American Gastroenterological Association - Advancing the Science and Practice of Gastroenterology

Federal Funding of Research

NIH Funding

Without Increased Funding, Scientific Discovery Will Languish

Each year more than 62 million Americans are diagnosed with digestive disorders, including food borne illness, inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, gastrointestinal cancers and motility disorders. In some of these areas, medical research has brought us closer to developing lifesaving treatments and cures. Yet, in others, we still lack even the basic understanding of the cause and transmission of the diseases.

In order to sustain the progress in finding treatments and cures for these disabling diseases, the AGA supports the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research and its recommendation that Congress increase the NIH budget by 13.5 percent in fiscal year (FY) 2011.

The NIH Budget Has Lagged Behind Inflation for Years

The AGA recognizes that our nation faces an expanding set of challenges at home and abroad that place new demands on the nation’s resources. However, the administration’s FY 2011 request marks the eighth year in a row that the NIH budget has not kept pace with inflation, as measured by the Biomedical Research and Development Price Index (BRDPI). NIH calculates that BRDPI for FY 2011 will be 3.3 percent and funding increases below this percentage will result in a net decrease in the NIH budget.

Congress Must Keep NIH Back on Track

Congress enacted the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) that infused an unprecedented $10.4 billion into the NIH and biomedical research for the next two years, which will not only help fund more than 12,000 grants but also drive our country’s economic engine. Despite this large investment in biomedical research, Congress must continue to sustain funding for NIH research so the momentum from the ARRA funds is not lost. The biomedical research community supports a 13.5 percent increase would allow NIH to continue the momentum provided by ARRA funds and ensure there is an adequate supply of funding for those young investigators who were recipients of ARRA resources.

AGA Supports a 13.5 Percent Funding Increase in FY 2011

The AGA appreciates the efforts of the 111th Congress in providing NIH with an unprecedented infusion of funding to spur advances in medical research and fuel our nation’s economy. We look forward to continuing our collaborations with legislators and their staff to provide NIH with the resources to fund research that drives the transformation of the practice of medicine.