FASEB Washington Update - May 28, 2010

Inside (The Beltway) Scoop – Jennifer Zeitzer
The legislative gridlock continued in Washington as congressional leaders struggled to complete action on several high profile bills ahead of the upcoming Memorial Day recess. Wanting to go home with significant accomplishments that could be highlighted for their constituents, lawmakers spent the last part of May trying to wrap up work on major banking and financial regulatory reform legislation, a supplemental appropriations measure to provide additional funding for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and an extension of unemployment benefits and expiring tax breaks. However, escalating partisanship and the ongoing challenge of having to find 60 votes in the Senate to move forward on most bills left congressional leaders with several unfinished items on the “to-do” list. More Details >

Inside (The Beltway) Scoop – Jennifer Zeitzer
Efforts to produce a fiscal year (FY) 2011 budget resolution are ongoing as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) continued discussions with the Democratic Caucus about discretionary funding levels in an attempt to pass a spending plan by the start of the Memorial Day recess. The fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition is united behind a proposal to cut non-security discretionary spending by two percent for the next three years and to freeze it at those levels for two years after that. Liberal Democrats strongly oppose that plan because they are concerned that the cuts would disproportionally affect social programs such as education, job training and research. Although the Senate Budget Committee passed a budget resolution last month, the Democratic leadership in that chamber is waiting to see what the House will do before making a decision about when to begin debate on the floor. If no agreement can be reached, one option would be to pass a “deeming resolution,” which would formally establish the FY 2011 discretionary funding level. More Details >

FASEB Responds to Request for Information on HIPAA Privacy Rule Accounting of Disclosures
In a May 18th letter to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Civil Rights, FASEB recommended that research be excluded from the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule accounting of disclosures provision. FASEB believes that researchers and research institutions have an obligation to protect the privacy and confidentiality of study participants and their clinical data. However, the federation also expressed concern about the adverse impact that the Privacy Rule has had on health research. Under the accounting of disclosures provision, for example, institutions covered under HIPAA must provide individuals, upon request, a comprehensive list of the disclosures made of their protected health information in the three years preceding the request. The accounting must include the date the disclosure was made, the identity of the individual receiving the information, a description of the information disclosed, and a statement of the purpose of the disclosure. More Details >

NIH Issues Long Awaited Notice of Regulations on Financial Conflicts of Interest
On May 20th, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) published a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) regarding financial conflicts of interests (FCOI) for researchers engaging in Public Health Service funded research. According to NIH, there are four primary changes introduced in the NPRM. More Details >

Scientific Management Review Board Discusses Opening NIH’s Clinical Center to Extramural Researchers
Last week, the NIH Scientific Management Review Board (SMRB), chaired by Norman Augustine, met for the final portion of their two day meeting. Among the topics on the agenda was the expansion of the use of the NIH Clinical Center (CC). Arthur Rubenstein, Chair of the NIH Intramural Research Program (IRP) Working Group, lead the discussion. He and panels of researchers and administrators from across the country highlighted the unique opportunities presented by the CC in terms of access to rare disease patients, diagnostic capabilities and other benefits. More Details >

President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology Meets
On May 19th, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) discussed a variety of topics ranging from science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education to health information technology (HIT). The meeting opened with the Co-Chairs of PCAST, John Holdren and Eric Lander, thanking Harold Varmus for his service on the council and wishing him well in his July transition to the National Cancer Institute. 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 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/