National Institutes of Health to Receive $2 Billion Increase in FY19

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget will receive a $2 billion increase in FY19, bringing its total budget to $39 billion. The joint House and Senate Conference Committee recently approved a two-bill Appropriations “minibus”, which includes the Department of Defense, and the Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS) Appropriations bills for FY19. The NIH falls under HHS.

Of the $39 billion allocated to NIH, $429 million is allocated to continued funding of the Brain Research through Application of Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) initiative. This is a $425 million increase from FY18. The bill also provides $562 million to the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a $25 million increase from FY18. BARDA is located under the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund (PHSSEF), which also falls under the NIH.

In addition to NIH, the bill provides the Department of Education with an FY19 budget of $71.5 billion. This is a $581 million increase over FY18 funding levels. Of this $71.5 billion, $1.9 billion is allocated to Career, Technical and Adult Education, an almost $95 million increase over FY18. The bill also includes a “Continuing Resolution” to keep the federal government open until all Appropriations funding bills can be signed into law, extending current funding levels for all federal agencies until December 7.

The bill will now be sent to both the House and Senate for final approval before going to the President for signature.

To view a summary of the bill, click here: https://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/minibus_2_-_fy_2019_labor_hhs_appropriations_bill_-_summary.pdf