2018 omnibus appropriations: great news for research funding

Dear ASCI member,

A part of our mission as a community of physician-scientists is to advocate for medical research and for measures that sustain the pipeline of young physicians to engage in research careers. In 2017, we formed an Advocacy Committee to work more closely with FASEB and Research!America, our advocacy partner organizations. Member Alp Ikizler serves as a member of FASEB’s Board of Directors, Council member Donna Martin serves on FASEB’s Science Policy Committee, and I serve as a liaison to the FASEB Board of Directors.

Earlier this spring, Donna Martin was the ASCI representative attending FASEB’s Capitol Hill Day, meeting with representatives to convey the value of investment in the U.S. research infrastructure.

FASEB staff have agreed to work with us to generate timely updates about the activities on Capitol Hill of value to ASCI members. Following is brief detail regarding the passage of the FY 2018 omnibus appropriations bill:

At 12:21 am Friday the Senate passed the fiscal year (FY) 2018 omnibus appropriations bill by a vote of 65-32. President Trump signed the bill into law Friday afternoon. Although it could take another 30 days for the new funds to be made available to the federal agencies, we can officially celebrate the $3 billion increase for NIH, $295 million increase for NSF, $868 million increase for DOE SC, $47 million increase for veterans research, and $25 million increase for competitive agriculture research.

Please see FASEB’s summary (PDF) for more information.

Look out for more information to come.

W. Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD
Chair, Advocacy Committee
The American Society for Clinical Investigation
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