STAT+: Limit on multiyear funding of NIH grants is a sticking point in Senate budget talks

Last year, the country’s biomedical researchers watched with apprehension as the National Institutes of Health’s grant awards lagged billions of dollars behind the pace of previous years. Fears grew that the Trump administration would impound funds appropriated by Congress or that the clock would run out on the fiscal year. 

So scientists let out a collective sigh when in the end, the NIH spent the entirety of its budget. But, that win came with an asterisk — it funded fewer research projects than in years past because of a budgeting strategy mandated by the White House Office of Management and Budget. Called multiyear funding, it allocates funds for a grant in full during the year the grant is awarded, rather than on a yearly basis. 

Now, it seems that up-front funding for multiyear grants will not just be a 2025 issue. As the Senate appropriations committee finalizes its bill for the Department of Health and Human Services, a clause limiting the use of multiyear funding has become a sticking point in the negotiations between some Republicans and Democrats. This roadblock was first reported by Politico. 

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