Advocacy Archive
NIH Stock Continues to Rise in 2002;
Congress Bullish on Behavior
October 22, 2001
(Those of you who have received my budget emails in the past know that I tend to keep them light. That's not going to change much, but I want to take this opportunity in view of recent events to acknowledge the difficult circumstances under which Congress is operating these days, and to commend our lawmakers (and maybe all of us) for pressing on with our business in the face of threats to well-being. Now, back to our regularly scheduled broadcast...)
Not that we needed one more sign the world has changed, but here it is: In previous years, the bill that contained the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget routinely was the last passed, mostly because of ideological arguments over health and social issues. This year it was among the first. One thing hasn't changed, though, and that is Congress' strong support for NIH. For 2002, the Senate appropriated $23.7 billion ($3.4 billion more, a 14% increase); the House gave $22.9 billion ($2.6 billion, a 12.3% increase). We still expect give and take as Congress decides whether the final NIH budget will be closer to the House or Senate, and there will be additional ‘taps' on NIH's money for other agencies. Still, this is a huge increase, in keeping with the now four-year-old move to double NIH in five years. So, unlike my portfolio, NIH continues its bull run. Why, there are Fortune 500 companies only wishing they could increase 13% next year!
There is more good news for behavioral science within all this. The appropriations reports that convey Congressional intent behind the numbers address several issues APS raised in Congress. Among them are broadening behavioral science at NIH in general; translational research at the National Institute of Mental Health; and pushing a resistant National Institute of General Medical Sciences to fulfill its mandate to support basic behavioral science.
Both the House and Senate cast behavioral science as a priority across NIH and asked NIH for a plan to increase behavioral research. The House wants NIH to report back with a plan for increasing training in basic and applied behavioral research, and a plan for increasing basic and applied behavioral research support in "non-traditional institutes, and other measures intended to ensure that NIH scientific priorities and policies appropriately reflect the central role of behavior in health..." The request for a report back is a sign the House means business. Think of it as their way of keeping a close eye on investments over these four years.
Despite this good outlook, it's a bear market for behavioral science at one particular institute -- the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, a.k.a. the "basic research" institute. NIGMS is the only Institute mandated to support research and training not targeted to specific diseases or disorders. This year, the Senate once again growled its disappointment with NIGMS, saying, "there is a range of basic behavioral research and training that NIGMS could be supporting. The Committee urges NIGMS, in consultation with the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences, to develop a plan for pursuing the most promising research topics in this area." NIGMS has ignored repeated congressional requests in this vein. We will encourage NIGMS to come out of hibernation around this issue and get bullish on behavior.
At NIMH, translational research in behavioral science already is a priority — but the Senate sent an even clearer message of support and encouragement for building on the Institute's portfolio of extending basic behavioral science to address public health issues. The Senate commended NIMH for bringing together experts in basic behavioral science, clinical research, and services research to identify specific common opportunities in this area. We see translational research as a vital link in advancing psychological science, intended both to bring knowledge out of the basic laboratory and to have application inform basic science.
The full report language can be found through a link on the APS website. Take a look. And remember -- we may not be Dean Witter, but we still measure success "one invest(igat)or at a time!" Best, Alan