funding the NIH.

To contact your Member of Congress, go to http://capwiz.com/jscpp/home/ where you will find a prewritten letter that you can easily email to your legislators or use as talking points for a phone call to your Member of Congress.

FY 2008 NIH Appropriations

On Tuesday, November 6, the House passed a combined FY 2008 Labor-Health and Human Services-Education (Labor-H) and Military Construction/Veterans Affairs Appropriations Conference Report by a vote of 269-142. The Labor-H bill contains $30 billion in funding for the NIH.

The President has vowed to veto the Labor-H bill because it exceeds his budget proposal by $10 billion. Last night’s vote is 21 votes short of the 290 votes needed to override a presidential veto (assuming all 435 members of the House vote.)

We expect that the House will have to vote again on the Labor-H conference report before it is sent to the President. The Senate is expected to separate the Labor-H and the Military Construction/Veterans Affairs appropriations bills, thus, requiring individual votes on the two bills.

We will continue to update you throughout the appropriations process. In addition, we will continue to ask you to contact your Member of Congress. Congress needs to know that their constituents feel strongly about the importance of properly funding the NIH.