APA and 36 other health care organizations sent letters of support for fiscal year (FY) 2022 funding increases on behalf of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) to congressional leadership (PDF, 113KB) and the leaders of the House and Senate Committee on Appropriations (PDF, 114KB) and its Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services.
For NIH, these organizations emphasized their support for the research community’s FY 2022 request of at least $46.111 billion, $3.177 billion above the comparable FY 2021 funding level, allowing NIH's base budget to keep pace with the biomedical research and development price index and meaning growth of 5%. The letter signatories also requested a proportionate increase for NIDDK of at least $157 million for a total funding level of $2.289 billion in FY 2022. They maintain funding for NIDDK at this level is necessary for the institute to conduct and support medical research, research training, as well as disseminate science-based information on research within its mission, “along with population health research to improve people’s health and quality of life.”
The groups also urged Congress to provide supplemental emergency funding of $10 billion for NIH “to ensure dedicated support for NIDDK to enable critical COVID-related research.” They note that NIDDK has not received emergency funding to date despite supporting research associated with increased risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes. “Without dedicated emergency funding, NIDDK must divert funding from other scientific areas within its mission to study the effects of COVID-19.”
The APA endorsed letters also stressed the need for supplemental funding to respond to the additional barriers and expenses that complicate restarting research.
For more information, contact Angela L. Sharpe, MG.