FASEB Washington Update - February 17, 2009
SPECIAL EDITION: Economic Stimulus Bill Includes More Than $15 Billion for Science
On February 13, 2009 the House of Representatives passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (HR) by a vote of 246-183 with no Republicans voting in favor of the legislation. The Senate passed the bill later that day on a 60-38 vote. Three Republican Senators (Collins of Maine, Snowe of Maine and Specter of Pennsylvania) voted in favor of the bill. President Barack Obama signed the legislation into law on Feb. 17th at a special ceremony in Denver, Colorado. The $789 billion bill includes more than $15 billion for a variety of investments in science facilities, research programs and instrumentation, as well as $1 billion to repair and renovate Veterans Administration medical facilities. The legislation also provides “unprecedented oversight, accountability, and transparency to ensure that taxpayer dollars are invested effectively, efficiently, and as quickly as possible” by distributing funds through existing formulas and programs with proven accountability measures already in place, providing addition funding for the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and agency Inspectors General, establishing a new Recovery Act Accountability and Transparency Board to conduct oversight of recovery spending and establishing a new website, accessible to the public, that will feature information about recovery spending, grants, contracts, and oversight activities. Most funds provided in the bill shall be available until September 30, 2010. The following summary of proposed funding for selected agencies and programs of interest to FASEB members was prepared by staff in the FASEB Office of Public Affairs. Page numbers refer to pages in the text of the conference report. For additional information or questions, please contact Jennifer Zeitzer at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 301-634-7128 or Kimberly McGuire at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 301-634-7795. The full text of the conference report is available on the House Appropriations Committee website. A statement explaining the conference report is also available on the web.
National Institutes of Health (pgs. 153-156: http://appropriations.house.gov/pdf/Recovery_Bill_Div_A.pdf)
$10 billion total* distributed as follows:
• $8.2 billion total to the Office of the Director (OD), of which $7.4 billion will be transferred to the Institutes, Centers and Common Fund in proportion to current appropriations and $800 million will remain in the OD for trans-NIH initiatives.
• $1.3 billion total to the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), of which $1 billion is for “competitive awards for the construction and renovation of extramural research facilities” and $300 million is for shared instrumentation and other capital equipment.
• $500 million is for the NIH Buildings and Facilities (B & F) account to be used for construction, repairs and renovation of NIH intramural buildings.
* - an additional $400 million is to be transferred from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to the NIH Office of the Director to support or conduct comparative effectiveness research – pg. 156: http://appropriations.house.gov/pdf/Recovery_Bill_Div_A.pdf).
National Science Foundation(pg. 43: http://appropriations.house.gov/pdf/Recovery_Bill_Div_A.pdf)$3.2 billion total distributed as follows:
• $2.5 billion for Research and Related Activities including: $300 million for Major Research Instrumentation program, and $200 million for academic research facilities modernization
• $100 million to Education and Human Resources
• $400 million to Major Research and Facilities Construction
• $2 million to the Office of the Inspector General
Department of Energy - Office of Science
(pgs. 58-64 http://appropriations.house.gov/pdf/Recovery_Bill_Div_A.pdf)
$2 billion total distributed as follows:
• $1.6 billion to the DOE Office of Science
• $400 million to the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy
• In addition, $15 million to the DOE Office of the Inspector General
(pgs. 213-215 http://appropriations.house.gov/pdf/Recovery_Bill_Div_A.pdf)
$1.25 billion total to include:
• $1 billion to Veterans Health Administration Medical Facilities
• $50 million to National Cemetery Administration
• $50 million to Information Technology Systems
• $150 million to General Operating Expenses
• $1 million to the Office of the Inspector General
Unfortunately, the conference report did not include any funds for the USDA Agriculture Food Research Initiative
FASEB’s Washington Update is brought to you bi-monthly by the FASEB Office of Public Affairs. We welcome your questions and comments – please contact Carrie Wolinetz at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 301-634-7650. For more information about how to get involved in research advocacy, visit: http://capwiz.com/faseb/home/