The President made a friendly suggestion about how Congress might spend federal monies appropriated for FY15.
As shown in the Budget in Brief released by HHS, the additional $211M suggested for the NIH (bringing the appropriation to $30.4B) is not evenly distributed.
Winners include NIAID (+$31M), NCATS (+$25M), NIMH (+$23M), NINDS (+$23M), and NIDDK (+$12M).
The remaining increases are all single-digit millions, and while no IC lost funding, several received no increase in their appropriation above FY14: NIDCR, NIDCD, NINR, NIMHD, NCCAM, FIC.
Several more only get an additional $1M (i.e., an extra R01): NEI, NIA, NIAMS, NIAAA, NHGRI.
Over half (53.4%) the extra $211M goes toward RPGs – $120M – which the NIH estimates will translate into 9,326 new and competing awards (or 329 more grants than in FY14).
NIH estimates that it will spend $566M on Alzheimer’s disease research and more than $3B on HIV/AIDS research.
The NIH will devote $100M to the BRAIN initiative (up from $40M in FY14).
The Cures Acceleration Network appropriation jumps to $30M (up from $10M in FY14).
There will be a 2% increase in stipends for pre- and postdoctoral trainees supported by National Research Service Awards (Fs & Ts).
Intramural research increases by $39M from FY14 to $3.4B (11.3% of the NIH appropriation).
In the unlikely event that the proposed Opportunity, Growth, and Security Initiative comes to pass (i.e., President’s request for $56B above the Congressionally mandated cap on discretionary spending offset by higher tax revenues and other cuts), the NIH would receive an additional $970M.
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