House Subcommittees Markup FY25 Funding Bills

The House Appropriations subcommittees of most interest to FABBS revealed their FY25 spending proposals: The Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-H) Subcommittee which covers ARPA-H, NIH, and IES; and the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, (CJS) Subcommittee which includes NSF.  The funding levels in these markup bills fall short of the science advocacy community’s requests. 

[Click here for our FABBS Federal Science Funding Dashboard and here for sign-on letters]   

The CJS bill was approved by the Subcommittee on a party-line vote on June 25.  This markup provides $9.258 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF), a two percent increase from FY24. It is important to note, however, that while above FY24’s $9.060 billion, this falls far short of FY23’s $9.900 billion allocation. For additional context, the President’s Budget Proposal calls for $10.183 billion. Unfortunately, the Directorate for STEM Education (EDU), faces a drastic cut of approximately 15 percent in this proposed spending bill. The FY25 markup bill will go to the full Appropriations Committee on July 9. 

The Labor-H subcommittee marked up their bill on June 27. Funding for NIH is set for $48.581 billion, or 4 percent below the FY24 enacted figure and 15 percent below the President’s Budget Request.  The Agency for Healthcare and Quality Research (AHRQ), which provides facts and statistics to support healthcare services and delivery systems, is slated to lose all of its funding as an independent organization (as part of the proposed NIH restructuring).  In February, FABBS signed the Friends of AHRQ’s funding request of no less than $500 million, in recognition of its importance for evidence-based research support.  The Institute for Education Sciences (IES), would receive $740.4 million for FY25, compared to $793.1 million in FY24, or a 6 percent cut. The full committee markup is scheduled for July 10. 

Besides the funding proposals, the Labor-H bill also incorporates drastic changes to the NIH’s structure.  Echoing Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers’ (R-WA) framework for NIH reform, the bill would reduce NIH’s 27 institutes and centers into 15.  The Coalition for Health Funding (CHF), of which FABBS is a member, issued a statement denouncing “the far-reaching proposal to radically restructure the National Institutes of Health (NIH).”  FABBS also wrote about this framework previously.  The American Psychological Association (APA) distributed an action alert rejecting the NIH restructure which would have adverse “implications for future research funding and priorities.” APA’s alert calls on the advocacy community to “stop cuts to essential federal programs.” 

The 11 percent cut to the Labor-H subcommittee allocation from FY24 levels in this FY25 bill underscores the need for robust funding in FABBS-related disciplines (especially considering significant cuts to NSF in FY24). FABBS recently signed a CHF letter, calling “on Congress to reject arbitrary and damaging funding levels for Fiscal Year 2025 to fully appropriate the necessary non-defense discretionary (NDD) funds to keep pace with rising costs. . . and keep poison pill policy riders” out.  This is a necessary step to get science-related funding back on track.  Along with the scientific advocacy community, FABBS will continue to support funding for our sciences and advocate against restructuring the NIH in the manner currently proposed.