On March 8, I spent the day visiting the Connecticut congressional and senatorial offices as part of the FASEB Capitol Hill Day. More than 60 representatives from 27 FASEB member societies and 32 states met with lawmakers to discuss increasing funding for research. FASEB is recommending a $2 billion increase over the 2017 budget for National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding and a $530 million increase in National Science Foundation funding, in addition to other recommendations. It was a great opportunity to talk about toxicology and how our expertise is critical in drug development.
Editor's Note: On March 21, lawmakers released a $1.3 trillion spending package that has many science and research agencies receiving funding at or above levels from previous years. If passed by the US Congress and Senate, the omnibus spending bill will result in $3 billion budget increase for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and $295 million increase for the National Science Foundation. Science Magazine has provided details on what the March 21 budget deal would mean for the different agencies.