Skip to main content

More on the NIH budget and health funding

This is from the Kaiser Family Foundation. They have a Health Policy Report that comes out pretty regularly. Some of the numbers about what actually got approved were in here. If I weren't on deadline, I'd pull out just the stuff we're interested in - but I just can't do it right now. Sorry folks!

But, for those who can't wait! Grin -


Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report

Kaiser Health Disparities Report: A Weekly Look At Race, Ethnicity And Health -->
Capitol Hill Watch Congress Approves Fiscal Year 2008 Omnibus Budget Package; Bush Expected To Sign
[Dec 20, 2007]

The House on Wednesday voted 272-142 to approve a $555 billion omnibus budget package that includes the fiscal year 2008 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill and the 10 other unapproved FY 2008 appropriations bills, as well as $11.2 billion in emergency funds and $70 billion in additional funds for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, CQ Today reports (Clarke/Higa, CQ Today, 12/19). The Labor-HHS-Education section of the package includes $600.1 billion in total spending and $145.1 billion in discretionary spending (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 12/19).The package in large part meets the overall spending levels of $932.8 billion requested by President Bush, who threatened to veto any proposal that exceeded his request (Clarke/Higa, CQ Today, 12/19). As a result, Democrats had to reduce the amount of overall spending they had sought by $17.5 billion and on average provided less than a 3% increase in domestic spending over FY 2007 (Cohn, CongressDaily, 12/20). For example, the package includes an increase in funds for research at NIH that does not meet the rate of inflation. However, the package also shifts billions of dollars to priorities supported by Democrats, such as health care for veterans.One hundred ninety-four Republicans and 78 Democrats voted in favor of the package. Most Democrats voted against the package because of the funds for the wars (Simon/Levey, Los Angeles Times, 12/20). The package now moves to Bush, who is expected to sign the proposal (AP/Baltimore Sun, 12/20).


Session in Review The House and Senate adjourned the first session of the 110th Congress on Wednesday, and Democratic leaders listed their accomplishments, discussed their priorities for next year and criticized Republicans for "opposition that repeatedly forced them to scale back their agenda" on health care and other issues, CongressDaily reports (Schneider/Bourge, CongressDaily, 12/20). In this session, Democrats passed legislation to expand federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. However, Bush vetoed the bill. Democrats also passed legislation to reauthorize and expand SCHIP but failed to override a presidential veto despite support from a large number of Republicans (Weisman/Kane, Washington Post, 12/20). Next year, Democrats plan to make health care a priority, according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). "The biggest issue (in 2008) will be health care," she said (Schneider/Bourge, CongressDaily, 12/20). She cited the need to increase funds for research at NIH, begin to adopt a national electronic health record system and ensure that all U.S. residents have "universally accessible, personalized care" (Epstein, CQ Today, 12/19).Pelosi added, "It's a shame that the president did not accept our investments in (NIH and science funding) this year. I am talking about a realignment of priorities with more emphasis on customized and personalized research (on health care needs)" (Schneider/Bourge, CongressDaily, 12/20).

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ratner's Cheesecake

Here's another recipe from Toby! Thanks Toby......and I'll get the others posted soon! Ratner's Cheesecake and plain cookies Ratner's was a Jewish dairy restaurant in the lower East Side of Manhattan. This recipe, from my disintegrating, no longer in print Ratner's cookbook, is the closest I've ever gotten to reproducing the rich, heavy cheesecake my mother made when I was a kid. It's worth the time it takes to prepare and every last calorie. Dough Can be prepared in advance. Makes enough for two cakes. Can be frozen or used to make cookies – see recipe below. 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup shortening 1 teaspoon lemon extract 1 cup butter 2 eggs 3 cups sifted cake flour ½ teaspoon salt 2 cups all purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1. In a bowl, combine all ingredients with hands. Refrigerate 3 -4 hours, or preferably overnight. Filling (for
1 comment
Read more

The next generation with Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome

I'm so behind on posting about the trip to Puerto Rico. Since the episode of Mystery Diagnosis on Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome ran right after we got home, it's been a little busy. These, however, are my favorite pictures from Puerto Rico. I know, not pretty senery etc - but these little guys and gals inspire me. They are the next generation of folks with HPS, and if we keep up the hard work, they will live better lives because of it. They motivate me.
Post a Comment
Read more

Help for one of our newest HPS friends

As many of you know, I have a google alert set up for all sorts of key terms like albinism, pulmonary fibrosis etc. The following was posted on the blog of a friend of Melanie's. Melanie is one of our newest members of the Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome family. Unfortunately, like so many she didn't know she had HPS and the lung disease sort of snuck up on her. Melanie will be 26 years old next week. Perhaps some of us would like to contribute to the fund set up to help her and her family for her birthday. Here's the post: Melanie Hernandez, beloved sister and daughter to Pete, Monique, Cookie, and Bugie, has been diagnosed with Pulmonary Fibrosis, a lung disease occurring in people with Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome, a very rare disease.Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome (“HPS”) is a genetic metabolic disorder. It is characterized by: Albinism, Vision Impairment, Bleeding Disorder, Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Lung Disease – Pulmonary Fibrosis. With the family’s research and the recollect
Post a Comment
Read more