Senate proposes 3.3% NIH budget boost

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) would see its budget rise 3.3 per cent to $31.7 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2012, under a draft appropriations measure released by the House Appropriations Committee on 29 September.

The figure, which would amount to a $1bn increase for the agency, is significantly more generous than the 0.6 per cent NIH budget cut approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee on 21 September. That Senate bill would fund the agency at $30.5bn, a $190 million reduction.