American Heart Association (AHA) president Ivor J. Benjamin, MD, is standing behind last week’s passage of Senate funding bill HR6157, calling the move “a tremendous triumph for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and for every patient who will benefit from its research.”
The U.S. Senate approved the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education bill—which proposed a $2 billion budget hike for the NIH—for the 2019 fiscal year, which will start Oct. 1. The additional funding will bring the NIH’s total budget to $39.1 billion.
“After three consecutive years, this year will be the fourth for NIH budget increases and we sincerely hope Congress continues to make federal support for research a top priority in 2019 and beyond,” Benjamin said in a statement. “Sustained funding for the NIH is critical to ensuring the nation’s standing as a global leader in research. Even more importantly, it opens an abundance of possibilities in pioneering research that could help us conquer cardiovascular disease.”
Benjamin thanked Senators Richard Shelby, R-Alabama, Roy Blunt,. R-Missouri, Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, and Patty Murray, D-Washington, for their help in securing the funds.
“We strongly encourage their colleagues in the House to accept this increase and support its inclusion in the final legislation,” he said.
After graduating from Indiana University-Bloomington with a bachelor’s in journalism, Anicka joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering cardiology. Close to her heart is long-form journalism, Pilot G-2 pens, dark chocolate and her dog Harper Lee.