Obama Administration Boosts NIH Funding in FY 2011 Budget Proposal

February 7, 2010

On February 1, 2010, the Obama Administration released its proposed budget for fiscal year 2011, including a boost of $1 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This budget implements the President’s pledge to impose an overall freeze in domestic discretionary, eliminating or cutting certain programs to permit increases for others.

In its press release announcing its budget proposal, the Department of Health and Human Services HHS) said that the $1 billion increase in NIH funding, to a total of $32.2 billion, will support innovative basic and clinical research projects. According to HHS, “This effort will be guided by NIH’s five areas of exceptional research opportunities: supporting genomics and other high throughput technologies; translating basic science into new and better treatments; reinvogorating the biomedical research community; using science to enable health care reform; and focusing on global health.”

Research advocates praised the Obama Administration proposal while at the same time urging a larger NIH funding increase. The Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research said it “… thanks President Obama for his continued commitment to science and innovation at a time when the nation’s fiscal situation compels difficult decisions. For medical research, his agenda sets off on the right course, as it recognizes that sustaining progress in medical research is essential to the twin national priorities of smarter health care and economic revitalization.” The Ad Hoc Group urges that Congress build on the Obama recommendation, boosting NIH funding to a total of $35 billion for FY 2011.

The HHS budget documents, including the HHS budget in brief and budget justifications for the HHS agencies, are available at http://www.hhs.gov/asrt/ob/docbudget/.

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