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1997 Budget Boosts NIH, Medical Research Overall

By Carla Garnett

On the Front Page...
Backing up an oral commitment to medical research with federal funding, Congress passed and the President signed an omnibus appropriations bill that gave NIH $12.747 billion to spend in fiscal year 1997. The new budget represents a 6.9 percent increase over NIH's 1996 budget of $11.9 billion. In addition, the spending bill was signed by Sept. 30 -- before a continuing resolution needed to be crafted in order to keep the government running -- and NIH's sister agencies in HHS and others involved in scientific research and health-related pursuits all fared well in the budget finale.

Continued...
"The Congress and the administration have shown tremendous confidence in NIH with this large funding increase at a time of overall budget stringency," remarked Tony Itteilag, NIH deputy director for management. "We are especially grateful to congressmen [John] Porter [R-Ill.] and [David] Obey [D-Wisc.] and senators [Arlen] Specter [R-Pa.] and [Tom] Harkin [D-Iowa], as well as [HHS] Secretary Donna Shalala and Chief of Staff Leon Panetta, for their efforts on behalf of NIH. The budget increase -- nearly 7 percent -- means that we will be able to support additional high quality research leading, in the future, to improved health care outcomes for the American people. Moreover, we will be able to begin construction of the new Clinical Research Center (CRC), which will keep us in the forefront in conducting first rate clinical research for years to come. With the provision of annual funding at the beginning of the fiscal year, we can assure the most efficient stewardship of these appropriations."

The centerpiece of NIH's 1997 budget is the $90 million down payment on the CRC, which according to the new budget law, will bear the name "Mark O. Hatfield Clinical Research Center," in honor of the retiring Republican senator from Oregon who has chaired the Senate appropriations committee and has been a medical research supporter in the Senate since 1967. CRC construction carries a $310 million price tag, with funding phases spread over several years, and is slated to begin in this fiscal year. The current budget signed into law by President Clinton contains precise language allowing NIH to contract for the full scope of the new project even though future year appropriations will be needed to complete funding.

Other highlights of the spending law include adoption of a complex way of disbursing funding for AIDS research at NIH that takes the money through several accounting channels with this result: AIDS funds will be provided to NIH institutes, centers and divisions in amounts determined by the overall research funding plan of the Office of AIDS Research, as agreed to by the NIH director. The OAR director and the NIH director will also have joint authority to shift up to 3 percent of the AIDS budget among ICDs throughout the year as research priorities or opportunities change, the law states. Although specific AIDS funding was not earmarked in the law, NIH indicated it would spend $1.502 billion -- a 6.8 percent increase over last year -- of its total 1997 budget on AIDS.

Special emphasis areas -- research priorities such as the Biology of Brain Disorders, New Approaches to Pathogenesis, New Preventive Strategies Against Disease, Genetics of Medicine and Advanced Instrumentation and Computers in Medicine and Research that NIH director Dr. Harold Varmus has designated to stress this year -- were provided $240 million.

NIH's Office of Alternative Medicine received $12 million, which more than doubles OAM's budget of a year ago. The new funds will provide support to the ICDs through collaborative research projects.

Although NIH's total budget increased over last year's, administrative costs will be held at fiscal year 1996's level. Overall, the intramural research program's spending will increase at a somewhat lesser rate than the overall budget, probably in the range of 3 to 4 percent.

The National Foundation for Biomedical Research, authorized by Congress in 1990 legislation, received $200,000 in seed money.

The NIH director's authority to transfer 1 percent of the total budget among ICDs to meet unforeseen research opportunities was continued.

As part of reaching final agreement on funding levels, congressional conferees agreed to an additional $5 million for a pediatric research initiative; an additional $8 million for neurodegenerative disease research; and $14.75 million for the National Action Plan on Breast Cancer.

Medical research in other agencies received 1997 budget boons in the omnibus law as well: The Department of Defense, for instance, will be able to launch a new prostate cancer research effort.