Yesterday afternoon Senators Harkin and Specter introduced a landmark supplemental funding bill for the NIH. The Senator’s bill proposes providing the National Cancer Institute with an additional $1.2 billion and the rest of the National Institutes of Health with $4 billion for FY 2008.

This bill stems from their concern about the inadequate funding for biomedical and cancer research that has existed over the past 5 years.

The proposed additional $1.2 billion for NCI would represent nearly a 25 percent increase in the NCI’s budget. If successful, this proposal would have an immediate and dramatic impact on the cancer research.

We need to rally around Senators Harkin and Specter and thank them for their bold move. We need also to contact our representatives and urge them to support the Senator’s pending legislation.

Joel T Nowak MA, MSW

The following is the text of the supplemental funding legislation they have introduces:

110TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION S. ll

To make emergency supplemental appropriations for the National Institutes
of Health for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2008, and for other
purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

llllllllll

Mr. SPECTER (for himself and Mr. HARKIN) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on

llllllllll

A BILL

To make emergency supplemental appropriations for the National
Institutes of Health for the fiscal year ending
September 30, 2008, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘NIH Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2008’’

SEC. 2. SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS.

That the following sums are appropriated, out of any
money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated for the
fiscal year ending September 30, 2008, and for other purposes, namely:
(1) For an additional amount for the ‘‘Office of the Director, National Institutes of
Health” $4,000,000,000 which shall be transferred to the Institutes and
Centers of the National Institutes of Health to be used to support additional
scientific research.
(2) For an additional amount for the National Cancer Institute, $1,200,000,000 to
support additional scientific research.

SEC. 3. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

(a) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—No part of the appropriation contained in this Act shall
remain available beyond the current fiscal year.

(b) EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.—Amounts in this Act are designated as emergency
requirements pursuant to section 402 of H. Con. Res. 95 (109th Congress), and
pursuant to section 501 of H. Con. Res. 376 (109th Congress) as made applicable
to the House of Representatives by section 511(a)(4) of H. Res. 6 (110th
Congress