1. evolgen
  2. The First Step in Increasing the NIH Budget

The First Step in Increasing the NIH Budget

By evolgen on March 21, 2006.

The Specter-Harkin Amendment passed the Senate, but this does not guarantee an increase to the NIH budged. The House must still vote on it and it must be reflected in House and Senate Appropriations Committees' allocation for the Labor-Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee. (Don't worry, I don't understand the jargon either; I'm reproducing it from an email I received from the Genetics Society of America.)

That said, an important step has been taken towards ensuring important biomedical research gets funded. The amendment passed by a vote of 73 to 27. I have reproduced a list of how each Senator voted below the fold. The support was bipartisan, but all of the votes against came from Republicans. If your Senator voted for the amendment, take some time to thank him or her for supporting research. If he or she voted against it, let him or her know that how you feel about his or her vote. You can find your Senators' contact information here.

The following is a list of Senators who voted in favor of the Specter-Harkin Amendment:

  • Akaka (D-HI)
  • Alexander (R-TN)
  • Baucus (D-MT)
  • Bayh (D-IN)
  • Bennett (R-UT)
  • Biden (D-DE)
  • Bingaman (D-NM)
  • Boxer (D-CA)
  • Burns (R-MT)
  • Byrd (D-WV)
  • Cantwell (D-WA)
  • Carper (D-DE)
  • Chafee (R-RI)
  • Clinton (D-NY)
  • Cochran (R-MS)
  • Coleman (R-MN)
  • Collins (R-ME)
  • Conrad (D-ND)
  • Dayton (D-MN)
  • DeWine (R-OH)
  • Dodd (D-CT)
  • Dole (R-NC)
  • Domenici (R-NM)
  • Dorgan (D-ND)
  • Durbin (D-IL)
  • Feingold (D-WI)
  • Feinstein (D-CA)
  • Frist (R-TN)
  • Grassley (R-IA)
  • Hagel (R-NE)
  • Harkin (D-IA)
  • Hatch (R-UT)
  • Hutchison (R-TX)
  • Inouye (D-HI)
  • Jeffords (I-VT)
  • Johnson (D-SD)
  • Kennedy (D-MA)
  • Kerry (D-MA)
  • Kohl (D-WI)
  • Landrieu (D-LA)
  • Lautenberg (D-NJ)
  • Leahy (D-VT)
  • Levin (D-MI)
  • Lieberman (D-CT)
  • Lincoln (D-AR)
  • Lott (R-MS)
  • Lugar (R-IN)
  • Menendez (D-NJ)
  • Mikulski (D-MD)
  • Murkowski (R-AK)
  • Murray (D-WA)
  • Nelson (D-FL)
  • Nelson (D-NE)
  • Obama (D-IL)
  • Pryor (D-AR)
  • Reed (D-RI)
  • Reid (D-NV)
  • Roberts (R-KS)
  • Rockefeller (D-WV)
  • Salazar (D-CO)
  • Santorum (R-PA)
  • Sarbanes (D-MD)
  • Schumer (D-NY)
  • Smith (R-OR)
  • Snowe (R-ME)
  • Specter (R-PA)
  • Stabenow (D-MI)
  • Stevens (R-AK)
  • Talent (R-MO)
  • Thune (R-SD)
  • Voinovich (R-OH)
  • Warner (R-VA)
  • Wyden (D-OR)

The following is a list of Senators who voted against the Specter-Harkin Amendment:

  • Allard (R-CO)
  • Allen (R-VA)
  • Bond (R-MO)
  • Brownback (R-KS)
  • Bunning (R-KY)
  • Burr (R-NC)
  • Chambliss (R-GA)
  • Coburn (R-OK)
  • Cornyn (R-TX)
  • Craig (R-ID)
  • Crapo (R-ID)
  • DeMint (R-SC)
  • Ensign (R-NV)
  • Enzi (R-WY)
  • Graham (R-SC)
  • Gregg (R-NH)
  • Inhofe (R-OK)
  • Isakson (R-GA)
  • Kyl (R-AZ)
  • Martinez (R-FL)
  • McCain (R-AZ)
  • McConnell (R-KY)
  • Sessions (R-AL)
  • Shelby (R-AL)
  • Sununu (R-NH)
  • Thomas (R-WY)
  • Vitter (R-LA)
Tags
Science Policy
Categories
Social Sciences

More like this

Please don't forget
Lamar Alexander (R-TN) John Barrasso (R-WY) Kit Bond (R-MO) Sam Brownback (R-KS) Jim Bunning (R-KY) Richard Burr (R-NC) Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) Tom Coburn (R-OK) Thad Cochran (R-MS) John Cornyn (R-TX) Bob Corker (R-TN) Mike Crapo (R-ID) Jim DeMint (R-SC) John Ensign (R-NV) Mike Enzi (R-WY) Lindsey…
LCV Dirty Half-Dozen
The League of Conservation Voters is half-way through the process of selecting the dozen worst environmental offenders in elected office.  Each election year, they select  approximately 12 politicians to target for their campaign, in an effort to unseat, or deny seats to, the politicians with the…
Boxer, Whitehouse, and Senate Colleagues Kick Off New Initiative to “Wake Up Congress” on Climate Change
Washington, DC - During a press conference today, Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), announced the members of a newly formed Senate Climate Action Task Force and discussed their plans to take action on climate…
Calling out the Koch Brothers
Just got this media release: Washington, DC – Today, Monday, from 4:45 p.m. to 6:45 p.m., tomorrow, Tuesday, from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., and throughout the week,* 19 Senators will take to the Senate floor to call out Koch brothers- and fossil fuel industry-funded groups that have fashioned a web of…

Kinda surprised Santorum voted for. Of course the insane are often unpredictable.

I think Santorum is trying to distance himself from the bat-shit crazy label. I believe he's up for re-election this year.