A growing number of Members of Congress have expressed their support for increased funding for the NIH for FY 2014.

A Senate letter organized by Senators Robert Casey (D-PA) and Richard Burr (R-NC) obtained 43 Democrat and nine Republican signatures. The letter requests Appropriation Committee leadership to “maintain a strong commitment to funding for the National Institutes of Health…” The letter notes investment in NIH is declining, resulting in "promising, talented young researchers being discouraged from the field of biomedical research and some investigators deciding to abandon scientific research altogether or to conduct their research outside the United States."

A House letter organized by Reps. David McKinley (R-WV) and Ed Markey (D-MA) gathered 168 signatures. The House letter specifically requests that NIH receives at least $32 billion for FY 2014, a level consistent with ASPET’s written testimony in support of NIH funding. The letter makes mention of the loss of aspiring scientists "being forced into other careers" and notes the $32 billion budget request is the "minimum level of funding needed to reflect the rising costs associated with biomedical research and to help mitigate the impacts of sequestration."