December 2015
Today, the House and Senate passed a FY2016 omnibus spending bill that provides funding for most government programs, including the NIH, for the remainder of the 2016 fiscal year. The $1.15 trillion package passed the House by a vote of 316 – 116. President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law.
In general, the budget deal provides increases for most federal research programs, small increases or level funding for public health and environmental programs. Below are charts of funding levels for NIH, CDC, EPA, VA Research and USAID TB programs.
| Institute | FY2013 | F2014 | FY2015 | FY2016 | % +/- |
| NIH | $29,075 | $29,934 | $30,100 | $32,100 | +6.6% |
| NHLBI | $2,821 | $2,983 | $2,988 | $3,115 | + 4.2% |
| NIAID | $4,260 | $4,392 | $4,423 | $4,629 | +4.6% |
| NIEHS | $649 | $678 | $685 | $693,7 | + 2.2% |
| NINR | $137 | $140.5 | $141,5 | $146 | +3.2% |
| NICHD | $1,244 | $1,280 | $1,286 | $1,390 | + 4.4% |
| NIGMS | $2,290 | $2,360 | $2,372 | $2,512 | 5.5% |
CDC Programs
| Program | FY2013 | FY2014 | FY2015 | FY2016 | % +/- |
| CDC | $6,286 | $6,849 | $6,925 | $7,233 | +4.4% |
| NIOSH | $310 | $315 | $334.8 | $339 | +1.2% |
| Asthma | $24 | $24.7 | $27.5 | $29 | +5.4% |
| TB | $140 | $142 | $142 | $142 | 0 |
| Tobacco | $190 | $205 | $216 | $210 | -2.7% |
EPA, VA Research & USAID TB
| Program | FY2013 | FY2014 | FY2015 | FY2016 | % +/ – |
| EPA | $7,901 | $8,200 | $8,100 | $8,100 | 0 |
| VA Research | $582 | $585 | $589 | $630,7 | +7% |
| USAID TB | $224 | $236 | $236 | $236 | 0 |
Policy Riders
Of equal importance is that the bill avoided most of the legislative riders that would have undermined federal initiatives supported by the ATS. Specifically, there were no legislative riders to change the tobacco grandfathering date (which would have shielded e-cigarettes from FDA regulation), no policy riders to block, weaken or delay EPA's action on ozone or climate change.
The bill does include report language directing EPA to, "develop a policy statement on science quality and integrity that shall be adhered to by the Scientific Advisory Board and all Board members." The report language essentially urges EPA to 1) revise their conflict of interest policies to either allow more industry representatives to serve on EPA panels OR reduce scientists' participation on EPA panels 2) increase EPA advisory board's need to solicit and respond to public comment and 3) get certification of the policy from General Accounting Office. While this policy rider is unwelcome, it's less invasive than earlier proposals. The ATS will continue to closely monitor how EPA responds to this report language.
Antibiotic Resistance
The FY2016 omnibus also includes new funding of $379 million for multi-agency efforts to combat antibiotic resistance (AR). Although this amount is less than the $577 million that the president's proposed FY2016 budget for AR, the omnibus provides $160 million in new funding for the CDC's new Antibiotic Resistance Solutions Initiative, which is aimed at creating state AR prevention programs, setting up a new network of regional laboratories and other activities to detect and prevent AR. The omnibus also provides:
- $100 million for NIAID's AR activities
- $97 million for the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority
- $22 million for AHRQ, FDA and national Healthcare Safety Network.
