Congress passes NIH bill

Legislation to reauthorize NIH for the first time in over a decade cleared Congress on Dec. 9, when the Senate passed the House bill just hours before final adjournment. The bill, the National Institutes of Health Reform Act (H.R. 6164), was introduced in and cleared by the House in September. Authored by Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), the legislation authorizes increased budget levels for fiscal 2007-09, sets up a common fund to support important research that cuts across multiple NIH institutes, and sets up an agency-wide electronic reporting system to catalog all research activities. It also limits the size of NIH to 27 institutes and centers and creates a Scientific Management Review Group to evaluate the structure of NIH every seven years and to propose any necessary changes. "I commend Congress for its overwhelming bipartisan show of support and confidence in NIH," agency Director Elias A. Zerhouni said. He added, "The legislation preserves the core authorities of NIH while adding new tools to maximize NIH's effectiveness." The bill is expected to be signed by the President.