Inside (the Beltway) Scoop

By: Ellen Kuo
Thursday, April 28, 2022

Congress Returns for a Busy Appropriations Season

After a two-week recess, Congress returned on April 25 to work on the fiscal year (FY) 2023 appropriations process and continue its ongoing negotiations on the Bipartisan Innovation Act and supplemental COVID-19 funding. The various Senate Appropriations subcommittees have released their outside witness testimony (OWT) deadlines. For example, on May 11 OWT is due to the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations subcommittee. FASEB will be submitting testimony to this subcommittee in support of our recommendation of at least $50 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Other FASEB recommendations for FY 2023 are as follows:

•    At least $11 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF)
•    At least $8.8 billion for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE SC)
•    At least $700 million for the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative 
•    At least $980 million for the Veterans Administration Medical and Prosthetic Research Program 

On the House side, hearings for the various appropriations subcommittees are posted and include the FY 2023 Budget Request for the Department of Energy and the Department of Agriculture. Stakeholders who seek to provide OWT for the upcoming hearings that will be held for federal science agencies should watch the Appropriations Committee website for the instructions and deadlines. For example, NSF’s OWT is due on May 13 and testimony for the DOE SC is due on May 27. However, the instructions and deadlines for House OWT for NIH have yet to be announced as of this writing. Members of Congress are also being given the opportunity to provide their testimony on priorities for agencies and programs to the House Appropriations Committee.