Tom Harkin: “I know the Senator has been supportive of our efforts to increase funding of NIH. As I understand the amendment of the…”

“I know the Senator has been supportive of our efforts to increase funding of NIH. As I understand the amendment of the Senator from New Jersey, it delays until September 30, the last day of the fiscal year, by $200 million, NIH obligations. It is my information that NIH estimates that it will obligate $8 billion next September. In September of next year it will obligate during September, 1 month, $8 billion. I assume they work on a 5-day workweek. I assume that. I know NIH does research 7 days a week, but in terms of this, that is 20 days out of the month, so $8 billion for 20 days. If we could figure out how much that is a day, that is $400 million a day. What the Senator is basically saying, we are just asking for one-half day, to delay until September 30. Now, if, in fact, they do $8 billion in September and do it evenly, which they do not normally do, but if they do, they will be obligating $400 million on September 30 anyway, so the Senator is saying that for purposes of getting the funding we need for this, we are simply going to ask to officially delay $200 million until the last day of the month. They can still obligate it. This gets us the money we need to pay for the Senator's amendment. Am I correct in what I said?”