Washington Highlights: December
2 , 2005
Contents
Prior Issues
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AAMC Urges Funding Increases for NIH, Title VII
AAMC President Jordan J. Cohen, M.D., Dec. 1 sent a letter
to the House negotiators on the FY 2006 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations
bill (H.R.
3010) urging them to return to the conference committee and
to support the Senate-passed levels for the National Institutes
of Health (NIH) and the Title VII health professions programs in
the final conference agreement. The letter notes, "The House
rejected the previous conference agreement because it seriously
under funded these programs that are necessary to preserving the
health and well-being of the American people."
Before adjourning for the Thanksgiving Day recess, the House of
Representatives Nov. 17 rejected by a 209-224 vote the initial conference
agreement (H.
Rept. 109-300) on the Labor-HHS appropriations bill [see Washington
Highlights, Nov. 18]. The
following day, the Senate voted to send the bill back to a conference
committee to reach an acceptable compromise.
The conference agreement included $28.617 billion for the National
Institutes of Health, an increase of $253 million (0.9%) over the
FY 2005 level. However, the NIH total includes $97 million for the
development of biodefense countermeasures. In FY 2005, $47 million
for this purpose was appropriated to the Public Health and Social
Service Emergency Fund and subsequently transferred to NIH. If this
funding is added to NIH's FY 2005 base, the increase for NIH in
FY 2006 is $206 million (0.7 percent). The Senate version of H.R.
3010 proposed $29.415 billion for NIH in FY 2006, an increase of
$1.050 billion (3.7 percent).
For Title VII, the conference agreement cut the health professions
education programs by $205.6 million (69 percent) for a total of
$94 million in FY 2006. The conference agreement eliminated funding
for the geriatric training programs, rural health training programs
and workforce information and analysis, and cut Area Health Education
Centers by 93 percent, primary care medicine and dentistry by 68
percent, and diversity programs by 56 percent. The Senate bill restored
Title VII funds to $298.7 million, just 0.3 percent below the FY
2005 level.
Following the House rejection of the conference agreement, the
Senate Nov. 18 voted 66-28 to instruct its conferees to designate
the $2.2 billion in the bill for low-income heating assistance as
emergency spending, thus freeing funds under the bill's spending
cap for other purposes. The Senate singled out NIH, voting 58-36
to instruct conferees to restore the 3.7 percent increase recommended
in the Senate version of the bill.
Next steps for the bill are uncertain at the present time. Several
House members, including House Appropriations Chair Jerry Lewis
(R-Calif.), have suggested that NIH and the other public health
and education programs in the bill should be funded through a full-year
continuing resolution (CR). In addition, these programs face additional
cuts if a government-wide across-the-board cut to offset hurricane
relief efforts is applied, as has been proposed by both the White
House and the Speaker of the House.
Information:
Dave Moore, Senior Director
AAMC Government Relations
dbmoore@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
Erica Froyd, Director, Public Health and Research Legislative Affairs
AAMC Government Relations
efroyd@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
AAMC Comments at NIH Town Hall Meeting on NRSA
Tuition Support
The AAMC Nov. 30 commented
at a National Institutes of Health (NIH) town hall meeting regarding
possible changes to the current Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research
Service Award (NRSA) policies for funding tuition, fees, and health
insurance. The NRSA program supports individual and institutional
training grants at the predoctoral and postdoctoral levels. NIH
is considering alternate mechanisms to address program costs that
have increased at an unsustainable rate.
The NIH proposed options include applying the current tuition formula
with a ceiling, providing a fixed allowance per trainee to each
grantee institution, and retaining the current tuition formula without
modification. The AAMC recommended that academic institutions be
permitted the choice of whether to accept less funding per trainee
or reduce the total number of trainee positions.
Additional presentations were made from multiple stakeholders including
the Association of American Universities, the Federation of American
Societies for Experimental Biology, the National Postdoctoral Association,
the Council on Governmental Relations, and a dozen universities.
All highlighted the success of the NRSA program; however, they were
divided in their support of the proposed options. Concerns included
the consequences of reducing the number of trainee slots, the differential
effects on public and private institutions, and the shifting of
training costs to the institutions.
Information:
Jodi Lubetsky, Staff Associate, DBHSR
AAMC Office of Governmenrtal Relations
jlubetsky@aamc.org
(202) 828-0485
President Signs NSF, VA Appropriations Bills
President Bush Nov. 22 signed the FY 2006 Science, State, Justice,
and Commerce Appropriations Bill (H.R.
2862, P.L. 109-108), which provides $5.638 billion for the National
Science Foundation (NSF). The bill includes a 0.28 percent across-the-board
cut, which reduces the actual $5.653 billion appropriation, resulting
in a $165 million (3.0 percent) increase over FY 2005.
The conference report that Congress approved provides $4.375 billion
for NSF Research, a $154 million (3.7 percent) increase over FY
2005 and just shy of the Senate's proposed $4.378 billion appropriation.
The House only approved $4.345 billion for VA research programs.
On Nov. 30, the President signed the FY 2006 Military Quality of
Life and Veterans' Affairs (VA) Appropriations Bill (H.R.
2528, P.L. 109-114), providing a total of $29.9 billion for
VA Medical Care and $412 million (a 2.5 percent) increase for the
Medical and Prosthetics Research program, of which $15 million is
designated for Gulf War Illness research.
The $29.9 billion for VA Medical Care is a $2.2 billion (7.6 percent)
increase over FY 2005 and a split of the difference between the
House and Senate proposals. The conference report that Congress
approved provides $22.547 billion for Medical Services, of which
$2.2 billion is designated for specialty mental health care; $2.858
billion for Medical Administration; $1.214 billion for Information
Technology Systems; and $3.297 billion for Medical Facilities.
Information:
Matthew Shick, Senior Legislative Analyst
AAMC Government Relations
mshick@aamc.org
(202) 862-6116
OIG Issues Draft Compliance Program Guidance
for PHS Research Award Recipients
The Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector
General (OIG) Nov. 28 published in the Federal Register (70
FR 71312) draft Compliance Program Guidance (CPG) for recipients
of U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) research awards. The purpose
of the CPG draft is "to encourage the use of internal controls
to effectively monitor adherence to applicable statutes, regulations,
and program requirements."
The CPG draft expands on a 2003 FR request for recommendations
on developing compliance programs for NIH grant recipients. The
draft guidance's scope includes not only NIH grant recipients, but
also other biomedical and behavior research awards from the public
health agencies, such as AHRQ, HRSA, IHS, SAMSA, CDC, and FDA. Comments
are due by Dec. 28.
Though the CPG draft is not legally a regulation, the OIG recommends
biomedical research institutions that have not already established
a compliance program voluntarily institute one. The OIG specifically
identifies risk areas for more comprehensive financial reporting,
including: time and effort reporting; properly allocating charges
to award projects; and reporting of financial support from other
sources.
Information:
Ivy Baer, Director & Regulatory Counsel
AAMC Health Care Affairs
ibaer@aamc.org
(202) 828-0490
NIH Announces Pilot Study to Shorten the Review
Cycle for New Investigators
NIH Nov. 30 announced
a pilot study aimed at shortening the grant application review cycle,
especially for new investigators. The pilot focuses on new investigators
who are not successful in a R01 grant submission and "are readily
able to address the concerns raised and issues identified in the
Summary Statement." The results of this pilot will be analyzed
to determine whether to expand the process to all R01 applications
submitted by new investigators or to all R01 applications.
The pilot involves shortened time for reviewers to consider applications,
earlier study section meetings, accelerated production of Summary
Statements, and a delayed submission date for these amended applications.
The pilot includes R01 applications from investigators that meet
the NIH definition of new investigators from 40 selected study sections.
The NIH announcement details other eligibility criteria.
Information:
Tony Mazzaschi, Interin Chief Scientific Officer, Senior Director
AAMC Scientific Affairs
tmazzaschi@aamc.org
(202) 828-0059
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