Federal Funding for National Institutes of Health in the United States will likely Continue to Decline

The Trump Administration is seeking cuts to the budget of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for Fiscal Year 2019.  In dollars adjusted for inflation, the decrease is from FY 2018 38.349 billion dollars to 34.767 billion dollars, as described by Judith Johnson’s Congressional Research Service NIH Funding FY1994-2019 report (CRS Report).  Trump also requested a decrease in the NIH’s budget in the FY 2018 budget; however, Congress increased the budget by 2 billion dollars.  Notably, the CRS Report outlines how in inflation adjusted dollars the budget for the NIH has decreased over the last 14 years from the 2003 budget high point of 43.198 billion inflation adjusted dollars.  From 2011 to 2018, the budget for the NIH has decreased in double-digits in inflation adjusted dollars from the 2003 high point.  The years 2013, 2014 and 2015 saw decreases from the 2003 high point of 21.7%, 21.2% and 22.4% respectively.  The Trump 2019 request would be a 19.5% decrease in inflation adjusted dollars from the 2003 high point.