ResearchSequestration would result in draconian cuts in biological, medical research

The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) says that a new report from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is a reminder of the perilous situation facing the medical research and scientific communities unless Congress and the president take action to prevent the pending sequestration. Set in motion by the Budget Control Act of 2011, sequestration would impose automatic cuts on federal funding starting on 2 January 2013. According to OMB, the budget for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) would be reduced by $2.529 billion, the National Science Foundation would lose $586 million, and the Department of Energy Office of Science would be cut by $400 million.

“Federal funding for research programs are not the source of our nation’s debt, and cuts to these and other programs are not the solution to our fiscal problems. We urge our elected leaders to act expeditiously to avoid the catastrophic consequences of sequestration and enable federal agencies to plan for the coming year,” said FASEB president Judith Bond, Ph.D.

“The loss of funds due to sequestration will curtail vital research projects at universities and institutions in all fifty states and result in layoffs of thousands of Americans,” noted Bond.

FASEB has projected NIH extramural research funding will decline by $2.8 billion if sequestration goes into effect. Eight states face funding reductions which will exceed $100 million. The complete analysis, including a table estimating the state-by-state cuts in funding for research grants and contracts from sequestration, is available here.

FASEB is composed of twenty-six societies with more than 100,000 members, making it the largest coalition of biomedical research associations in the United States.

— Read more in OMB Report Pursuant to the Sequestration Transparency Act of 2012 (P. L. 112–155)