Your Government, Your Institute

Federal Legislation relevant to the NHLBI and the National Institutes of Health (NIH)

If you are interested in learning about some of the congressional activities that may affect the NHLBI, read the NHLBI's legislative update.

The NIH's Office of Legislative Policy and Analysis (OLPA) provides legislative analysis, policy development, and liaison with the Congress. The office also tracks particular bills that have broad relevance to the NIH. You can view summaries of these bills through the OLPA Web site, which also has links to other resources about the federal government.

Search the Library of Congress

You can also track federal legislation using the Library of Congress' THOMAS World Wide Web system. THOMAS is designed to make legislative information available to the general public over the Internet. If you are not familiar with the site, we recommend that you visit THOMAS' Frequently Asked Questions before delving into it.

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Congressional Committees
Relevant to the NHLBI and the National Institutes of Health (NIH)

The Appropriations Subcommittees on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education

The NHLBI, like all other entities supported by federal funds, receives its funding through an annual appropriations bill that must be approved by both the House and the Senate and signed by the President.

You can check the status of the various appropriations bills online. Because the NHLBI is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, its budget is a component of the "Labor/HHS/Education" bills.

Fiscal Year 2005 Budget Hearings

On April 21, 2004, NHLBI Acting Director Dr. Barbara Alving and other Institute Directors will accompany NIH Director Dr. Elias Zerhouni when he testified at a NIH budget hearing held by the House Subcommittee on Appropriations.

Institute directors also joined Dr. Zerhouni at the Senate Committee on Appropriations hearing on April 1, 2004. Dr. Alving's opening statement highlighted some of the NHLBI-supported research results that were released in the past year and outlined Institute plans for new initiatives.

Congressional Committees that Establish the NHLBI's Authority

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee have jurisdiction over biomedical research and development, and thus over the NIH and the NHLBI. When the NHLBI was established as the National Heart Institute, its primary purpose was to lead the national research program in heart diseases. In the years since, the Congress periodically has reauthorized the NHLBI and expanded its responsibilities to include research in diseases of the cardiovascular system, lungs, and blood; sleep disorders; and blood resources.

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