NIH faces the prospect of going the entire 2012 fiscal year without an approved budget. Congressional leaders have dropped plans to set funding for NIH and the rest of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) through a Labor-HHS-Education spending bill. Instead, they are looking to fund Labor-HHS-Education through one or more stopgap “continuing resolutions” (CRs); the current CR expires on Dec. 16. The possible CR adds to the uncertainty over NIH’s future spending, which emerged just before Thanksgiving when the Congressional “supercommittee” failed to craft a deficit-cutting plan for the following decade. As a result, NIH and other nondefense agencies face a 7.8% cut in 2013. What are your predictions for NIH next year?

Poll Question:
What do you think Congress will do about NIH spending for 2012?

Nothing
17

Approve a Flat Budget
18

Approve a Bigger Budget
15

Approve a Smaller Budget
27

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