Government the bill to the floor. Lautenberg is one of the bill's original cosponsors. In terms of public health, Lautenberg expects that "this bill will provide us a much needed ounce of prevention and help us to avoid the costly pound of cure." The bill calls on EPA to report to Congress on the subject of chemical sensitivity disorders, including multiple chemical sensitivities. The report is to address the underlying causes of these disorders, identify their prevalence, and make recommendations for actions to prevent and respond to such illnesses. EPA is also to analyze the adequacy of ex-
NIH budget up 9% but some spending "on ice"
Congress gives NIH more funds than Administration sought 1992 $ Millions
Fiscal 1992 funding for the National Institutes of Health is up 9% to just over $9 billion in the budget given final approval by Congress earlier this month. On a percentage basis NIH didn't do as well as the National Science Foundation or the Department of Energy in the 1992 budget battle, but it is still the largest supporter, by far, of nondefense R&D. Its nearest competitor, the National Aeronautics & Space Administration, has a fiscal 1992 R&D budget of $6.4 billion (C&EN, Nov. 4, page 26). However, Congress put a special twist on NIH's budget this year. It told the agency that it cannot spend $563 million, or 6%, of its current budget until the final day of the fiscal year—Sept. 30, 1992. The institutes with the highest percentage increases also have the largest percentage deferrals. For example, the National Cancer Institute, whose funding is up 16% to just under $2 billion, cannot spend 11% of that until Sept. 30. For most of the institutes the deferred spending ranges between 4 and 6% of their total budget. This sleight of hand, which pushes the actual expenditure of funds into the next fiscal year, was necessary to keep overall expenditures for the departments of Health & Human Services, Education, and Labor within their fiscal 1992 budget allocation. Deferred funding for all of 16
November 25, 1991 C&EN
vides incentives, in the form of grants, for states to develop their own air quality management and assessment strategies. To carry out all these programs the bill authorizes total funding of $48.5 million per year for each fiscal year from 1992 to 1996. That yearly figure breaks down into $20 million for research and health advisories; $12 million for state management and response grants; $10 million for EPA operations; $5 million for the building assessment program; and $1.5 million for the interagency council. Janice Long
isting ventilation standards and guidelines to protect public health, and the National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health is to carry out a program to demonstrate methods of assessing and mitigating indoor air contamination in "sick buildings." In addition, the bill directs EPA to develop a national response plan identifying actions to be taken to reduce indoor air contamination; establishes an office of indoor air quality within EPA; sets up an interagency council on indoor air quality to oversee the indoor air activities of various federal agencies; and pro-
National Institutes Cancer Heart, Lung & Blood Allergy & Infectious Diseases General Medical Sciences Diabetes, Digestive & Kidney Diseases Neurological Disorders & Stroke Child Health & Human Development Aging Eye Environmental Health Sciences Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases Dental Research Deafness & Other Communication Disorders National Center for Research Resources National Center for Human Genome Research Other TOTAL
% difference appropriationrequest
% change
Congressional appropriation
Administration request
1991
$8177.2 1989.3 1199.4 971.1
$7982.0 1810.2 1209.9 976.7
$7439.1 1713.8 1126.9 907.3
818.9 664.1
833.2 658.6
760.2 615.3
-2 1
8 8
583.4
583.4
541.7
0
8
524.4
520.6
479.0
1
9
387.0 271.0 253.9
348.6 272.3 254.5
323.7 253.2 241.0
11 -1 0
19 7 5
204.5
204.8
193.2
0
6
160.4 149.8
160.9 148.3
148.9 134.9
0 1
8 11
315.2
321.0
335.3
-2
-6 '
105.3
110.5
87.4
-5
20
412.7 $9010.4
361.4 $8774.9
415.1 $8276.9
14 3%
-1 9%
2% 10 -1 -1
1991-92
10% 16 6 7
Note: Fiscal years. Source: H. Rept. 102--282
them totals $3.1 billion. "Without these delays," Sen. Tom Harkin (D.Iowa), chairman of the appropriations subcommittee that deals with the three departments, told his fellow Senators, "The bill would be cut to the bone and held to levels below last year." However, this sleight of hand wasn't to everyone's liking. Sen. Pete Domenici (R.-N.M.), ranking
minority member of the Senate Budget Committee, voted against the conference report on the LaborHHS appropriations bill because of the budget gimmicks it contained. Domenici had a n o t h e r problem with the bill. "Even for the federal government," he said, "it's difficult to spend that much money in one day." Janice Long
