Back in March, when the administration of President trump has published a first draft budget for the coming fiscal year, the document proposed a massive cut funding for the National institutes of health. The proposal was based on the partial reallocation of priorities. Vector moved towards the defence and security of the borders, paying attention to science and social spending.
Six months later, Congress not only rejected a presidential initiative. Moreover, the legislature joined forces (both Democrats and Republicans) to increase spending on biomedical research.
Last week, the appropriations Committee of the Senate approved a bipartisan bill that over the next fiscal year (which begins in October), will be allocated to 36.1 billion dollars on medical research. Senator Roy blunt, Republican of Missouri and Chairman of the Subcommittee responsible for health care costs, said that for the third year in a row, he receives an increase of $ 2 billion.
The audience erupted with applause when Senator Lamar Alexander, Republican from Tennessee, announced an increase in funding for scientific programs of health at the hearing of the special Committee of the Senate.
The decision really resonates with the proposal by the presidential administration. Recall that Donald trump was planning to cut funding for «indirect costs» of the institutes of health at $ 7.5 billion, that is 22%. Such costs were classified as cost of utilities, Internet service, data storage, construction and maintenance of laboratories, etc. Total amount was to be 26.6 billion dollars, but was almost 10 billion more.
The President’s proposal «would be detrimental to American innovation in medical research, would delay the emergence and production of new drugs. It also would reduce funding for institutes of health to the lowest level since 2002,» said democratic Senator Richard J. Durbin from Illinois.
