ADA opposes NIH spending bill rider – American Alliance for Dental Insurance Quality

The ADA is expressing opposition to provisions in the fiscal year 2025 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, specifically language that would restructure the National Institutes of Health.

In a July 10 letter to House Appropriations Committee chair Tom Cole, R-Okla., and ranking member Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., the ADA urged removal of the language that calls for a reorganization of the NIH.

“Structural and policy changes of this magnitude must be considered through an open, transparent process that includes public hearings and a thorough review of the impact on biomedical research,” wrote ADA President Linda Edgar and Executive Director Raymond Cohlmia. “They must be legislated thoughtfully and deliberately — through an appropriate authorizing body — not simply written into an appropriations bill.”

The current version of the House appropriations bill would consolidate the NIH’s 27 institutes and centers into 15 newly renamed institutes and centers. It would place the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research under the jurisdiction of the Institute of Neuroscience and Brain Research.