Bank On It

Supporters of biomedical research have hatched a new scheme to boost the flat budget of the National Institutes of Health (NIH): savings bonds. A bill introduced in the House last week by Representative Steve Pearce (R-NM) and two colleagues would create special Treasury “health research” bonds. When the bond is cashed in, the buyer would forfeit 10% of the interest, which would go to the NIH institute of his or her choice. If officials managed to persuade a fifth of U.S. bond buyers to purchase the special securities, NIH would get $158 million a year—a 0.5% drop in the bucket for the $29 billion NIH but far more than the $7 million a year currently raised by a special breast cancer research stamp. The Association of American Medical Colleges has endorsed the bill, which is now in the Ways and Means Committee.