Funding more NIH research grants.

Because of the prospect of a serious decline in the nation's biomedical research capacity owing to diminished federal appropriations, temporary measures should be initiated promptly by the National Institutes of Health to preserve the stability of resources and diversity of research required for future productivity. It is recommended that the available funds be distributed in such a way as to permit some support for 50 percent of competing grant applications approved by the National Institutes of Health study sections. Measures proposed for consideration are a sliding scale for funding, a greater across-the-board reduction, a limit on support for an individual laboratory, and a review of indirect costs.