Washington Highlights: February
1, 2008
Contents
Prior Issues
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Congressional Report Encourages Preservation of
Medicaid and SCHIP Funding
The bipartisan, bicameral Joint Economic Committee (JEC) Jan.18
issued a report
indicating that "worsening economic conditions" will cause
"substantial increases" in Medicaid and the State Children's
Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) enrollment. The report warns that
the Administration's recent series of proposed Medicaid cuts will
severely impede the ability of states to finance the expected demand
for additional Medicaid and SCHIP services.
The report outlines possible "courses of action" that
Congress could take to avert the loss of federal funding for Medicaid
and SCHIP. One option is to "delay or cancel" the Administration's
proposed Medicaid regulations "at least until possible impacts
of a slowing economy are understood."
The JEC report was released as the House and Senate took up their
respective economic stimulus packages. Neither the House-passed
nor the Senate Finance Committee's stimulus legislation ultimately
addressed the JEC's Medicaid and SCHIP recommendations. During the
Finance Committee mark-up, Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) raised concern
about the problematic impact of the Medicaid regulations. However,
Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) reiterated his
opinion that the stimulus package was not the appropriate vehicle
for addressing the cuts. Chairman Baucus indicated some willingness
to address the Medicaid regulations in the future.
Information:
Christiane Mitchell, Senior Legislative Affairs Manager
AAMC Government Relations
cmitchell@aamc.org
(202) 828-0526
President Issues Executive Order Against Earmarks
President Bush Jan. 29 signed Executive
Order 13457, "Protecting American Taxpayers from Government
Spending on Wasteful Earmarks." The executive order makes clear
that federal agencies are to ignore future earmarks included in
report language. The President, in his Jan. 28 State of the Union
address, pledged to veto FY 2009 spending bills that do not cut
the cost and number of earmarks in half from FY 2008 levels.
According to a White House press
release, the executive order defines an earmark as "any
funds provided by Congress for projects, programs, or grants where
the congressional direction (whether in statutory text, report language,
or other communication) (1) circumvents merit-based or competitive
allocation processes; (2) specifies the location or recipient of
the funds; or (3) otherwise limits the ability of the Executive
Branch to manage its statutory and constitutional responsibilities
for the allocation of federal funds."
NIH Announces FY 2008 Grants Fiscal Policy, Updates
Salary Cap
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Jan. 28 announced its FY
2008 fiscal
policy. Under the policy, which reflects the omnibus "Consolidated
Appropriations Act for FY 2008" (P.L.
110-161), the NIH:
- Provides a 1 percent inflation allowance for non-competing
awards (each institute and center is given discretion in allocating
the adjustment, and future year commitments will be adjusted accordingly);
- Allows the average cost of competing grants to increase by
1 percent over FY 2007 (it is estimated this will allow the various
institutes and centers to support a total of approximately 9,700
new and competing research project grants (RPGs));
- Maintains a number of new investigators comparable to the average
of the most recent 5 years; and
- Holds Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards
(NRSA) funds for stipends, tuition and training-related expenses
at the FY 2007 levels.
The NIH Jan. 15 published its 2008 annual salary cap implementation
notice,
which provides updated information regarding the salary limitation
for NIH grant and cooperative agreement awards, as well as extramural
research and development contract awards. The notice sets the annual
salary cap at $191,300, a 2.5 percent increase from the FY 2007
level of $186,600. Under the FY 2008 consolidated appropriations
act, the cap level is restricted to Executive Level I of the Federal
Executive Pay scale. A historical overview of the salary cap level
is available on the NIH website.
Information:
Tony Mazzaschi, Senior Associate Vice President
AAMC Biomedical Health Sciences Research
tmazzaschi@aamc.org
(202) 828-0059
NCRR Advisory Council Reviews CTSA Program
Members of the NIH Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA)
Consortia Oversight Committee Jan. 30 presented
to an NIH National Center for Research Resources advisory council
on the status of projects at their own institutions. The oversight
committee primarily consists of CTSA principal investigators (PIs).
The presenters included:
- Lars F. Berglund, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Clinical and Translational
Science Center, University of California, Davis School of Medicine;
- David S. Guzick, M.D., Ph.D., Dean, University of Rochester
School of Medicine and Dentistry;
- Robert A. Rizza, M.D., Professor of Medicine, Mayo Medical
School;
- Henry N. Ginsberg, M.D., Professor of Medicine, Columbia University
College of Physicians and Surgeons;
- Gordon R. Bernard, M.D., Assistant Vice-Chancellor for Research,
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine;
- Daniel E. Ford, M.D., M.P.H., Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology,
Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins University;
- David S. Stephens, M.D., Executive Associate Dean for Research,
Emory University School of Medicine;
- Gary W. Hunninghake, M.D., Director, Division of Pulmonary,
Critical Care and Occupational Medicine, University of Iowa Roy
J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine.
Several of the CTSA PIs described - and all affirmed - difficulties
created by recent funding decisions cutting back on approved award
levels. Advisory council members commented on the wide variety of
approaches reflected in each CTSA, although presentations shared
several common themes. The first was integration of pre-existing
elements of clinical research with new organization, infrastructure,
or resources made available through the CTSAs. All presenters spoke
to enhanced levels of communication and interaction among programs
and investigators that had, prior to the CTSA, operated more insularly.
A second theme was the use of the awards to leverage other resources,
from sharing of medical school or other facilities more broadly
across campuses to obtaining state funding for new construction.
When probed about the institutions' response to continued funding
constraints, several PIs responded that fewer CTSA funds would be
used for directly supporting research projects, in expectation that
funds from other sources, including other NIH institutes, would
materialize.
The council also received an overview of cutting edge programs
involving non-human primates at the nation's 8 National Primate
Research Centers, which also provide infrastructure for translational
research as well as supporting research projects directly.
Information:
Stephen Heinig, Senior Research Fellow
AAMC Biomedical Health Sciences Research
sheinig@aamc.org
(202) 828-0488
Irena Tartakovsky, Clinical Research Program Manager
AAMC Division of Biomedical and Health Sciences Research
itartakovsky@aamc.org
(202) 862-6134
NSF Reports Enrollment Growth in Foreign S&E Grad
Students at US Schools
A December 2007 report
from the National Science Foundation (NSF) finds that after 2 years
of decline, U.S. enrollment of foreign graduate students in science
and engineering (S&E) fields increased in 2006. According to
the report, "The increase was largely due to first-time, full-time
enrollment of foreign students, which grew 16 percent over the 2005
level. First-time, full-time enrollment of S&E graduate students
with U.S. citizenship or permanent resident status rose by slightly
more than 1 percent. Total enrollment of first-time, full-time S&E
graduate students rose 6 percent over the 2005 level."
Information:
Jodi Lubetsky, Staff Associate
AAMC Biomedical Health Sciences Research
jlubetsky@aamc.org
(202) 828-0485
On the Hill...
Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) Jan. 30 announced he will not seek re-election
in 2008. Rep. Davis indicated that he will finish out the remainder
of his term. In a press release he stated, "I have not yet
decided what opportunities to pursue when I depart Congress. But
it's clear to me that returning to the private sector and reacquainting
myself with that view of the world is the best move for me and my
family."
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