Earlier today, the President signed into law the continuing resolution (CR, H.J. Res. 117) providing funding for most government agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), at essentially Fiscal Year 2012-enacted levels through March 27, 2013. The legislation cleared the House, 329-19, on September 13 and the Senate, 62-30, on September 22.
This resolution does not avert sequestration, but it does stop a government shut down. Sequestration is still a very real threat that we need to worry about.
Congress has gone on recess until after the November 6 election without addressing sequestration, which will result in across-the-board cuts to federal defense and non-defense discretionary programs starting next year unless Congress acts to undo them. The Meso Foundation has joined the Coalition for Health Funding and the broader Non-Defense Discretionary (NDD) in signing a letter organized by the NDD United urging that Congress avert sequestration through a balanced approach to deficit reduction, which includes increases in revenues.
The White House press statement can be found at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/09/28/statement-press-secretary-hj-res-117-s-3245-and-s-3552
The text of the CR can be found at: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112hjres117ih/pdf/BILLS-112hjres117ih.pdf
To read more about what the threat of sequestration means for mesothelioma research, read our blog post: http://curemeso.wordpress.com/2012/09/17/sequestration-to-cause-cuts-of-two-federally-funded-mesothelioma-research-grants/
