Endocrine Insider
March 19, 2009

After significant debate in the Senate and a short-term continuing resolution to fund the government from March 6 through March 11, President Obama signed the Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act on March 11, 2009.  Most agencies funded under the omnibus bill did not receive an increase over FY 2008 levels, but agencies funding research were the exception.  Please see below for specific details.

•    NIH – $30.3 billion ($937 million over FY 2008)
•    DOE Office of Science - $4.77 billion ($755 million over FY 2008)
•    NSF - $6.49 billion ($425 million over FY 2008)
•    VA Medical and Prosthetics Research - $510 million ($30 million over FY 2008)

Congress will now turn its attention to FY 2010 appropriations, and it is expected that the House and Senate will approve their respective budget resolutions before the spring recess, which begins April 4.  Passage of the budget resolution is the first step in the appropriations process, and the budget resolution determines the amount that each appropriations subcommittee has to distribute across the programs under its jurisdiction.  Further information on the FY 2010 appropriations process will be reported in future Endocrine Insider editions.