Endocrine Insider
February 5, 2010

(See Full Issue)

The President unveiled his fiscal year (FY) 2011 budget on February 1, and as outlined in his State of the Union address, domestic discretionary spending was held to FY 2010 levels.  While many programs were cut under the President’s budget, the National Institutes of Health received $32.25 billion, a $1 billion (3.2 percent) increase over the FY 2010 funding level.  Although this is significantly less than the $37 billion recommended by many in the scientific community, an increase for the NIH during this budget climate is recognition of the importance that the President places on biomedical research.

The Endocrine Society was invited by Francis Collins, Director of NIH, to attend a budget briefing on February 1, where he provided more specific details about the FY 2011 budget.  Under the proposed budget, NIH will fund 9,052 competing research project grants (RPGs), a decrease of 199 compared to FY 2010, and 37,001 total RPGs, an increase of 195.  Inflationary pressure on the NIH’s research portfolio and scientific purchasing power remains a concern for the NIH, and the President’s budget provides a 2 percent inflationary increase for noncompeting continuation awards.  Of particular note, training stipends for pre-doctoral and post-doctoral fellows will increase by 6 percent, an increase for which the scientific community has been fighting as training stipends have remained relatively flat for a number of years.

The Endocrine Society appreciates the President’s acknowledgment of the importance of biomedical research by providing the largest increase for NIH in a president’s budget in eight years.  The final FY 2011 budget will be determined through the congressional appropriations process, which will begin in the coming weeks with committee hearings on agency budgets.  The Society will work throughout this process to see that the NIH receives the highest increase possible to ensure the steady, sustainable growth needed to recoup the losses NIH has suffered since the doubling and with the end of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds.  The Society will continue to provide its members with opportunities to advocate with their members of Congress on research funding.