NIH Spending At Risk In Budget Battle
Bloomberg: NIH Spending Imperiled By Republicans Ignoring Gingrich Pleas For ScienceWhen House Republicans took power in 1995 determined to cut spending in a battle that shut down the U.S. government, then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich was persuaded to spare the National Institutes of Health. Gingrich not only reconsidered his party's proposed cuts to the NIH budget after hearing concerns from business executives and Nobel laureates, he later supported a bipartisan move to double the research center's funding over five years. For Republicans who took control of the House this year, those concerns aren't resonating, and the NIH lacks a Republican champion. House Republicans are now pressing for a $1.6 billion, or 5.2 percent, spending cut to the center in Bethesda, Maryland, which includes the National Cancer Institute and other medical-research facilities (Dodge, 3/21). This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.