Plans by Joe Barton's (R-TX), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, to pass legislation reauthorizing the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have been placed on hold. The Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees energy issues, as well as authorizing issues at the Department of Health and Human Services, had to address more urgent issues with the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. While Chairman Barton had insisted that the reauthorization of NIH is one of his top priorities, it is expected that Congress will not consider reauthorization legislation until early 2006.

The scientific community has expressed concern that the current draft reauthorization legislation will set a cap on how much money the NIH can receive in a given year. The community would instead prefer that the authorizing legislation allow for "such sums as necessary" to be authorized for NIH each year. There is also concern about the way the legislation restructures the Institutes and Centers into "science-enabling" and "mission-specific" clusters for the purpose of receiving appropriations, as well as the transfer authority of the Office of Director and the creation of a common fund. Based on the current language it is unclear whether the monies for a common fund, which would fund trans-NIH initiatives, would come from existing NIH-appropriations to Institutes or if additional monies would be authorized to fund the common fund. The Heart Rhythm Society plans to submit comments to Congress requesting clarification and expressing its concerns about the impacts of specific changes. The Society has also been active in the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research Funding, which is responding to this issue.

Glossary: Reauthorization Act
Reauthorization occurs every specified time period, usually five years, when a law that establishes/continues one or more Federal agencies or programs (in this case the NIH) comes up for reauthorization. An Authorizations Act establishes the terms and conditions under which the agency/program operates, authorizes the enactment of appropriations, and specifies how appropriated funds are to be used.