Congress and the Administration have until Nov. 21, 2019, when the current fiscal year (FY) 2020 spending measure expires, to enact either a final 2020 spending bill or another temporary spending measure. If they do not, the federal government will shut down. The impeachment process and the President’s demand for border wall funding are complicating the spending process, raising the prospect of a government shutdown before the end of 2019. This week, Senate Appropriations Committee chair Richard Shelby (R-AL), said that the timing of a potential impeachment trial in the Senate will mean that passage of a temporary spending bill funding programs, including the NIH and CDC, through to February or March 2020 will likely be necessary.

In July, the full House of Representatives passed its FY2020 health spending bill which included a $2 billion funding increase for NIH. In September, the Senate Labor-Health and Human Services Appropriations subcommittee, chaired by Sen. Blunt (R-MO), which drafts and approves the Senate health spending bill, indefinitely postponed a subcommittee vote on the FY2020 health spending bill, but released the measure to the public. The Senate health spending bill includes a proposed $3 billion funding increase for NIH. We expect the Senate bill will move forward despite the lack of committee action. We are cautiously optimistic that NIH is slated for a funding increase of between $2 - $3 billion in 2020, but the potential for a government shutdown before spending is finalized is increasing.