GOP budget hawks oppose bill's mandatory NIH funding

Republican budget hawks in the U.S. House have launched an effort to make funding increases for NIH and FDA discretionary under the proposed 21st Century Cures Act (H.R. 6), a change that would render them subject to the annual congressional appropriations process. The current draft of the bill includes two mandatory funds that would provide $8.8 billion to NIH and $550 million to FDA over five years.

Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), chairman of the Energy & Commerce Committee, made the funding mandatory in order to gain Democratic support. Switching to discretionary funding would erode or eliminate support from Democrats. Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.) and three other Tea Party Republicans -- Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.), Rep. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.), and Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.) -- introduced an amendment to H.R. 6 on Tuesday that would make the NIH Innovation Fund discretionary. The Tea Party think tank Heritage Action for America Tuesday issued a statement calling on lawmakers to oppose H.R. 6 because of its creation of a mandatory spending stream. ...