Lawmakers Enthusiastically Reject Trump’s Proposal To Cut NIH Funding
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bipartisan bill last week providing $36.1 billion for the health institutes. Senator Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said it was the third consecutive year in which he had secured a $2 billion increase for the agency, and, in a separate hearing the audience erupted in applause when Senator Lamar Alexander, Republican of Tennessee, announced the boost in funding.
The New York Times:
Congress Rejects Trump Proposals To Cut Health Research Funds
Back in March, when President Trump released the first draft of his budget proposal for the coming fiscal year, he asked lawmakers for deep cuts to one of their favorite institutions, the National Institutes of Health — part of a broad reordering of priorities, away from science and social spending, toward defense and border security. Six months later, Congress has not only rejected the president’s N.I.H. proposal; lawmakers from both parties have joined forces to increase spending on biomedical research — and have bragged about it. (Pear, 9/11)
Elsewhere on Capitol Hill —
The Hill:
Dems Call For ObamaCare Hearings In The House
Democrats are calling on House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) to hold bipartisan hearings on stabilizing ObamaCare markets. The committee's Democrats in a letter to Brady dated last Friday request that the panel hold hearings, and cite the Senate Health Committee’s hearings this month as an example. (Sullivan, 9/11)
The Hill:
Paul: Cassidy-Graham Health Care Bill Not 'Going Anywhere'
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Monday that he opposes a new Republican ObamaCare replacement effort, saying it does not go far enough to repeal the law. Paul told reporters that the bill from GOP Sens. Bill Cassidy (La.) and Lindsey Graham (S.C.) would “probably” be worse than doing nothing at all on the health law. (Sullivan, 9/11)
The Hill:
Dems Worry GOP Pulling Health Care Negotiations In Partisan Direction
It's unclear whether Republicans and Democrats on the Senate's Health Committee will be able to reach a deal by the end of the week on a bill to shore up ObamaCare's insurance markets. But Democrats are worried Republicans are digging in with conservative ideas, ruining changes at negotiation, a senior Democratic aide told The Hill. (Hellmann, 9/11)