Update on the funding process for the Army’s NF Research Program fiscal 2011

January 13 2011

Posted in Advocacy

This year the appropriation process for Congress has affected the typical funding schedule for the Army’s NF Research Program.  In December we were hopeful that an omnibus appropriations bill (including the Fiscal 2011 Defense Appropriations bill) proposed by the Senate was going to pass and provide $16 million for the NF Research Program in Fiscal Year 2011. However, on December 16, 2010, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) pulled the omnibus appropriations bill from the Senate floor due to lack of Republican support needed to overcome a filibuster.  Instead both the House and Senate passed a Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep the government operating until March 4, 2011. 

Following passage of the CR, there has been some confusion about the funding level for the Army’s Neurofibromatosis Research Program in Fiscal Year 2011 under this continuing resolution.  The Program Manager for the NF program at CDMRP, as well as staff on the Defense Appropriations subcommittee, have both reported that the CR does not provide funding for Fiscal Year 2011 for the CDMRP programs, including the NF Research Program.  In order for the CDMRP programs to be funded, a Fiscal 2011 Defense Appropriations bill will have to pass, thus providing funding for the CDMRP programs for the remainder of FY2011. 

Before the CR expires on March 4th, Congress will have to decide how they are going to handle funding for the entire government (no appropriations bills passed for FY11) until the end of the fiscal year on September 30, 2011.  This decision will include how they are going to handle funding programs included in the Defense Appropriations bill, including the CDMRP programs.  We will continue to monitor the situation and advocate for funding for the NF Research Program as decisions are made on Capitol Hill about Fiscal Year 2011 funding.