Senate to Determine Fate
of Spending Bill
December 5, 2003 - Congress will make a brief appearance
in Washington the week of Dec. 8, but may leave town without
giving final approval to the omnibus FY 2004 spending package
(H.R.
2673) finalized shortly before the Thanksgiving recess.
The House is scheduled to vote on the conference report on
the omnibus package Dec. 8. The Senate will be in session
the following day, but no roll call votes are scheduled.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) had hoped to
get unanimous consent to approve the bill without a roll call
vote, but Senator Robert Byrd (D- W.Va.), the ranking member
of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced Dec. 3 that
he would oppose any effort to clear the spending measure without
a recorded vote. That leaves Sen. Frist with two options:
try to bring senators back to Washington to vote on the measure
in December or wait until Congress returns to Washington in
late January to begin the second session of the 108th Congress.
The text of the conference report (H.Rept.
108-401), which was filed Nov. 25, is now available. Washington
Highlights reported previously on the major funding provisions
in the report [see Washington
Highlights, Nov. 21];
the following items are also of interest to AAMC members.
The conference agreement includes a Senate proposal to allow
the Department of Health and Human Services to apply a 2.2
percent evaluation tap to programs authorized under the Public
Health Service Act. The funds are used to support programs
that involve evaluation studies such as the Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the CDC's National Center
for Health Statistics (NCHS). Overall, the conference agreement
includes $666 million in programs funded through this tap.
For NIH, the conference agreement retains the salary cap
at Executive Level I. Within the National Center for Research
Resources, the conference agreement provides $119.22 million
for extramural facilities construction grants, $320 million
for General Clinical Research Centers, and $215 million for
Institutional Development Awards (IDeA).
The conference agreement also authorizes up to $7.5 million
for the NIH Director to enter into agreements to carry out
research in support of the NIH roadmap initiative. The conferees
direct the Director of the NIH to enter into these agreements
solely on the basis of scientific merit, opportunity for medical
breakthroughs and urgency of need. All awards are to be subject
to a competitive process.
The conferees also urge NIH "to support the efforts
of universities, medical schools, scientific societies and
other groups that are working to develop and implement a system
for voluntary, peer-driven accreditation of organizations
throughout the country that are engaged in research involving
human subjects."
The conference agreement includes bill language sponsored
by Rep. Dave Weldon (R-Fla.) that states, "None of the
funds appropriated or otherwise made available under this
Act may be used to issue patents on claims directed to or
encompassing a human organism." The accompanying report
language states the conferees "concur with the intent
of this provision as expressed in the colloquy between the
provision's sponsor in the House and the ranking minority
member of the House Committee on Appropriations [Rep. Dave
Obey (D-Wis.)] as occurred on July 22, 2003, with respect
to any existing patents on stem cells." During that colloquy,
Rep. Obey asked, "Is the gentleman saying that this amendment
would not interfere in any way with any existing patents with
respect to stem cells?" Rep. Weldon replied, "I
would respond that, no, it would not. And I recognize that
there are many institutions, particularly in Wisconsin, that
have extensive patents on human genes, human stem cells. This
would not affect any of those current existing patents."
Rep. Weldon went on to explain, "The Patent Office policy
is not to issue these patents, and there never has been one.
The Congress has been silent on this issue. I am trying to
put us on record that we support the Patent Office in this
position that human life in any form should not be patentable."
The conference agreement provides $1.777 billion for the
Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund (PHSSEF)
to enhance Federal, State, and local preparedness to counter
potential biological, disease, chemical, and radiological
threats to civilian populations. This includes $545.9 million
for HRSA: $518 million for Hospital Preparedness and $27.87
million for curricular reform in health professions schools
and the delivery of continuing education.
Information:
Dave Moore, Senior Associate Vice President
AAMC Government Relations
dbmoore@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
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