Senate approves $2B boost for NIH in $850B+ spending bill

For the fourth year in a row, the Senate has approved a significant increase in funding for the National Institutes of Health. The $2 billion boost raises the agency’s funding about 5% to $39.1 billion for fiscal year 2019 and comes as part of an $854 billion package combining spending bills for the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Education and Labor.