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NIH Funding up for a vote in the Senate

The following action request came in today from the American Thoracic Society. As you all know, NIH funding is pretty vital to HPS research. Not only does it affect the clinical trials underway at the NIH, but many of our mouse researchers that don't actually work at the NIH rely on funding grants from the NIH to continue their work. We'd appreciate everyone's support on this.

Action Requested Please contact your Senators by October 17 to request their support for increased NIH funding

The Senate is expected to vote on the Fiscal Year 2008 Labor-Health and Human Services and Education (L-HHS-ED) Appropriations bill, which funds all federal health research and services programs, the week of October 15th. The bill includes a 3.6% funding increase for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and a 4.0% increase for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). President Bush has threatened to veto the bill because it exceeds his proposed 2008 budget for L-HHS-ED funding by $11 billion, but a strong enough bipartisan Senate vote for the bill could persuade him to sign the bill and preserve health research and services funding increases. ATS members and friends are asked to contact their Senators to request that they vote for the FY08 Labor-HHS-ED bill.

How to Take ActionYou may contact your Senator’s office in Washington by phone using the Capitol Switchboard. Call 202.224.3121 and ask for your Senator’s office or give your state if you do not know their name. When connected to the office, ask for the Health Legislative Assistant.

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