Approps Bills Pass House, Await
Action in Senate

The appropriations process continues as the House and Senate consider the fiscal year (FY) 2008 appropriations bills. In May, Congress passed a budget resolution setting discretionary spending at $953.1 billion. In early June, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS) received an allocation of $151.1 billion to divide among its diverse programs, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Cancer Institute (NCI). Later in June, the full Senate Appropriations Committee passed its $152 billion LHHS spending bill which included a 2.8 percent increase in funding for NIH in FY 2008. The full House has now considered both the LHHS appropriations bill and the Agriculture appropriations bill (which includes funding for the FDA), while the full Senate has yet to take action on either bill.

NIH Appropriations

On July 11, the House Appropriations Committee approved the FY 2008 LHHS appropriations bill. The bill maintained the funding levels previously determined by the LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee, which included a 1.9 percent increase for NIH. (See July's newsletter for more details.) The full House of Representatives passed the measure by a vote of 276-140 on July 19.

In the Senate, the LHHS appropriations bill passed the Senate Appropriations Committee on June 21 and the bill has not progressed since then. The Senate version of the bill contains a 2.8 percent increase for NIH. Congress is in recess from August 6 until September 4, and the Senate is expected to consider the bill when Congress returns to session in September.

However, the future of the appropriations bills remains uncertain. The President has threatened to veto because they exceed his spending cap by $23 billion.

FDA Appropriations

The House Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies appropriations bill was approved by a vote of 237-18 on August 2, amid displeasure from Republican members over procedural motions pertaining to the bill. The agriculture appropriations bill, which funds the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), contains $90.7 billion in funding for FY 2008, $18.8 billion of which is reserved for discretionary spending with the remainder going toward mandatory programs such as food stamps and farm subsidies.

The House bill would provide $1.69 billion for the FDA, an amount that is $128.4 million above last year's FDA appropriation and $62 million higher than the President's FY 2008 budget request.

The overall House Agriculture Appropriations bill exceeds the President's budget request by almost $1 billion, therefore it may face a veto threat from the President. Also included in the bill is a contentious provision allowing prescription drug reimportation from foreign countries, a provision that the Administration strongly opposes.

The Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee passed its version of the funding bill in July. The Senate's request is $58 million above the House request and an 11% increase above the enacted 2007 budget. From this increase, $17 million is proposed to go toward the FDA's Critical Path Initiative to modernize product development and evaluation. The full Senate is expected to consider the bill after the August recess.