President Vetoes FY 2008 NIH Funding Bill; Grassroots Support Needed to Override Presidential Veto

November 13, 2007 – President Bush vetoed the FY 2008 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations bill (H.R. 3043) this morning. The President had repeatedly vowed to veto the bill because it is nearly $10 billion over his FY 2008 budget request.

The conference agreement on Labor-HHS includes $30 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in FY 2008. This is an increase of $1.1 billion (3.8 percent) over the FY 2007 level. The conference number also includes the $300 million transfer for Global HIV/AIDS as proposed by both the House and Senate, so the adjusted number for NIH is $29.7 billion, which is a net increase of $899 million (3.1 percent) for NIH over FY 2007 levels.

There is no word at present on when the House will vote on the veto override. Efforts by ASH and others in the research community to push for a higher NIH funding level were instrumental in securing an additional $100 million for NIH. Continued grassroots advocacy is needed to help ensure that Congress will have enough votes to override the President’s veto.

Take Action: All ASH members are strongly encouraged to visit the ASH Advocacy Center and send an e-mail to their Senators and Representative urging them to support funding for NIH and override the President’s veto of this funding measure.

Also this morning, the President signed the FY 2008 Department of Defense Appropriations bill (H.R. 3222), which extends funding at FY 2007 levels for other federal programs (including NIH) through December 14. The federal government had been operating under a continuing resolution (P.L. 110-92) that was set to expire on Friday, November 16.