FASEB Washington Update - Oct. 9, 2009
FASEB PRESIDENT IN AUDIENCE AS OBAMA SPEAKS AT NIH FASEB
President, Mark O. Lively, Ph.D. was among a select group of leaders from the scientific community invited to hear President Barack Obama speak during his first official visit to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on September 30th. Reflecting FASEB’s strong relationship with the agency, Dr. Lively was seated in a reserved section of the third row of the audience, next to the presidents of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), American Association of Universities (AAU), and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS).
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Inside (The Beltway) Scoop – Jennifer Zeitzer
Federal agencies began fiscal year (FY) 2010 under a “continuing resolution” (CR) which was signed by President Obama on Sept. 30th. The CR was attached to the final version of the Legislative Branch Appropriations bill (Public Law 111-68) and keeps the government operating at current funding levels through Oct. 31, 2009. Although it is anticipated that at least one more CR will be needed before Congress finishes work on the 2010 appropriations legislation, the Senate has made significant progress over the last few weeks, having now passed 7 of the 12 bills with a vote on one more, Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS), scheduled for October 13th.
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FASEB OPPOSES EFFORTS TO BLOCK FUNDING FOR NIH GRANTS
For the last several months, FASEB has been working with the Coalition to Protect Research (CPR) and the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research to oppose attempts by members of Congress to eliminate funding for specific peer-reviewed research grants supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In late July, during floor debate on the fiscal year (FY) 2010 Labor-Health & Human Services-Education (LHHS) Appropriations bill (HR 3293), the House of Representatives approved by voice vote an amendment offered by Darrell Issa (R-CA) to prohibit NIH from funding three peer-reviewed grants supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to study alcohol and substance use and increased HIV risks among vulnerable populations in Thailand, China, and Russia and develop interventions to prevent the global spread of HIV/AIDS in high-risk populations.
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SENATE SMALL BUSINESS COMMITTEE CHALLENGES NIH ON ARRA FUNDING
This week the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship held a hearing, “The Recovery Act for Small Businesses: What is Working and What Comes Next?” At the hearing, committee members heard from Small Business Administration and other agency officials how funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) are providing relief and opportunities for small businesses. Representatives from the Department of Energy, Department of Defense, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) were among those who testified.
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HOUSE PANEL EXAMINES HIGH-RISK, HIGH-REWARD RESEARCH
On October 8th, the House Science and Technology Committee’s Research and Science Education Subcommittee held a hearing to investigate the federal government’s role in funding and encouraging high-risk, high-reward research and how this relates to the upcoming 2010 reauthorization of the America COMPETES Act. The National Science Board (NSB) defines high-risk, high-reward research as research driven by unique ideas and sometimes unconventional approaches that have the potential to create new models or fields within science and engineering or radically change our understanding of a current concept; it is sometimes also referred to as “transformative” research. The America COMPETES Act authorized unprecedented funding for research in the physical sciences, including research funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Department of Energy. As Congress considers reauthorization of that legislation, high-risk, high-reward research may play a larger role.
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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 Carrie Wolinetz 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/