Inside (the Beltway) Scoop

By: Ellen Kuo
Wednesday, July 10, 2024
House Appropriators Markup Federal Science Funding Bills

As House spending bills go through subcommittee markups, Senate appropriators laid out 302(b) allocations despite lack of Republican agreement to speed up bill consideration. So far only the Agriculture, Military Construction-VA, and legislative branch measures have their allocations and will be considered on July 11 at the full committee level bypassing the subcommittee markups.

In the House, the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies bill was released for subcommittee markup. On July 9, the House Appropriations Committee approved it on a recorded vote of 31–26. It provides $9.3 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF), which is $199 million (2%) above the fiscal year (FY) 2024 enacted level and $924 million below the president’s budget request. When the subcommittee met, it moved the bill to full committee with no amendments by voice vote. Funding federal science agencies are meant to keep America at the forefront of global science against China. However, the ranking members Matt Cartwright of the subcommittee and Rosa DeLauro of the full committee both urged a no vote against the bill as defunding and politicizing law enforcement. A summary of the bill is available here.

The Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (LHHS) bill provides $48.6 billion to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is equal to the FY 2024 enacted level. The proposal is the largest restructuring of the NIH in a generation, consolidating 27 centers into 15. The NIH overhaul is a key goal for the subcommittee Chair Rober Aderholt. See the Republican summary.

Additionally, the LHHS bill fully supports basic biomedical research investigating cures for cancers, Alzheimer’s disease, and other chronic and rare diseases. During subcommittee markup, Chair Robert Aderholt said amendments would take place at full committee and that there was a need to cut out of control spending and return to fiscal responsibilities. He said 40 programs are proposed for reduction and more than 50 programs are eliminated because they lack authorizations. 

Full Committee Chair Tom Cole said, "It invests in impactful resources for the National Institutes of Health… I want to commend you Mr. Chairman (Aderholt). This is sort of an ad hoc beginning of the discussion about some of the reforms that need to happen at some of the agencies. We don't expect to be able to do all those things here but the discussion is a valuable discussion to start, and I know you've done it in cooperation with the authorizing committee, which is an appropriate way to proceed."

DeLauro said she had “doubts” about the decision to restructure the agency through the appropriations bill and that the House needs to hold public hearings, engaging in thoughtful processes to incorporate the best ideas to advance NIH as the crown jewel of biomedical research.

Aderholt highlighted specific provisions of the bill, including no funding for diversity activities, defunding Planned Parenthood, prohibiting use of funds on abortion obtained fetal tissue, restricting research dollars to any labs in Russia or China as way to prevent future pandemics, and banning gain-of-function research. 

The bill also maintains the Hyde amendment. Cole said the bill will eventually bend toward the middle and he didn’t expect Democrats to support the initial bill and that Republicans wouldn’t bend on the Hyde amendment. The bill was voted out of the subcommittee on June 27. The full committee markup took place on July 10.

The subcommittee on Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies  released its bill, too. It provides the Department of Energy Office of Science $8.4 billion, an increase of $150 million above the FY 2024 enacted level and $193 million below the FY 2025 request. This funding ensures the U.S. remains at the forefront of scientific discovery and innovation. Our national security and economic vitality are built upon our nation’s world-leading scientific and technological leadership. Cole said this was the last subcommittee markup and in July all spending bills will be out of full committee—a brutal march.  Full committee markup took place on July 9 and was favorably reported to the House on recorded vote 30 to 26.

A summary of the bill was made available here. Bill text is available here. The subcommittee marked up had no amendments and was completed on June 28.  During the mark up DeLauro reiterated that any additional dollar in defense must be met by a dollar in nondefense with nondefense starting at $786 billion.