Washington Highlights: January 7,
2005
109th Congress
Organizes
Contents
Prior Issues
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The first session of the 109th Congress opened Jan. 4 with the
swearing in of new and returning members of the House and Senate.
Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) was re-elected as Speaker of the House.
House Republicans retained Rep. Tom DeLay (Texas) as Majority Leader
and Roy Blunt (Mo.) as Majority Whip, while Democrats Nancy Pelosi
(Calif.) and Steny Hoyer (Md.) will continue as Minority Leader
and Whip, respectively.
In the Senate, Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) will continue to serve as Majority
Leader and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as Majority Whip, while Harry
Reid (D-Nevada) becomes the Minority Leader and Richard Durbin (D-Ill.)
the Minority Whip.
House Republican leaders Jan. 5 selected Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.)
to chair the chamber's Appropriations Committee. Rep. Lewis was
chosen by the House Republican Steering Committee, a 28-member panel
made up of GOP leaders, key committee chairmen and regional party
representatives, over Reps. Ralph Regula (R-Ohio), and Harold Rogers
(R-Ky). Rep. Lewis replaces Rep. Bill Young (R-Fla.), who had served
the full six-year limit that House Republicans have placed on committee
chairmen. The Steering Committee also selected Rep. Steve Buyer
(R-Ind.) to take over as chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee,
replacing Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) who has chaired the committee
for the last 4 years. Rep. Buyer previously chaired the Subcommittee
on Oversight and Investigations.
In the Senate, Republicans have made several changes in committee
chairs, including selecting Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) to replace
Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) as chairman of the Appropriations Committee.
Sen. Stevens also had served the maximum six years as chairman.
Other new committee chairs include Senators Judd Gregg (R-N.H.)
on the Budget Committee; Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.) at the Health, Education,
Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee; Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) at the
Judiciary Committee; and Larry Craig (R-Idaho) on the Veterans Affairs
Committee.
Senate Republicans and Democrats earlier had announced proposed
committee assignments for 109th Congress. Key changes include:
Finance: Republican Michael Crapo (Idaho) replaces Don Nickles
(Okla.). Democrats lose one seat on the committee and will add Ron
Wyden (Ore.) and Charles Schumer (N.Y) to replace Tom Daschle (S.D.),
John Breaux (La.), and Bob Graham (Fla.).
Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP): Republicans Orrin
Hatch (Utah), Richard Burr (N.C.), and Johnny Isakson (Ga.) replace
Christopher Bond (Mo.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), and John Warner (Va.).
Democrats lose one seat on the committee; John Edwards (N.C.) will
not be replaced.
Appropriations: Republican Wayne Allard (Colo.) replaces Ben Nighthorse
Campbell (Colo.). Democrats lose a seat on the committee, so Ernest
Hollings (S.C.) will not be replaced.
Budget: On the Republican side, Lamar Alexander (Tenn.) and Lindsey
Graham replace Don Nickles and Conrad Burns (Mont.). Democrats lose
a seat on the committee; so Ernest Hollings will not be replaced.
Although individual committee assignments have yet to be made in
the House, Republican and Democratic leadership announced new committee
ratios for several committees. Republicans will gain one seat on
the Appropriations Committee, and both parties will lose one seat
on the Veterans Affairs Committee and two seats on the Budget Committee.
Ratios will remain the same on the Energy and Commerce and the Ways
and Means committees.
Information:
Dave Moore, Senior Director
AAMC Government Relations
dbmoore@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
Changes Expected in the Bush Cabinet
President Bush has announced his nominations for several key Cabinet
level positions. Of particular interest to medical schools and teaching
hospitals, are changes at the departments of Health and Human Services
(HHS), Education and Veterans Affairs (VA). To replace outgoing
Secretary Tommy Thompson at HHS, President Bush has nominated former
Utah Governor Mike Leavitt, who has served for the last year as
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). At the
Department of Education, Assistant to the President for Domestic
Policy Margaret Spellings is the President's choice to succeed outgoing
Secretary Roderick Paige. And at the Department of Veterans Affairs,
former Republican National Committee chairman and ambassador to
the Vatican Jim Nicholson has been nominated to replace Secretary
Anthony Principi. All Cabinet nominees must be ratified by the Senate.
Providers Urge Bush Not to Cut Medicare or Medicaid
in Upcoming Budget
The AAMC and 25 other hospital and physician groups Dec. 16 sent
a letter to
President Bush urging him not to include any Medicare or Medicaid
reductions in his FY 2006 budget.
States the letter, "With many states in crisis, Medicaid reductions
at the federal level would drastically unravel an already frail
safety net. Similarly, Medicare must be able to meet increasing
needs of an aging population that is growing in numbers."
The letter also acknowledges the strides the President made in
enacting "landmark" Medicare legislation, and recalls
how previous Bush budgets did not include provider reductions.
The provider communication was preceded by a Dec. 14 letter to
the President from 48 Senate Democrats opposing "any Medicaid
reform proposal" that would cap federal spending, alter eligibility
standards, or reduce services. Coordinated by Sen. Jeff Bingaman
(D-N.M.), the letter advised the President to "take steps to
stabilize and improve health coverage rather than undermine it."
A Dec. 22 letter
by the Chair and Vice Chair of the National Governors Association
(NGA) urged House and Senate Majority and Minority leaders to reform
the Medicaid program, but warned against doing so as part of the
FY "2006 fiscal year budget reduction and reconciliation process,
especially if it does nothing more than shift additional costs to
states."
Information:
Lynne Davis Boyle, Assistant Vice President
AAMC Government Relations
ldavisboyle@aamc.org
(202) 828-0526
Christiane Mitchell, Senior Legislative Analyst
AAMC Government Relations
cmitchell@aamc.org
(202) 828-0526
AAMC Endorses NIH "Best Practices" for Genomic
Inventions
The AAMC Jan. 4 submitted comments
endorsing the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) proposed "best
practices for the licensing of genomic inventions" [69 Federal
Register 67747]. The practices would promote continued sharing
of information about genomic discoveries among scientific and health
researchers, and would encourage research institutions to consider
seeking patent protection and licensing of gene-based inventions
primarily when further development by the private sector is necessary
for commercial application. Exclusive licenses to genomic inventions
- which industries often require before investing private capital
in further development - should be appropriately tailored to the
type of application being sought. The NIH also suggests that universities
retain in their licensing agreements the right for academic and
other scientific organizations to use the invention for research
and educational purposes. In its comments, the AAMC noted that the
proposal appears to be fully consistent with the current university
practices and the long tradition of openness in genomic research.
The practices are intended as advice to NIH intramural and extramural
researchers, and do not constitute new regulation, conditions of
award, or other requirements. The deadline for public comments to
NIH is Jan. 18.
Information:
Stephen Heinig, Lead Science Policy Analyst
AAMC Biomedical Health Sciences Research
sheinig@aamc.org
(202) 828-0488
On the Hill
Representative Robert Matsui (D-Calif.) passed away Jan. 1 from
complications related to myelodysplastic syndrome. First elected
to the House of Representatives in 1978, Rep. Matsui served as a
senior member of the Ways and Means Committee and for the last two
years as Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
A special election will be called to fill the remainder of his term.
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