Please fill out the information below if your organization would like to sign on to this 302(b) allocations recommendation letter for FY 2023. A copy of the letter text is included below. Please email Samantha Miller (
smiller@researchamerica.org) with any questions or issues with the form.
May xx, 2022
The Hon. Patrick Leahy
The Hon. Richard Shelby
Chairman
Vice Chairman
Senate Committee on Appropriations
Senate Committee on Appropriations
Room S-146A, The Capitol
S-128, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20510
Washington, DC 20510
The Hon. Rosa DeLauro
The Hon. Kay Granger
Chair
Ranking Member
House Committee on Appropriations
House Committee on Appropriations
H-307, The Capitol
1036 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chair Leahy, Chair DeLauro, Vice Chairman Shelby and Ranking Member Granger:
Thank you for your commitment to ensuring that basic scientific and technological research, pandemic preparedness and COVID-response efforts were well provided for in the FY22 omnibus appropriations bill.
The Appropriations Committees in both the House and the Senate have led the way throughout the pandemic in ensuring that vital resources were made available in flexible and creative ways to allow decision makers to adapt to fast changing conditions around the world.
As you begin the FY23 appropriations process, we urge you to sustain your commitment to federal funding for medical and public health research by securing a robust 302(b) funding allocation for the Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee to meet the very real research funding needs before us. A healthy 302(b) allocation will help ensure robust funding for important health agencies in the Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee including NIH, CDC, AHRQ, BARDA and ARPA-H.
We are particularly concerned about funding for the National Institutes of Health. We are deeply disappointed in the minimal (0.6% percent) increase recommended in the President’s FY23 budget submission. As our nation’s flagship research institution, we believe that an infusion of at least $4.1 billion is more than justified by the toll health threats take on Americans and populations across the globe. An increase of $4.1 billion, inclusive of 21st Century Cures funding, would empower NIH to grow the number of progress-fueling grants the Institutes can support. The American people need and value fast-paced medical progress, which cannot be accomplished without fueling the barrier-breaking foundational research NIH funds and conducts. The anemic funding increase for NIH included in the President’s budget will not put us in a position to confront and defeat longstanding, emerging, and yet unknown health threats or bolster our research capacity to ensure global competitiveness.
While we support ARPA-H, we feel strongly that funding for this new agency should complement – not supplant – NIH funding. The importance of providing robust funding to NIH and simultaneously supplying sufficient funding for this innovative new agency underscores the need for a robust 302(b) allocation for the Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee.
Thank you for your time and consideration as you prepare for FY23 appropriations to fund our national priorities. Please call on us if we can be of assistance to you.
Sincerely,
