Funding for the NIH is a top priority of the Endocrine Society, and our advocacy has led to significant funding increases for the last six years despite serious threats to shut down the government. Our goal is that all NIH Institutes receive significant funding increases as a proportionate share of the total increase. We also advocate for special attention to early career scientists and to reduce administrative burdens on scientists. In addition, we raise the visibility of endocrine-related research and researchers.
- Advocacy campaigns: We are asking members to urge their lawmakers to support increased NIH funding. Congress currently is considering funding for fiscal year (FY) 2023, which begins October 1. The Society is asking Congress to provide $50 billion for NIH in FY 2023, a 7.9% increase from the FY 2022 funding level.
- Testimony: The Society provides annual testimony to the Appropriations Committee recommending funding levels for NIH. Endocrine Society Past President E. Dale Abel, MD, PhD, testified before the Appropriations Committee and highlighted diabetes research at the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).
- Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H): The Society was invited to present at two different listening sessions by the Biden Administration and discuss how the new agency could benefit endocrine-related science. The Society also urged policy makers to ensure funding for ARPA-H would supplement, not supplant, funding for NIH. Endocrine Society President Carol Wysham, MD, and President-Elect Ursula Kaiser, MD, represented the Society at discussions about the creation of ARPA-H.
- Rallying for Medical Research: The Society continuously meets with congressional offices to discuss NIH funding and also lend our voice in the annual research community’s Rally for Medical Research Hill Day calling on Congress to increase funding for biomedical research.
