This week, Congress passed a $1.3 trillion FY2018 omnibus government spending package that includes a $3 billion funding increase for the NIH - a victory for biomedical research and the ATS! Specifically, the FY2018 spending omnibus provides $37.1 billion for the NIH in fiscal year 2018, a $3 billion increase over the FY2017 level of $34.1 billion.  The Senate passed the bill by a vote of 65 – 32 in the early morning hours of March 23, ahead of the midnight deadline to avert a government shutdown, following the House’s passage of the bill by 256 – 167.

Although President Trump tweeted earlier in the day on March 23 that he was considering vetoing the omnibus because it did not include a “DACA” fix and enough border wall funding, which raised the possibility of a government shutdown, he signed the legislation into law later that day.

The following are final FY2018 funding levels for the NIH institutes that the ATS monitors most closely:

• $3,383 billion for the NHBLI, a $268 million increase over the FY2017 level of $3,115 billion
• $5,260, billion for the NIAID, a $631 million increase over the FY2017 level of $4,629 billion
• $2,785 billion for the NIGMS, a $135 million increase over the FY2017 level of $2,650 billion
• $751 million for the NIEHS, a $36 million increase over the FY2017 level of $7142
• 1,524 billion for the NICHD, a $72 million increase over the FY2017 level of $1,452 billion
• $158 million for the NINR, an $8 million increase over the FY2017 level of $150 million

The bill also includes very good news for the CDC. The omnibus provides an $840 million increase over the FY2017 level of $7,160 billion for an FY2018 funding level of $8 billion for the agency. Funding levels for the following CDC programs that the ATS monitors are:

• Flat funding at the FY2017 of $29 million for the asthma program
• Flat funding at the FY2017 of $335 million for the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health
• Flat funding at the FY2017 level of $142.2 million for the domestic tuberculosis program
• A $5 million increase over FY2017 for total funding of $210 million for tobacco control.

On global health, the omnibus provides a significant $20 million or 8.3 percent funding increase for USAID’s global TB program, from $241 million in FY2017 to $261 million for FY2018.

The bill provides flat funding for EPA and a $722 million (+$46.9 million) for the VA Research Program.

Finally, the bill does not include policy riders which had been discussed, notable among them measures that would have exempted tobacco products including flavored cigars from FDA regulation and delayed or weakened some clean air standards.