The November elections brought a shift in the balance of power to Washington with Joe Biden winning the White House for the Democrats and control of the Senate hinging on two January runoff elections in Georgia. Shortly after the election, the Republican leadership of the Senate Appropriations Committee released the twelve annual appropriations bills as “Chairman’s Marks”. This action was solely intended to facilitate negotiations with the House of Representatives (which previously passed its FY 2021 appropriations bills) on final spending measures for the year. The federal government is currently operating on a continuing appropriations resolution that is set to expire on December 11^th and lawmakers appear interested in finalizing FY 2021 appropriations before the 116^th Congress adjourns at the end of the year.

Below, please find an overview of key funding items from the Senate FY 2021 appropriations measures:

• $43.46 billion for NIH, a proposed increase of $2 billion over FY 2020 and $3.5 billion less than the House proposal.

• $3.05 billion for the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) at NIH, an increase of $109.74 million over FY 2020 and $115 million less than the House proposal.

• $399.16 million for the Institutional Development Awards program, an increase of $12.59 million over FY 2020 and $3 million more than the House proposal.

• $391.75 million for the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) at NIH, an increase of $55.94 million over FY 2020 and $16 million more than the House proposal.

• $75 for the Research Centers in Minority Institutions Program, level-funded from FY 2020 and $5 million less than the House proposal.

• $890 million for the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) at NIH, an increase of $57.12 million over FY 2020 and $3 million less than the House proposal.

• $596.97 million for the Clinical and Translational Science Awards Program, an increase for $18.83 million over FY 2020 and $18.83 million more than the House proposal. 

• $2.38 billion for the Office of the Director at NIH, an increase of $138.27 million over FY 2020 and $2.23 billion less than the House proposal.

• $646.3 million for the Common Fund at the Office of the Director, an increase of $19.79 million over FY 2020 and $14 million more than the House proposal.

• $256.7 million for AHRQ, a proposed decrease of $81.24 million from FY 2020 and $86.24 million less than the House proposal.