Before departing for a two-week recess in late September, Congress passed a short-term continuing resolution (CR), H.R. 4378, to keep the government open through November 21, 2019.
The CR was needed because the House of Representatives and Senate had not finalized a Fiscal Year 2020 appropriations bill before October 1, the start of the fiscal year.
We have testified before Congress, visited key leaders, and conducted Hill Days, but we need to keep the pressure on.
While there were several differences between the House and Senate and a growing disagreement with the administration over President Trump’s plans for a border wall, both chambers were supportive of increasing funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The House voted to support a $2 billion increase; the Senate Appropriations Committee supported a $3 billion increase.
When lawmakers returned to Washington on October 15, 2019, they had only five legislative weeks to work out unresolved disagreements in their appropriations bills before either reaching an agreement for full-year funding, passing another short-term measure, or facing a government shutdown. Complicating the progress on appropriations was the impeachment inquiry, which not only diverted attention, but also created greater fault lines between the two parties.
The Endocrine Society will continue to advocate for a final appropriations bill with at least a $2 billion increase for the NIH. We have testified before Congress, visited key leaders, and conducted Hill Days, but we need to keep the pressure on.
Please join us in advocating for endocrine-related research by joining our online advocacy campaign to urge your Representative and Senators to support NIH funding. Visit endocrine.org/takeaction.
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