Advocating for congressional support of NIH funding and stakeholder engagement on NIH reform

On November 18, 2024, APA Services, along with nearly 400 members of the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research representing patients, clinicians, scientists, educators, academic and research organizations, and industry, sent a letter to the chairs of the House and Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) Subcommittee (PDF, 164KB)opens in new window, urging them to “finalize the [fiscal year 2025] spending bill by the end of the calendar year with a robust investment" in the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The group underscored that NIH stakeholders are prepared to continue engaging with lawmakers about proposals to restructure the agency, and urged the committees to provide no less than the $48.9 billion funding level approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee, in addition to funding for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H).

The letter pointed out that NIH can currently only fund 1 out of 5 promising grant proposals. It emphasized that “underinvesting in NIH’s annual base budget is to the detriment of patients today and tomorrow, [it] undermines the future medical research workforce and threatens to weaken U.S. competitiveness with global adversaries.”

On November 19, 2024, the House Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee welcomed NIH Director Monica Bertagnolli (PDF, 127KB)opens in new window to her first hearing before the subcommittee, a year into her tenure. The director expressed gratitude to the “committee’s long-standing support for NIH.” Bertagnolli underscored the need to link the laboratory to the clinic and to the diverse communities that encompass the country, with specific emphasis on the need to ensure that the information collected is “used safely and ethically to improve health for all people.”

Bertagnolli also pointed out that the president’s FY 2025 budget request of $50.1 billion will allow the agency to make targeted investments in mental health and women’s health research, among other APA advocacy priorities. It would provide a $10 million increase for the “National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) initiatives to support behavioral health prevention implementation science, focusing on sustainable prevention and early intervention approaches.” She further emphasized that the FY 2025 budget request of $153.9 million for the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health is to achieve “the goal to fundamentally change how the government approaches and funds women’s health research, to improve how it is conducted and to maximize the impact of…investments.” Concluding her remarks, the director emphasized that one of her guiding principles is that the NIH’s “work is not finished when we deliver scientific discoveries, [NIH’s} work is finished only when all people are living long and healthy lives.”

In his opening remarks, Subcommittee Chair Robert Aderholt (R-Alabama) encouraged the director to prioritize “rebuilding the confidence in the NIH as a leader in unbiased, nonpartisan, objective basic science.”opens in new window Aderholt noted that the NIH is operating under one of “the largest expired authorizations in government,” highlighting it has been decades since “Congress made a comprehensive evaluation of the institution’s structure.” He lamented that despite the activities of the House Energy and Commerce Committeeopens in new window, “instead of a bold discussion on how to move NIH into the future, we have gotten staunch adherence to the status quo.” He recognized that the Committee’s proposal began the conversation and that “more work needs to be done by authorizing committees of jurisdiction.” Conversely, Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-Connecticut) stressed that the “American people do trust the NIH. Over 88 percent of Americans agree that basic scientific research that advances the frontiers of knowledge is necessary and should be supported by the federal government.”

To that end, as previously reported, on August 16, 2024, APA Services responded to the House Energy and Commerce Committee request (PDF, 443KB)opens in new window for input on its Reforming the National Institutes of Health Framework for Discussion (PDF, 3.45MB)opens in new window, a proposal released by Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R–Washington). In July 2024, APA Services also joined 223 NIH stakeholders in a letter (PDF, 113KB)opens in new window to House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R–Oklahoma) and DeLauro expressing alarm that the Fiscal Year 2025 Labor-HHS appropriations bill includes a proposal to restructure the agency.

APA Services will continue to engage with its members and Congress to protect the sustainability of NIH.

For more information, contact Angela L. Sharpe.