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Congress returns September 8 after a month-long recess with just ten scheduled legislative days to make decisions about Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 federal funding to avoid a potential government shutdown on October 1.
The federal budget process has stalled over continued disagreements on policy issues. None of the twelve annual funding bills have been passed by both chambers and signed into law. Additionally, leadership in both parties has struggled to put forward solutions to alleviate the pressure of yearly budget caps and lift the threat of arbitrary across-the-board cuts known as sequestration.
It is becoming increasingly likely that Congress will need to pass a continuing resolution (CR) sometime in the next few weeks to keep the government funded at current levels and buy Congressional leaders more time to reach a broader, longer-term deal on spending.
PAN will continue to monitor the situation and provide you with opportunities to engage your Members of Congress on the importance of protecting and strengthening medical research funding in the coming days and weeks.
Here’s where key programs and agencies for the Parkinson’s community currently stand in the funding process:
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees have recommended significant funding increases for NIH.
The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (L-HHS), which has funding jurisdiction over NIH, has recommended an increase over current spending for NIH to $32 billion, which meets PAN’s request for FY 2016.
The full House Appropriations Committee has passed its version of the L-HHS spending bill, recommending $31.1 billion for NIH.
Unfortunately, with total spending limited by caps under current law, the increases for health-related priorities are made possible in both the House and Senate proposals by deep cuts to other programs. These proposed cuts will be among the issues that politically complicate the passage of this funding bill.
Department of Defense (DoD) Parkinson’s Research Program
Parkinson’s remains a priority despite cuts to Defense health programs.
The House has approved its version of the FY 2016 Defense Appropriations bill, which includes $16 million for the DoD Parkinson’s research program. While the amount allocated in the House bill for the Parkinson’s DoD program is below PAN’s request to restore funding to $20 million, $16 million represents level funding and is significant in a year in which there are over $600 million in proposed cuts to Defense health programs.
The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved its version of the Defense spending bill, including an increase for Defense health programs. While the Senate bill does not list individual funding recommendations for certain programs, Parkinson’s research is part of the broader peer-reviewed program designated to receive funding. The bill has not received full Senate consideration.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Only modest increases proposed for FDA.
Both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees have recommended in their FY 2016 Agriculture Appropriations bills just over $2.6 billion for FDA. Neither chamber has scheduled a vote on its version of the bill.
PAN is requesting $2.8 billion for the FDA in FY 2016 in order to meet the growing demands on the Agency.