A draft bill released by the US House of Representatives appropriations committee would boost the National Institutes of Health budget for 2019 by 3 percent, as GenomeWeb reports.
That would bring the agency's budget to $38.3 billion, a $1.23 billion increase over this year's budget and $4.1 billion more than what the Trump Administration requested, Science adds. GenomeWeb notes that the Trump Administration earlier this year called for a 27 percent cut to the NIH budget.
In particular, this draft bill includes a $147 million increase for the All of Us study, which just opened up wider enrollment last month, and would bring its total finding to $437 million. Meanwhile, the Cancer Moonshot project would get a $100 million increase, giving it a total of $400 million.
According to Science, NIH Director Francis Collins calls the proposed bill good news and adds that the Senate typically allocates more funding for the agency, putting it on a "very positive trajectory."
However, Science also notes that the draft bill includes a measure blocking fetal tissue research, which was also included in the House draft bill last year, sparking an outcry. It was not included in the final spending bill.
The subcommittee is to vote on the bill today before it moves to the full committee next week, it adds.