When Congress returns to DC on September 6, they will have less than a month to pass a funding bill to keep federal agencies operating after fiscal year 2016 ends on September 30. Because of partisan gridlock, the Congress is not expected to do that, but it can still prevent a shut-down of the federal government by passing a stop-gap funding bill known as a “Continuing Resolution (CR).” Fiscally conservative Republicans are expected to demand a six-month CR to fund the government through March 2017. Several conservatives also said they would accept the $1.067 trillion overall spending level that was agreed to last fall (instead of seeking additional spending cuts) if the CR runs through March. Democrats prefer a much shorter CR so that Congress will have to come back after Election Day to pass an omnibus appropriations bill that will finalize the 2017 agency budgets. It’s possible that the CR may also include emergency funding to address Zika, the opioid crisis, or other issues.
What’s at Stake: Under a CR, NIH will not fund new projects and probably will not release the full amount of awarded grant funds. A CR through March also jeopardizes the bipartisan $2 billion increase for NIH that the Senate Appropriations Committee approved in June. We must let Congress know that a long-term CR will be very harmful to the research community and convince lawmakers to pass an omnibus appropriations bill by the end of this year.
Take Action: To make our voices heard on Capitol Hill, the Endocrine Society is planning the following advocacy activities in September:
- E-Action Alert: to generate emails to Congress urging them not to adopt a long-term CR and to focus on passing an omnibus spending bill. Please respond to the alert that will be sent on September 6 or take action today by visiting our campaign. Taking action is quick and easy. Click to access the campaign, and a pre-written letter will be provided for you. You will only need to either provide your email and member ID, OR enter your address information so that the system will send your message to the correct recipients.
- NIH Advocacy Toolkit: to provide Society members with several ways to share our message about the importance of NIH funding. Our toolkit includes information to help Society members use social media, write op-ed articles, share their story, etc. Please visit the NIH Advocacy Toolkit today.
- Rally for Medical Research: to visit Congress and share our message. Members of the Advocacy and Public Outreach Core Committee will be coming to DC to participate in a Rally for Medical Research with other members of the research community on September 22. We will be visiting Members of Congress and urging them to support NIH.
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