.
NIH Funding: FY1994-FY2016
Judith A. Johnson
Specialist in Biomedical Policy
March 6, 2015
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
R43341
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NIH Funding: FY1994-FY2016
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Contents
NIH Funding: FY1994-FY2016 ...................................................................................................... 1
Figures
Figure 1. National Institutes of Health (NIH) Funding, FY1994-FY2016 ...................................... 3
Tables
Table 1. NIH Funding, FY1994–FY2016 ........................................................................................ 4
Contacts
Author Contact Information............................................................................................................. 5
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NIH Funding: FY1994-FY2016
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NIH Funding: FY1994-FY2016
NIH Funding: FY1994-FY2017
February 24, 2016
(R43341)
NIH Funding: FY1994-FY2017
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary federal agency charged with conducting
and supporting biomedical and behavioral research. Its activities cover a wide range of basic,
clinical, and translational research, focused on particular diseases, areas of human health and
development, or more fundamental aspects of biomedical research. Its mission also includes
research training and health information collection and dissemination.
11 About
8381% of the NIH
budget funds extramural research through grants, contracts, and other awards.
22 This funding
supports research performed by more than
300,000 non-federal scientists and technical personnel
30,000 individuals who work at more than 2,500 universities, hospitals, medical schools, and other research
institutions around the country
and abroad.3.3 About
1119% of the agency
’'s budget supports
intramural clinical and basic research
, performed by NIH
scientists and non-employee trainees in the NIH
laboratories and Clinical Center; the remaining 6% funds research management, support, and
facilities’ needs.4
physicians and scientists in the NIH Clinical Center and laboratories, as well as personnel training and facilities maintenance and construction.4
Funding for NIH comes primarily from the annual Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS),
Education and Related Agencies appropriations bill, with an additional amount for
SuperfundrelatedSuperfund-related activities from the Interior/Environment appropriations bill. Those two bills provide NIH
’s
's discretionary budget authority.
55 In addition, NIH receives mandatory funding of $150 million
annually that is provided in the Public Health Service (PHS) Act for a special program on type 1
diabetes research and funding from a PHS Act transfer. The total funding available for NIH
activities, taking account of add-ons and transfers, is known as the NIH program level.
Table 1 outlines NIH program level funding over the past
2324 years, and Figure 1 illustrates funding trends in both current (also called nominal dollars) and constant (i.e., inflation-adjusted) 2015 dollars years. Between FY1994 and
FY1998, funding for NIH grew modestly from $11.0 billion to $13.7 billion in nominal terms.
Over the next five years, Congress doubled the NIH budget to $27.2 billion in FY2003. In each of
these years, the agency received annual funding increases of 14% to 16%. Since FY2003,
however, NIH funding has increased more gradually in nominal dollars. Funding peaked in
FY2010 before declining in FY2011 through FY2013 with small increases in subsequent years.6
These funding trends are illustrated in Figure 1 in both current and constant (i.e., inflationadjusted) 2012 dollars. The top half of Figure 1 illustrates NIH funding in current dollars (also
called nominal dollars) over the period of FY1994 through FY2016. Increases since FY2003 have
1
For further information on NIH, see CRS Report R41705, The National Institutes of Health (NIH): Background and
Congressional Issues, by Judith A. Johnson.
2
Department of Health and Human Services, Fiscal Year 2016 Budget in Brief, Washington, DC, February 2, 2015, p.
49, http://www.hhs.gov/budget/fy2016/fy-2016-budget-in-brief.pdf.
3
Ibid.
4
Ibid.
5
NIH received a total of $10.4 billion in supplemental, one-time FY2009 appropriations in the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 (P.L. 111-5). ARRA funds were made available for obligation for two years; $4.95
billion was obligated in FY2009, and $5.45 billion in FY2010. CRS Report R43304, Public Health Service Agencies:
Overview and Funding, coordinated by C. Stephen Redhead.
6
Amounts shown in Table 1 include appropriations for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria (FY2002FY2011) that were subject to transfer-out. As of FY2012, NIH no longer receives appropriations for the National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) identifying resources for the Global Fund; this responsibility was
transferred to another federal agency. For further details on the amounts transferred out by fiscal year, see the
“Supplemental Appropriation Data Table” for “History of Congressional Appropriations, Fiscal Years 2000-2012” at
http://officeofbudget.od.nih.gov/approp_hist.html.
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NIH Funding: FY1994-FY2016
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been more modest (between about 1% and 3% each year), and, in FY2010 before declining in FY2011 through FY2013 with small increases in subsequent years.6 In some years, funding for the
agency decreased in nominal dollars. For instance:
•
the FY2006 total was 0.1% lower than the previous year, the first time that the
NIH appropriation had decreased since FY1970;
•
the FY2011 total, provided in the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011
( (P.L. 112-10), was 1.0% below the previous year; and
•
the FY2013 total, provided in the Consolidated and Further Continuing
Appropriations Act, 2013 (P.L. 113-6), was reduced by the March 2013
sequestration and a transfer of funding under the authority of the HHS Secretary
($1.553 billion and $173 million respectively), resulting in a budget that was
5.5 5.0% lower than the prior year.
7
7The NIH program level in
FY2015FY2016 is $
30.311 billion.8 P.L. 113-235, the Consolidated and Further
Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, provides $30.084 billion for NIH in Division G (the
32.311 billion, which includes $77 million for Superfund-related research and the $150 million in diabetes funding.8 The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (H.R. 2029, P.L. 114-113), provides $32.084 billion for NIH in Division H (the Labor/HHS and Education appropriations act): $
29.36931.304 billion for the NIH institutes and centers
plus $
715 million from a Public Health Service (PHS) Act transfer.9 Congress directed the entire
$715 million to one NIH institute, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS),
offsetting the more than $700 million reduction in discretionary budget authority for NIGMS in
P.L. 113-235 compared with its FY2014 funding level. NIH received about $77 million for
Superfund-related research from Division F of P.L. 113-235.10 In addition, NIH receives
mandatory funding of $150 million annually that is provided in the PHS Act for a special program
on type 1 diabetes research.11
The President’s FY2016 budget780 million in funding via the PHS Act transfer.9
For FY2017, the Obama Administration requests an NIH program level total of $
31.31133.136 billion, an
increase of $1 billion (3.3%) over the FY2015 level of $30.311 billion. The FY2016 program
increase of $825 million (2.6%) over FY2016. The FY2017 program level request for NIH includes $150 million in mandatory funding for research on type 1 diabetes
,
which is proposed for reauthorization in FY2016. The FY2016 program level amount also
proposes $847 million in funding transferred to NIH by the PHS Act transfer.
The lower half of Figure 1 portrays NIH funding adjusted for inflation (in constant 2012 dollars)
using the Biomedical Research and Development Price Index (BRDPI).12 It shows that the
7
The FY2012 amount of $30.861 billion appears to be 0.2% below the FY2011 amount of $30.916 billion. However,
the FY2011 amount includes $297.3 million that was subject to transfer-out for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB,
and Malaria.
8
This amount does not include $238,000,000 for the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) for
research on Ebola that was provided in P.L. 113-235, Title VI of Division G; for more information, see CRS Report
R43807, FY2015 Budget Requests to Counter Ebola and the Islamic State (IS), coordinated by Susan B. Epstein.
9
NIH and other HHS agencies and programs authorized under the PHS Act are subject to a budget assessment called
the PHS Program Evaluation Set-Aside, also called the evaluation tap. Section 241 of the PHS Act (42 U.S.C. §238j)
authorizes the Secretary of HHS to use a portion of eligible appropriations to study the effectiveness of federal health
programs and to identify improvements.
10
Division F of P.L. 113-235 is the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations
Act, 2015.
11
Mandatory funds for type 1 diabetes research under PHS Act §330B, provided most recently by P.L. 112-240 in
FY2014 and P.L. 113-93 in FY2015.
12
The index is developed each year for NIH by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Department of Commerce. It
reflects the increase in prices of the resources needed to conduct biomedical research, including personnel services,
supplies, and equipment. It indicates how much the NIH budget must change to maintain purchasing power. See “NIH
(continued...)
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and $77 million for Superfund-related research. The FY2017 program level request also proposes $847 million in funding transferred to NIH by the PHS Act transfer and $1.825 billion in additional mandatory funds. The FY2017 request includes $755 million for the Vice President's Cancer Moonshot; $680 million is allocated for the National Cancer Institute at NIH, and $75 million is transferred from NIH to the Food and Drug Administration.
The lower half of Figure 1 portrays NIH funding adjusted for inflation (in constant 2015 dollars) using the Biomedical Research and Development Price Index (BRDPI).10 It shows that the purchasing power of NIH funding (non-ARRA) peaked in FY2003 (the last year of the five-year
doubling period) and has steadily declined in the years since. In constant
20122015 dollars,
FY2015
the FY2017 level funding is
22% lower19.2% less than the FY2003 level.
Figure 1. National Institutes of Health (NIH) Funding, FY1994-
FY2016
FY2017
Program Level Funding in Current and Constant (
20122015) Dollars
Sources: NIH Budget Office, Appropriations History by Institute/Center (1938 to Present), at
http://officeofbudget.od.nih.gov/approp_hist.html
, and. FY2015, FY2016, and FY2017 amounts are from Department of Health and Human Services, Fiscal Year
2016 2017 Budget in Brief, Washington, DC, February
29, 2015, p.
44, http://www.hhs.gov/budget/fy2016/fy-2016-
(...continued)
Price Indexes,” at http://officeofbudget.od.nih.gov/gbiPriceIndexes.html.
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NIH Funding: FY1994-FY2016
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51, http://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/fy2017-budget-in-brief.pdf. Inflation adjustment reflects the Biomedical Research and Development Price Index (BRDPI),
updated February 2, 2015, updated January 2016, http://officeofbudget.od.nih.gov/gbiPriceIndexes.html
.
.
Notes: Program level includes all budget authority including appropriations for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,
TB, and Malaria (FY2002-FY2011) that were subject to transfer-out. As of FY2012, NIH no longer receives
appropriations for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) identifying resources for the
Global Fund; this responsibility was transferred to another federal agency. Excludes other transferred amounts
to and from HHS accounts, such as the PHS Act transfer (evaluation tap). ARRA supplementary funding is from
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, P.L. 111-5. FY2015 amount does not include
$238,000,000 for the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) for research on Ebola that
was provided in P.L. 113-235, Title VI of Division G.
Table 1. NIH Funding, FY1994–
FY2016
FY2017
Program Level Funding in Current and Constant (
2012) Dollars (billions)
Program
Level
Constant ’12 $
Fiscal Year
Program
Level
1994
$10.956
1995
11.300
3.1%
19.699
-0.3%
1996
11.928
5.6%
20.275
2.9%
1997
12.741
6.8%
21.072
3.9%
1998
13.675
7.3%
21.875
3.8%
1999
15.629
14.3%
24.234
10.8%
2000
17.841
14.1%
26.669
10.0%
2001
20.459
14.7%
29.598
11.0%
2002
23.321
14.0%
32.658
10.3%
2003
27.167
16.5%
36.751
12.5%
2004
28.037
3.2%
36.565
-0.5%
-0.5%
2005
28.594
2.0%
35.896
-1.8%
-2.3%
2006
28.560
-0.1%
34.267
-4.5%
-6.8%
2007
29.179
2.2%
33.729
-1.6%
-8.2%
2008
29.607
1.5%
32.694
-3.1%
-11.0%
2009
30.545
3.2%
32.771
0.2%
-10.8%
2010
31.238
2.3%
32.543
-0.7%
-11.4%
2011
30.916
-1.0%
31.312
-3.8%
-14.8%
2012
30.861
-0.2%
30.861
-1.4%
-16.0%
2013
29.151
-5.5%
28.615
-7.3%
-22.1%
2014
30.151
3.4%
29.007
1.4%
-21.1%
2015
30.311
0.5%
28.532
-1.6%
-22.4%
2016
31.311
3.3%
28.779
0.9%
-21.7%
% Change
% Change
% Loss
below ‘03
$19.762
NIH Funding including ARRA Supplement
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2009
35.499
38.086
2010
36.684
38.217
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NIH Funding: FY1994-FY2016
.
Source: NIH Budget Office, Appropriations History by Institute/Center (1938 to Present), at
2015) Dollars (billions)
Fiscal Year
|
Program Level
|
% Change
|
Program Level Constant 2015 $
|
% below 2003
|
1994
|
$10.956
|
$21.038
|
1995
|
11.300
|
3.1%
|
20.972
|
1996
|
11.928
|
5.6%
|
21.585
|
1997
|
12.741
|
6.8%
|
22.433
|
1998
|
13.675
|
7.3%
|
23.288
|
1999
|
15.629
|
14.3%
|
25.799
|
2000
|
17.841
|
14.1%
|
28.391
|
2001
|
20.459
|
14.7%
|
31.510
|
2002
|
23.321
|
14.0%
|
34.768
|
2003
|
27.167
|
16.5%
|
39.125
|
2004
|
28.037
|
3.2%
|
38.927
|
-0.5%
|
2005
|
28.594
|
2.0%
|
38.215
|
-2.3%
|
2006
|
28.560
|
-0.1%
|
36.481
|
-6.8%
|
2007
|
29.179
|
2.2%
|
35.908
|
-8.2%
|
2008
|
29.607
|
1.5%
|
34.806
|
-11.0%
|
2009
|
30.545
|
3.2%
|
34.888
|
-10.8%
|
2010
|
31.238
|
2.3%
|
34.626
|
-11.5%
|
2011
|
30.916
|
-1.0%
|
33.316
|
-14.8%
|
2012
|
30.861
|
-0.2%
|
32.836
|
-16.1%
|
2013
|
29.316
|
-5.0%
|
30.619
|
-21.7%
|
2014
|
30.142
|
2.8%
|
30.816
|
-21.2%
|
2015
|
30.311
|
0.6%
|
30.311
|
-22.5%
|
2016
|
32.311
|
6.6%
|
31.583
|
-19.3%
|
2017 request
|
33.136
|
2.6%
|
31.626
|
-19.2%
|
NIH Funding including ARRA Supplement
|
2009
|
35.499
|
40.546
|
2010
|
36.684
|
40.663
|
Source: NIH Budget Office, Appropriations History by Institute/Center (1938 to Present), at http://officeofbudget.od.nih.gov/approp_hist.html
, and. FY2015, FY2016, and FY2017 amounts are from Department of Health and Human Services, Fiscal Year
2016 2017 Budget in Brief, Washington, DC, February
29, 2015, p.
4451, http://www.hhs.gov/
budget/fy2016/fy-2016budgetsites/default/files/fy2017-budget-in-brief.pdf. Inflation adjustment reflects the Biomedical Research and Development Price Index (BRDPI),
updated February 2, 2015, updated January 2016, http://officeofbudget.od.nih.gov/gbiPriceIndexes.html
.
Notes: .
Notes: Amounts in table may differ from actuals in many cases. By convention, budget tables, such as Table 1
do not subtract the amount of transfers from the agencies
’' funding. Program Level includes all budget authority,
including appropriations for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria (FY2002-FY2011) that were subject
to transfer-out. As of FY2012, NIH no longer receives appropriations for the National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases (NIAID) identifying resources for the Global Fund; this responsibility was transferred to
another federal agency.
Excludes other transferred amounts to and from HHS accounts, such as the PHS Act
transfer (evaluation tap). ARRA supplementary funding is from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009, P.L. 111-5. FY2015 amount does not include $238,000,000 for the National Institute for Allergy and
Infectious Diseases (NIAID) for research on Ebola that was provided in P.L. 113-235
, Title VI of Division G.
Author Contact Information
[author name scrubbed], Specialist in Biomedical Policy
([email address scrubbed], [phone number scrubbed])
Acknowledgments
LaTiesha Cooper, Research Assistant, assisted with the preparation of the table and figure included in this report.
Footnotes
1.
|
For further information on NIH, see CRS Report R41705, The National Institutes of Health (NIH): Background and Congressional Issues, by [author name scrubbed].
|
2.
|
Department of Health and Human Services, Fiscal Year 2017 Budget in Brief, Washington, DC, February 9, 2015, p. 47, http://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/fy2017-budget-in-brief.pdf.
|
3.
|
Ibid.
|
4.
|
Ibid.
|
5.
|
NIH received a total of $10.4 billion in supplemental, one-time FY2009 appropriations in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 (P.L. 111-5). ARRA funds were made available for obligation for two years; $4.95 billion was obligated in FY2009, and $5.45 billion in FY2010. CRS Report R43304, Public Health Service Agencies: Overview and Funding, coordinated by [author name scrubbed].
|
6.
|
Amounts shown in Table 1 include appropriations for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria (FY2002-FY2011) that were subject to transfer-out. As of FY2012, NIH no longer receives appropriations for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) identifying resources for the Global Fund; this responsibility was transferred to another federal agency. For further details on the amounts transferred out by fiscal year, see the "Supplemental Appropriation Data Table" for "History of Congressional Appropriations, Fiscal Years 2000-2012" at http://officeofbudget.od.nih.gov/approp_hist.html.
7.
|
The FY2012 amount of $30.861 billion appears to be 0.2% below the FY2011 amount of $30.916 billion. However, the FY2011 amount includes $297.3 million that was subject to transfer-out for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria.
|
8.
|
Superfund amount provided by Division G of P.L. 114-113, the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016. Mandatory funds for type 1 diabetes research (under PHS Act §330B) provided by P.L. 114-10 for FY2016 and FY2017.
|
9.
|
NIH and other HHS agencies and programs authorized under the PHS Act are subject to a budget assessment called the PHS Program Evaluation Set-Aside, also called the evaluation tap. Section 241 of the PHS Act (42 U.S.C. §238j) authorizes the Secretary of HHS to use a portion of eligible appropriations to study the effectiveness of federal health programs and to identify improvements. Although the PHS Act limits the evaluation tap to no more than 1% of eligible appropriations, in recent years the annual Labor/HHS/ED appropriations act has specified a higher amount (2.5% in FY2015 and FY2016) and directed specific amounts of funding from the evaluation tap for transfer to a number of HHS programs. The set-aside has the effect of redistributing appropriated funds for specific purposes among PHS and other HHS agencies. NIH, with the largest budget among the PHS agencies, has traditionally been the largest "donor" of program evaluation funds and, until recently, a relatively minor recipient. For FY2015, although NIH contributed an estimated $700 million to the tap, it received $715 million under P.L. 113-235, the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, an increase over the $8.2 million NIH received in FY2014 and prior years from the transfer. P.L. 113-235 allocated the entire $715 million to the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), offsetting the more than $700 million reduction in discretionary budget authority for NIGMS in the law compared with its FY2014 funding level. By convention, budget tables such as Table 1 do not subtract the amount of the evaluation tap from the donor agencies' appropriations.
10.
|
The index is developed each year for NIH by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Department of Commerce. It reflects the increase in prices of the resources needed to conduct biomedical research, including personnel services, supplies, and equipment. It indicates how much the NIH budget must change to maintain purchasing power. See "NIH Price Indexes," at http://officeofbudget.od.nih.gov/gbiPriceIndexes.html.
|
, Title VI of Division G.
Author Contact Information
Judith A. Johnson
Specialist in Biomedical Policy
jajohnson@crs.loc.gov, 7-7077
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