Washington in Review

  • The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a spending bill for programs funded through the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bill, which includes funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The Committee approved a $2 billion boost in FY17 for the NIH, or a 6.2% increase to $34.1 billion. The House has not yet addressed its version of the bill.
  • The NIH will begin tests to see if reviewers in its study sections give lower scores to proposals from African-American applicants. Current data suggest that black applicants have a 35% lower chance of having a grant proposal funded than their white counterparts.1
    1Mervis J (June 9 2016). In effort to understand continuing racial disparities, NIH to test for bias in study sections. Science. http://bit.ly/25Tdpyi.

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