FASEB Washington Update - Jan. 15, 2010
FASEB ISSUES ALERT ON GREAT APE BILL, CITES IoM REPORT
FASEB has issued a legislative alert on the Great Ape Protection Act (GAPA), urging scientists to contact their representatives in opposition to the legislation. The bill, which currently has 140 co-sponsors, would end the use of chimpanzees in biomedical research and could halt ongoing studies into infectious diseases, such as hepatitis and cancer therapies, as well as veterinary research studies designed to help great apes themselves. Members of Congress are hearing from animal rights activists who wish to end the use of animals in research in support of GAPA, and it is critically important they receive a balanced perspective from the scientific community.
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INSIDE (THE BELTWAY) SCOOP – JENNIFER ZEITZER
Capitol Hill has been relatively quiet since the beginning of the year as members of Congress observed an extended break after staying in session through Christmas Eve to pass major health reform legislation. Although the House returned on January 12th to work on non-controversial legislation, the Senate will not reconvene until the 19th. Negotiations to resolve the differences between the House and Senate versions of health reform legislation are largely taking place behind the scenes but it is not clear how long it will take lawmakers to reach a final agreement.
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FASEB, SFN, AND NABR RELEASE FOIA RESOURCE GUIDE FOR ANIMAL RESEARCHERS
FASEB is pleased to announce the release of “Responding to FOIA Requests: Facts and Resources.” This best practices guide, aimed at researchers and university officials, is a joint publication of FASEB, the National Association for Biomedical Research (NABR), and the Society for Neuroscience (SfN).
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WORKING GROUP REPORT ON BIOSECURITY RELEASED
The Working Group on Strengthening the Biosecurity of the United States released its report and recommendations last week, nearly one year after an Executive Order tasked the trans-agency task force with examining federal policy related to “facilities that possess biological select agents and toxins.” Nearly all of the report’s recommendations were aligned with the comments made in a May, 2009 FASEB-AAMC letter to the Working Group, including stratifying the Select Agent list, coordinating inspections of facilities, strengthening the current Security Risk Assessment (instead of developing personnel reliability programs), and developing consistent, minimum standards for lab physical security.
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FASEB COMMENTS ON CHANGES TO NIH PEER REVIEW PROCESS
Beginning in September 2008, NIH rolled out a number of modifications to the peer review process, including a shortened grant application, revised review and scoring procedures, and reduced number of resubmissions. FASEB provided preliminary feedback to the agency based on the initial experience of its members as applicants and reviewers.
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FASEB PROVIDES FEEDBACK ON OHRP DRAFT GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS
On January 5th, FASEB submitted feedback on two draft guidance documents on institutional review board (IRB) procedures issued by the Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP). FASEB found the Guidance on IRB Continuing Review of Research and Guidance on IRB Review of Research with Conditions to be generally consistent with current IRB procedures and useful in helping investigators to understand their regulatory responsibilities. FASEB was, however, disappointed that the documents do little to alleviate the significant administrative burden that the review process places on researchers and IRB members.
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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/