Senators Specter, Harkin Successfully Champion Increased Funding for NIH, LIHEAP

Budget Amendment Provides Additional Funding for Health Research, Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program

Washington, D.C. -- March 13, 2008 -- Today, U.S. Senators Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Ranking Member and Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, successfully championed through an amendment to the FY09 Budget Resolution. The amendment, soundly passed by a vote of 95-4, increases funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by $2.1 billion. The amendment also increases the budget for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program by $1 billion.

“The funding for the National Institutes of Health is grossly insufficient. This increase in funding will enable the National Institutes of Health to continue to produce remarkable achievements in scientific advances,” Specter said. “In addition, the escalating price of oil has produced a very heavy drain on low-income Americans, and this amendment will add materially to LIHEAP so that people aren’t faced with the prospect of either heating or eating.”

“I applaud the Senate for overwhelmingly approving our amendment. Boosting our nation's investment in the NIH will ensure the nation's top scientists can continue to deliver the life-saving biomedical research that provides hope to millions of Americans," said Harkin. "At a time when energy prices are reaching historic highs, American families deserve assurances that they will not have to make great sacrifices to pay their heating bills. This vital funding will help working families make ends meet."

The FY09 Budget Resolution recommends $30 billion for NIH, and the Specter-Harkin amendment provides an additional $2.1 billion in funding. NIH funded research is responsible for medical breakthroughs that are helping Americans live longer and healthier lives. NIH has been flat funded for the past five years; this lack of increased funding, combined with inflationary costs, has eroded the purchasing power of the NIH by 15%.

The $1 billion in additional LIHEAP funding would help eligible families pay the costs of heating and insulating their homes in the winter and cooling their homes in the summer. The nation’s high energy costs and severe weather have proved to be a great burden on many low-income families and have had a disparate effect on the elderly, disabled and children. More than five million low-income households across the country receive assistance through LIHEAP each year.

Source: Senator Arlen Specter

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