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On July 10 and August 1, the Appropriations Committees in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, respectively, approved their versions of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill, which includes funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In reports accompanying both bills, the Committees included language praising population research activities supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the National Institute on Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). 

Unlike the FY 2025 Senate Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations report, the House report does not include language regarding population research programs supported by the NIA. Further, the Senate and House NICHD report language is not parallel (see below). The PAA Office of Government and Public Affairs is working to ensure similar language praising NICHD and NIA population research activities is included in the explanatory report that will eventually accompany the final version of the FY 2025 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill signed into law. 

For a variety of political and timing reasons, it is not likely the FY 2025 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bills will be debated on the floor of either chamber before the end of the year—if at all. Lawmakers are expected to begin work on a continuing resolution (CR) when they return to Capitol Hill after Labor Day to avoid a government shutdown come October 1 when the new fiscal year begins. The fate of the overall FY 2025 appropriations process rests largely on the outcome of the November elections. 

The PAA Office of Government and Public Affairs will issue action alerts when the outlook for the FY 2025 appropriations process is clearer so population scientists can urge Congress to support the highest possible level of funding for the NIH and the other Federal agencies that directly and indirectly support the field. 

FY 2025 Senate Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Report #118-207

NICHD
Population Research—The Committee commends NICHD for supporting prospective, population representative longitudinal studies, including the Panel Study of Income Dynamics Child Development Supplement, Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study, and National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Data from these studies are public goods used widely to inform research and training activities conducted by thousands of scientists at universities nationwide, including underserved institutions, and are heavily used by new and early-stage investigators. In addition, these studies are the only nationally representative data scientists may use to analyze, for example, how parental and grandparental characteristics affect children’s outcomes and the impact of adverse childhood experiences over the life course. NICHD is encouraged to continue supporting this type of research.

NIA  
Population Research—The Committee commends NIA for supporting a robust population aging research portfolio that includes research grants, centers, networks, training programs, and population representative surveys studying how demographic, social, and economic factors impact the health and well-being of older people. In Fiscal Year 2025, the Committee is pleased to learn that NIA plans to renew funding for its Centers on Demography and Economics of Aging program. The current 15 centers provide essential infrastructure and data, stimulating aging research and training activities on topics such as physical and cognitive functioning, disability, health disparities, and Alzheimer’s disease, nationwide. The Committee urges NIA to encourage enhanced collaboration among its centers, including the Centers on Demography and Economics of Aging, Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers, and Roybal Centers for Translational Research in the Behavioral and Social Sciences of Aging.

 
FY 2025 House Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Report #118-585

NICHD 
Population Research—The Committee has consistently commended NICHD for supporting prospective, population representative longitudinal studies, including the Panel Study of Income Dynamics Child Development Supplement, Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study, and National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Data from these studies are public goods used widely to inform research and training activities conducted by thousands of scientists at universities nationwide, including underserved institutions, and are heavily used by new and early-stage investigators. In addition, these studies are the only nationally representative data scientists may use to analyze, for example, how parental and grandparental characteristics affect children’s outcomes and the impact of adverse childhood experiences over the life course. The Committee is concerned to learn that NICHD is proposing dramatic funding reductions to these surveys, which will result in the permanent loss of invaluable data that could be used to assess and track long-term health and wellbeing outcomes in infants, children, and adolescents. NICHD is strongly encouraged to prioritize funding for these surveys. The Committee requests an update on this topic in the fiscal year 2026 congressional justification.