FASEB Washington Update - July 23, 2011
HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE FUNDS NIH AT $32 BILLION
Last week the House Labor, Health and Human Services (LHHS) Appropriations Subcommittee approved its fiscal year (FY) 2011 bill by a vote of 11 – 5. All Democrats on the subcommittee voted for the bill and all Republicans voted against it. The bill provides $32 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) – approximately $1 billion (3.2 percent) more than the FY 2010 level and equal to President Obama’s request. NIH is also permitted to spend up to $50 million to implement the Cures Acceleration Network that was created by the health care reform legislation. More Details >
INSIDE (THE BELTWAY) SCOOP – JENNIFER ZEITZER
The upcoming summer break proved to be a powerful motivator as lawmakers accelerated the pace of their activity since returning from the July 4th recess. Over the last two weeks, Congress approved and sent to President Obama landmark legislation reforming the financial services industry, advanced Elena Kagan’s Supreme Court nomination to the full Senate for a final vote (expected the first week in August), and completed committee consideration of seven of the 13 fiscal year (FY) 2011 appropriations bills. In addition, the Senate welcomed Carte Goodwin (D-WV) as a temporary replacement to fill the seat left vacant by the death of former Appropriations Committee chairman, Robert Byrd, last month. Goodwin will serve until November, when a special election will be held to choose a permanent replacement for the remaining two years of the term. More Details >
$7.35 BILLION FOR NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION APPROVED BY SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE
On Thursday, July 22nd, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the fiscal year (FY) 2011 Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) appropriations bill. The bill provides the National Science Foundation (NSF) with $7.35 billion which is $427 million above the enacted FY 2010 level of $6.93 billion (not including American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds) and slightly below the President’s request of $7.424 billion. The total includes six billion for research, $155 million for research equipment and facilities, and $892 million for education activities. In addition, the measure includes seven billion for the Office of Science and Technology Policy and $19 billion for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, both amounts equal to the President’s budget. More Details >
DOE OFFICE OF SCIENCE LEVEL FUNDED AS ENERGY AND WATER APPROPRIATIONS BILLS ADVANCE
The fiscal year (FY 2011) Energy and Water appropriations bills, which set funding for the Department of Energy’s (DoE) Office of Science, began to move forward in both chambers of Congress. Following approval by the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee on July 20th, a spending bill providing $5.012 billion passed the full Appropriations Committee on Thursday, July 22nd. This funding level is $108 million (2.2 percent) above the enacted FY 2010 amount of $4.904 billion and $109 million below the President’s request of $5.121 billion. The bill also provides the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) with $200 million. A press release summarizing the bill is available on the subcommittee website. More Details >
$590 MILLION FOR VA MEDICAL AND PROSTHETICS RESEARCH PROVIDED BY APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEES
Both the House and Senate full Appropriations Committees approved fiscal year (FY) 2011 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs (MilCon/VA) spending bills that provide VA Medical and Prosthetics Research with $590 million, nine million (1.5 percent) above the enacted FY 2010 level of $581 million and equal to the President’s request. The Senate Appropriations Committee passed its FY 2011 MilCon/VA bill on Thursday, July 15th. The bill’s funding levels were not amended from the version approved by the Senate subcommittee on Wednesday, July 14th. More Details >
SENATE APPROPRIATORS ALLOCATE $310 MILLION FOR AGRICULTURE AND FOOD RESEARCH INITIATIVE
On Thursday, July 15th, the full Senate Appropriations Committee approved the fiscal year (FY) 2011 Agriculture appropriations bill despite not having held an Agriculture Subcommittee mark-up. The bill provides the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) with almost $310 million which is nearly $48 million (18 percent) above the enacted FY 2010 level of $262 million and $119 million below the President’s request of $429 million. During the mark-up, Agriculture Subcommittee Chairman Herb Kohl (D-WI) stated, “Our goal in crafting this year's bill was to stretch limited federal resources to expand rural economic development, invest in agricultural research, ensure a safe food supply and improve domestic and international nutrition." More Details >
WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE EXAMINES NEW RULES ON MEANINGFUL USE OF ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS
This week the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee held a hearing to receive an update on implementation of incentives aimed at increasing adoption and use of health information technology (HIT). The session also examined the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) newly-released regulations governing meaningful use of electronic health records (EHR). In March, FASEB submitted a letter in response to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed rule on the EHR Incentive Program, urging that the secondary use of EHR information for biomedical research should be included among the criteria defining meaningful use. More Details >
SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE CONSIDERS AMERICA COMPETES ACT REAUTHORIZATION
On Thursday, July 22nd, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a mark-up of S 3605, the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010. Although the committee fell short of a quorum and therefore could not formally vote on the final legislation, it plans to advance the bill soon. “This bill continues key investments in research and development and STEM education…A strong high-tech workforce is fundamental to addressing the challenges of the 21st century – from developing clean sources of energy to discovering cures for diseases,” noted Committee Chairman John Rockefeller (D-WV) in his opening statement. More Details >
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES RELEASES AMENDMENT TO PROPOSED REGULATIONS ON CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published an amendment to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on financial conflicts of interest (FCOI) in the Federal Register on July 21, 2010. (Click here to view a summary of the NPRM.) HHS is considering whether “it should clarify how the regulations apply in circumstances in which an Investigator or a Public Health Service (PHS)-funded research project transfers from one Institution to another, or in which a new Institution, and Investigators at the new Institution, become involved in an ongoing PHS-funded research project (e.g., where the new Institution becomes a subgrantee on the project).” More Details >
FASEB’s Washington Update is brought to you bi-monthly by the FASEB Office of Public Affairs. We welcome your questions and comments – please contact Jennifer Zeitzer at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 301-634-7650. For more information about how to get involved in research advocacy, visit: http://capwiz.com/faseb/home/