Countdown to a showdown; Lawmakers return to Washington in just a few days with next year’s budget resting on the actions taken in the first legislative days. The House is up first and will have to pass a short-term funding bill to avoid a government shutdown. The Senate, scheduled to be in session for 17 days in September, will have a few more days to address any House-passed continuing resolution.

According to press reports, congressional leaders intend to introduce a CR the week of September 7th in hopes of obtaining approval from the House and Senate well before September 30th, when current funding expires. Although details of the CR have not yet been revealed, House Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) told reporters that it is likely to be in place through late November or mid-December. Cole is expected to play a key role in the CR negotiations in his capacity as Deputy Whip for the Republican Caucus and a close ally of House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH).

The CR will give lawmakers additional time to reach an agreement on the final fiscal year (FY) 2016 budget. As reported last week, Senate Democrats outlined their priorities in an August 18th letter to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) stating that they want to begin negotiations immediately on a plan to increase spending beyond the discretionary caps agreed to in 2011. The letter was signed by all 44 Democrats as well as the Senate’s two Independents and warned, “Inaction and failure to responsibly restore sequester-level cuts in FY 2016 appropriations bills will have real consequences for our country.”

The outcome of these budget discussions has direct implications for the biomedical research community. In June, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill that would provide a two billion dollar increase for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). However, this increase will not become a reality unless Congress agrees to raise the current caps and replace sequestration with alternative savings.

With budget negotiations expected to last through the end of the year, ASPET will be working with the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) to convey to lawmakers that increasing the spending caps will play a critical role in restoring stability to the nation’s research enterprise. Over the next few months, ASPET will be represented by FASEB in a letter to Congress explaining what is at stake for NIH, the National Science Foundation, and other agencies.