Science groups ramp up NIH advocacy - Posted by Bob Grant from the Scientist.com

Written by Bob Grant
[Entry posted at 20th March 2009 10:13 PM GMT]

As the FY2010 federal budget readies for Congressional battles and public debate, science advocacy groups are upping their recommendations for funding increases at the National Institutes of Health. But are their calls realistic? The Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research, which is composed of the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC), the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), the Campaign for Medical Research, the National Health Council, and Research!America, has called for a 7% increase in NIH's FY2010 budget. The consortium recommended a 6.6% NIH budget increase in the FY2009 budget. Advocacy groups, it seems, have been emboldened by President Barrack Obama's recent assurances that science will play a more important role in his administration than it has in years past.