Congress has passed the 2-year Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013, reversing some sequestration cuts to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and earning kudos from the Academy of Radiology Research, an alliance of imaging societies and advocacy groups founded to increase the federal government’s budget for imaging research.

The agreement gives Congress until January 15 to set a complete 2014 budget. The Academy is taking the opportunity to urge Congress to fully fund the Institute’s needs.

“The NIH is the world’s premier medical research institution, but sequestration has threatened today’s scientific discoveries and jeopardized tomorrow’s health advances,” said Michael Kalutkiewicz, the Academy’s senior director of government affairs. “Programs like NIH are not drivers of recent deficits; in fact, they can help our economy fully recover. After a decade of flat-funding, Congress needs to get NIH’s budget moving in the right direction again.”

According to the Academy, NIH programs not only further disease treatment and cures, but can also stimulate the economy by allowing the United States to export medical technology. For more information, visit the Academy of Radiology Research.