The First Step in Increasing the NIH Budget

The Specter-Harkin Amendment passed the Senate, but this does not guarantee an increase to the NIH budged. The House must still vote on it and it must be reflected in House and Senate Appropriations Committees' allocation for the Labor-Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee. (Don't worry, I don't understand the jargon either; I'm reproducing it from an email I received from the Genetics Society of America.)

That said, an important step has been taken towards ensuring important biomedical research gets funded. The amendment passed by a vote of 73 to 27. I have reproduced a list of how each Senator voted below the fold. The support was bipartisan, but all of the votes against came from Republicans. If your Senator voted for the amendment, take some time to thank him or her for supporting research. If he or she voted against it, let him or her know that how you feel about his or her vote. You can find your Senators' contact information here.

The following is a list of Senators who voted in favor of the Specter-Harkin Amendment:

• Akaka (D-HI)
• Alexander (R-TN)
• Baucus (D-MT)
• Bayh (D-IN)
• Bennett (R-UT)
• Biden (D-DE)
• Bingaman (D-NM)
• Boxer (D-CA)
• Burns (R-MT)
• Byrd (D-WV)
• Cantwell (D-WA)
• Carper (D-DE)
• Chafee (R-RI)
• Clinton (D-NY)
• Cochran (R-MS)
• Coleman (R-MN)
• Collins (R-ME)
• Conrad (D-ND)
• Dayton (D-MN)
• DeWine (R-OH)
• Dodd (D-CT)
• Dole (R-NC)
• Domenici (R-NM)
• Dorgan (D-ND)
• Durbin (D-IL)
• Feingold (D-WI)
• Feinstein (D-CA)
• Frist (R-TN)
• Grassley (R-IA)
• Hagel (R-NE)
• Harkin (D-IA)
• Hatch (R-UT)
• Hutchison (R-TX)
• Inouye (D-HI)
• Jeffords (I-VT)
• Johnson (D-SD)
• Kennedy (D-MA)
• Kerry (D-MA)
• Kohl (D-WI)
• Landrieu (D-LA)
• Lautenberg (D-NJ)
• Leahy (D-VT)
• Levin (D-MI)
• Lieberman (D-CT)
• Lincoln (D-AR)
• Lott (R-MS)
• Lugar (R-IN)
• Menendez (D-NJ)
• Mikulski (D-MD)
• Murkowski (R-AK)
• Murray (D-WA)
• Nelson (D-FL)
• Nelson (D-NE)
• Obama (D-IL)
• Pryor (D-AR)
• Reed (D-RI)
• Reid (D-NV)
• Roberts (R-KS)
• Rockefeller (D-WV)
• Salazar (D-CO)
• Santorum (R-PA)
• Sarbanes (D-MD)
• Schumer (D-NY)
• Smith (R-OR)
• Snowe (R-ME)
• Specter (R-PA)
• Stabenow (D-MI)
• Stevens (R-AK)
• Talent (R-MO)
• Thune (R-SD)
• Voinovich (R-OH)
• Warner (R-VA)
• Wyden (D-OR)

The following is a list of Senators who voted against the Specter-Harkin Amendment:

• Allard (R-CO)
• Allen (R-VA)
• Bond (R-MO)
• Brownback (R-KS)
• Bunning (R-KY)
• Burr (R-NC)
• Chambliss (R-GA)
• Coburn (R-OK)
• Cornyn (R-TX)
• Craig (R-ID)
• Crapo (R-ID)
• DeMint (R-SC)
• Ensign (R-NV)
• Enzi (R-WY)
• Graham (R-SC)
• Gregg (R-NH)
• Inhofe (R-OK)
• Isakson (R-GA)
• Kyl (R-AZ)
• Martinez (R-FL)
• McCain (R-AZ)
• McConnell (R-KY)
• Sessions (R-AL)
• Shelby (R-AL)
• Sununu (R-NH)
• Thomas (R-WY)
• Vitter (R-LA)