House Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced on Feb. 9 that bipartisan, bicameral negotiators had agreed to a framework to complete the fiscal year (FY) 2022 appropriations process. The announcement added that the framework would allow all 12 appropriations subcommittees to begin finalizing an FY 2022 omnibus spending bill.
The Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research, which is convened by the AAMC, responded to the framework agreement announcement with a Feb. 9 press statement urging Congress to work quickly to provide robust funding growth for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in FY 2022. “The Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research is encouraged that a bipartisan, bicameral framework is in place,” the coalition stated before urging Congress to work quickly to finalize a $46.4 billion investment in the NIH base budget for FY 2022, as included in the House-passed spending bill.
Just two days before the agreement was announced, DeLauro introduced H.R. 6617, the Further Additional Extending Government Funding Act, to extend the existing continuing resolution (CR) through March 11. The House then passed the measure by a bipartisan vote of 272-162 on Feb. 8, with the Senate expected to vote on the measure in the coming week. The federal government is currently funded at FY 2021 spending levels under a CR that expires on Feb. 18 [refer to Washington Highlights, Dec. 3, 2021].