House/Senate Budget Resolutions and NSF/NIH

Douglas B Hanson (dhanson@WORLD.STD.COM)
Thu, 18 May 1995 08:51:10 -0400

After seeing all these posts recently about the possible demise of NSF, can
someone in or familiar with the Anthropology Program at NSF give us a
"true" reading on this one. I know NIH is in real trouble.

According to a recent advisory from the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research
Funding, both the House and Senate Budget Committees have enacted budget
resolutions that will severely reduce the research efforts supported by the
National Institutes of Health. The Senate budget resolution is the worst,
calling for a reduction of 20% (including the effect of inflation) in the
1996 budget (beginning October 1995).

NIH projects that this will enable only 339 new and competing research
grants (currently about 6,000) to be funded next fiscal year, a success
rate of ONE PERCENT, compared to the current success rate of 20%.

This means that in many areas the U.S. biomedical research enterprise will
come to a halt. The impact in New England, particularly the Boston area
will be devastating.

-- Doug Hanson