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 The Federal Budget

FISCAL YEAR 2010 BUDGET

On May 7, President Barack Obama released his Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 Budget Request.

National Institutes of Health

The President’s budget requests an FY 2010 program level of $30.996 billion for NIH.  This is an increase of $443 million (1.45%) over the FY 2009 comparable level. 

► Summary of President’s Budget for NIH

The budget includes specific funding requests for cancer (a total of $6 billion across all institutes/centers) and autism research (a total of $141 million).  The budget would fund a total of 9,849 new and competing Research Project Grants (RPG’s), an increase of 7 RPG’s over the FY 2009 level.  For noncompeting continuation awards, the budget request provides inflationary increases of 2%.

House Action

On April 2, the House of Representatives passed its version of the non-binding FY 2010 Budget Resolution by a vote of 233 to 196.  The Resolution assumes an overall level of $3.45 trillion in 2010 and allows $533 billion in non-emergency, non-defense spending, a nearly 9% increase over fiscal year 2009 funding levels.

► Senate Action

On April 2, the Senate passed its own Budget Resolution by a vote of 55 to 43.  It provides an overall spending level of $3.5 trillion, including $525 billion in non-emergency, non-defense spending, a 7% increase over fiscal year 2009 funding levels.

► Conference Report 

On April 29, both chambers voted to approve a House-Senate compromise.   (The House vote was 233 to193 and the Senate vote was 53 to 43.)   The compromise cuts the President’s request for non-emergency discretionary spending by $10 billion, to $1.086 trillion in 2010.

FISCAL YEAR 2009 BUDGET

Budget Summary & Update

► President’s FY 2009 budget: $3.1 trillion (FY 08 = $2.9 trillion)

► Provides $987.6 billion in discretionary budget authority (excluding emergencies), a $46.2b (4.9%) increase over 2008 enacted level

► $44.9b (8.2%) increase for defense, homeland security activities Government-wide, and international affairs

► $1.3b (.3%) increase for domestic programs (this category includes funding for the National Institutes of Health) other than defense, homeland security activities Government-wide, and international affairs

  • See Summary Tables of the President's FY 2009 budget (White House Office of Management and Budget).

► FY 2009 Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) budget, which funds NIH, is $737 billion, an increase of $29 billion over FY 2008

  • The total HHS discretionary budget (which does not include funding for mandatory programs such as Medicare or Medicaid) is $68.5 billion.

► The FY 2009 NIH budget is “flat” (no increase or decrease over the FY 2008 budget): $29.23 billion in total discretionary spending authority. The NIH program level is $29.465 billion (also “flat”).

House Budget Resolution

► On Thursday, March 6, the House Budget Committee approved a $3 trillion Budget Resolution for FY 2009 (H.Con.Res.312) by a vote of 22 – 16.

  • Includes $22 billion more in spending for non-defense domestic discretionary programs than the President requested
     

  • Increases funding for health programs under Function 550, which includes funding for NIH, by $4.5 billion over FY 2008 ($3.1 billion increase over the President’s request)

     

  • No specific increase for NIH

► On Thursday, March 13, the House of Representatives passed this Budget Resolution by a vote of 212 – 207.

Senate Budget Resolution 

 

► On Thursday, March 6, the Senate Budget Committee approved a $3 trillion Budget Resolution for FY 2009 (S. Con. Res. 70)  by a vote of 12 – 10.

  • Includes $18 billion more in spending for non-defense domestic discretionary programs than the President requested
     
  • Increases budget by $400 million (adjusted for inflation), and $950 million over the President’s request, for a total NIH budget of $30 billion
 
  • Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) co-sponsored an amendment to the Budget Resolution to add an additional $2.1 billion for NIH (for a total increase of $3.05 billion).  This amendment passed by a vote of 95 – 4.

► On Friday, March 14, the Senate passed this Budget Resolution by a vote of 51 – 44.

Conference Agreement 

►  On May 20, House-Senate negotiators approved a conference agreement on the FY 2009 budget resolution, which includes:

  •  Approximately $21 billion more in spending for non-defense domestic discretionary programs than the President requested
     
  • $59.7 billion for health programs under Function 550, which includes funding for NIH ($5.2 billion increase over the President’s request)
     
  • No specific increase for NIH

►  On June 4, the Senate approved this final Budget Resolution (S. Con. Res. 70) by a vote of 48 to 45.

►  On June 5, the House approved this final Budget Resolution (S. Con. Res. 70) by a vote of 214 to 210.

►  See Reports from the House Budget Committee on the final Budget Resolution

► President Bush threatened to veto any FY 2009 appropriations bill that exceeded his request for spending and failed to reduce the number of FY 2008 earmarks (funds an individual lawmaker sets aside for a specific purpose, use, or recipient, i.e. research projects, demonstration projects, parks, laboratories, academic grants, and contracts in particular congressional districts or states or for certain specified universities or other organizations) by half.
   
See a pie chart showing the President’s FY 2009 budget for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
   
   
See a pie chart showing the showing the President’s FY 2009 budget for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
   
   
See a pie chart showing the President's FY2009 budget for HHS discretionary programs, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
   
  See a Summary of the President’s FY 2009 Budget Request for NIH
   

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Updated 07/23/09