The House and Senate are in session.

On February 17, 2009, the President signed into law H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Included in this bill is $10 billion for NIH, which is available until September 30, 2010. Funds for NIH are specified as follows:

• The legislation includes $1.3 billion for the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) , of which $1 billion is for competitive awards for the construction and renovation of extramural research facilities and $300 million for the acquisition of shared instrumentation and other capital research equipment.
• The bill provides $8.2 billion for the NIH Office of the Director (OD), of which $7.4 billion is designated for transfer to Institutes and Centers and to the trans-NIH Common Fund. The remaining $800 million is to be retained in the OD to be used for purposes that can be completed within two years; priority is to placed on short-term grants that focus on specific scientific challenges, new research that expands the scope of ongoing projects, and research on public and international health priorities. Bill language is included to permit the Director, NIH, to use $400 million for flexible research authority. The funds available to NIH can be used to enhance central research support activities, such as equipment for the Clinical Research Center or intramural activities, centralized information support systems, and other related activities as determined by the Director.
• The Act provides $500 million for NIH Buildings and Facilities, for construction as well as renovation.
• $1.1 billion is provided to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality for comparative effectiveness research, of which $400 million is to be transferred to NIH.

Updated 4/24/2009

NIH Research Matters
NIH Office of Communications and Public Liaison
NIH Office of Budget
The Library of Congress Thomas
US Department of Health & Human Services, Assistant Secretary for Legislation (ASL)