Top Senator Wants to Pass One Last Medical Research Funding Hike

The top Republican on the Senate health appropriations panel is optimistic he can finalize spending bills with robust medical research funding before packing up his office—even if “we’re getting down to where the days would be countable.”

Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) will retire at the end of the year after a quarter century on Capitol Hill, the last dozen of which he spent in the Senate. He wants to wrap up the 2023 appropriations package and increased funding for the National Institutes of Health before leaving office.

Since he assumed the top Republican spot on the health spending panel in ...