News From The Hill

Congress spent the month of October in recess, with Representatives and Senators on the campaign trail ahead of the November elections. One of the last actions by Congress was to pass a Continuing Resolution to keep federal agencies operating at their current level until December 16^th so legislators can continue to work to finalize the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 spending bills by the end of the year. Presently, Congress plans to use the Lame Duck session following the election to finalize FY 2023 appropriations and to pass any critical outstanding bills. The results of the election will have some bearing on how Congress finalizes the annual spending bills and the allocations for key programs, even if the new Congress will not adjourn until January of next year.

One of the key items left to be resolved through the end of the year appropriations process is the authorizing legislation and funding provisions for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). The House and Senate currently have differing funding levels as well as divergent authorizing legislation, but persistent issues are expected to be resolved in a timely fashion. Moreover, the initial funding provided by Congress for ARPA-H in FY 2022 is already being used to establish the agency, identify its leadership, and stand-up grant making and related activities without delay.

For the remainder of the year, CCTS encourages advocates to reach out to congressional contacts and encourage support the community’s annual funding recommendations (listed below). There will be ample opportunity to educate new members during the next Congress, but for now there is a tangible opportunity to secure pending FY 2023 funding.

• Please provide the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with $47.46 billion, consistent with the House Proposal.

• Please provide the National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NCATS) at NIH with $907.76 million, consistent with the Senate proposal.
  • Please provide the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) program at NCATS with $626.06 million in dedicated, line-item funding, consistent with the increase included in the House proposal. Moreover, please continue to include guidance and committee instructions that preserve the integrity of CTSAs, ensure the individual hubs can effectively advance the program’s mission, and provide clear guidance on utilization of program resources.
  • Please provide $90 million in appropriated funding for the Cures Acceleration Network (CAN) at NCATS, consistent with the Senate proposal.
  • Please provide the Institutional Development Awards (IDeA) program at NIH with at least $423 million, consistent with the House and Senate proposals.
  • Please provide the Research Centers at Minority Institutions (RCMI) program at NIH with $89.77 million, consistent with the House proposal.

• Please provide the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with $10.5 billion, consistent with the House and Senate proposals.
• Please provide the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) with at least $385 million, consistent with the House and Senate proposals.