Washington Highlights: July 31,
2009
Senate Panel Approves HHS Spending Bill
Contents
Prior Issues
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The Senate Appropriations Committee July 30 approved 29 - 1 its
version of the FY 2010 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations bill (H.R.
3293) two days after the corresponding subcommittee approved
the spending bill by voice vote. In a July 28 statement,
Subcommittee Chair Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) referenced $10.4 billion
for NIH and other funding provided in the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (ARRA, P.L.
111-5) as "a major factor in shaping this bill." He
described that the committee's bill "instead emphasizes several
other important programs" that did not receive substantial
ARRA funding.
National Institutes of Health (NIH): According to a summary
released by the committee, the bill includes the President's request
of $30.8 billion for the NIH, a $442 million increase over the FY
2009 level. This total includes $300 million to be transferred from
NIH to the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and Tuberculosis.
The Senate Committee's bill concurs with the House-passed version
in rejecting the Administration's proposal to earmark increases
for cancer and autism research. The committee report accompanying
the bill notes "the President's plan would set a dangerous
precedent. The Committee has long subscribed to the view that funding
levels for individual diseases should be determined without political
interference."
The House-approved version of the bill (H.R.
3293) provides $31.3 billion for NIH, $500 million more than
the Senate and the President's request [see Washington
Highlights, July 24].
Health Professions: The Senate committee provides $460.1
million for the Title VII and Title VIII health professions programs,
a $67.4 million (17.2 percent) increase over FY 2009, and $68 million
less than the President's budget request. For Title VII, the bill
provides $243.4 million, a $21.7 million (9.8 percent) increase
over FY 2009. The bill includes the President's proposed increases
for the Title VII Centers of Excellence and Health Careers Opportunity
Program, and also increases funding for the Primary Care Medicine
and Dentistry program. The bill also provides $5.7 million for Title
VII Health Professions Workforce Information and Analysis; the program
has received no funding since FY 2005, when it was funded at $716,000.
The House-approved bill provides $529.7 million for the health
professions programs, including $266.3 million for Title VII.
National Health Service Corps (NHSC): Like the House, the
Senate committee's bill provides $142 million for the NHSC, a $7
million (5.2 percent) increase over FY 2009 and $27 million less
than the President proposed.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): The bill
provides $372.1 million for AHRQ, as provided in FY 2009, the President's
budget, and the House-approved bill.
Children's GME: The bill provides $315 million for the Children's
Hospitals Graduate Medical Education program, $5 million (1.6 percent)
more than FY 2009 and the President's request. The House-approved
bill provides $320 million for the program.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): The bill
provides $6.828 billion in program level funding for CDC, a $158.9
million (2.4 percent) increase over FY 2009, and $130 million more
than the President's request. The House bill provides $6.737 billion
in program level funding for CDC.
No date has been set for Senate floor consideration of the bill.
Information:
Dave Moore, Senior Director
AAMC Government Relations
dbmoore@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
Tannaz Rasouli, Senior Legislative Analyst
AAMC Government Relations
trasouli@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
Matthew Shick, Senior Legislative Analyst
AAMC Government Relations
mshick@aamc.org
(202) 862-6116
Despite Progress on Health Care Reform, House
and Senate Unlikely to Vote Before August Recess
Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) July 30 announced
to reporters that his panel does not expect to mark up health care
reform legislation before the Senate adjourns Aug. 7 for a month-long
recess. In a related press
statement, Chairman Baucus added that the "President, Leader
Reid and I share the goal of a bipartisan bill and we will continue
to work toward meaningful, bipartisan legislation that can pass
the Senate and become law this year."
Meanwhile, the House Energy and Commerce Committee July 30 and
31 resumed marking up its health care reform package, the America's
Affordable Health Choices Act (H.R.
3200) [see Washington Highlights,
July 24]. The committee adopted several amendments of interest
to medical schools and teaching hospitals, including two offered
by Rep. Mike Rogers
(R-Mich.) and Rep. Phil Gingrey
(R-GA) that limit the use of comparative effectiveness research
(CER) in coverage determinations.
The committee also adopted an amendment by Rep. Chris Murphy
(D-Conn.) that implements a new process for establishing "appropriate"
Medicaid reimbursement levels. An amendment offered by Rep. Tim
Murphy
(R-Pa.) and adopted by voice vote requires "best practice"
guidelines to reflect recommendations from physician societies.
The committee also rejected (20-32) an amendment offered by Rep.
Mike Burgess
(R-Texas) to establish inflationary-based updates for Medicare physician
payments. Ranking Member Joe Barton (R-Texas) offered and withdrew
an amendment
to strip provisions related to physician-owned hospitals.
A full list of amendments the committee has considered to date,
as well as district-specific analyses of the legislation for each
committee member are available on the committee Web
site.
At press time, the Energy and Commerce Committee planned to complete
its markup July 31. The House was expected to adjourn for the August
recess July 31.
Information:
Christiane Mitchell, Director, Federal Affairs
AAMC Government Relations
cmitchell@aamc.org
(202) 828-0526
Travis W. Crytzer, Legislative Analyst
AAMC Government Relations
tcrytzer@aamc.org
(202) 828-0418
Congress Approves Short-term SBIR Extension
The House July 29 approved by voice vote legislation (S.
1513) to extend the authorization for the Small Business Innovation
Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs
for two months. The Senate July 24 passed the measure by unanimous
consent. Authorization for the programs expires July 31.
The extension is necessary because House and Senate negotiators
have been unable to reach agreement on whether to increase the percentage
of their budgets that major federal research agencies must devote
to the SBIR program. The Senate-passed bill (S.
1233) includes a provision to increase the allocation for the
SBIR program from 2.5 percent to 3.5 percent of any federal agency
budget that provides more than $100 million for research, including
the National Institutes of Health [see Washington
Highlights, July 17].
The AAMC opposes increasing the allocation. The House bill (H.R.
2965) does not increase the SBIR set-aside [see Washington
Highlights, July 10].
Negotiators also are trying to reconcile the terms under which venture
capital-supported small companies can compete for SBIR funding.
Information:
Dave Moore, Senior Director
AAMC Government Relations
dbmoore@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
HHS Announces Recovery Act Funding for Health
Professions Training
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) July 28 announced
details of how it plans to allocate $200 million appropriated in
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA, P.L.
111-5) for health professions training programs at the Health
Resources and Services Administration [see Washington
Highlights, Feb. 13].
Awards will be made "over the next several months," with
funding opportunities for some programs announced over a timeframe
that allows applicants "adequate time to prepare materials."
According to the announcement, the funds will be directed as follows:
- $80.2 million for scholarships, loans, and loan repayment awards,
including $40 million in Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students,
$1.2 million for the Faculty Loan Repayment program, and $39 million
for nurses and nurse faculty;
- $47.6 million for the Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry training
programs;
- $50 million in grants to health professions training programs to purchase
equipment;
- $10.5 million for public health workforce training, including preventive
medicine residencies;
- $10.2 million to increase health professions diversity, including
$4 million for the Centers of Excellence, $3 million for the Health
Careers Opportunity Program, and $3.2 million for nursing workforce
diversity; and,
- $1.5 million to assist state professional licensing boards in reducing
barriers to telemedicine.
According to details on the HRSA Web
site, HRSA will offer new competition for the primary care and
preventive medicine/dental public health programs, telemedicine
state licensure grants, and grants for equipment. The remainder
of funding opportunities will be awarded from 2009 and qualified
2008 applications.
In a statement, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius noted, "These
ARRA funds provide targeted investments in primary care, nursing,
faculty development, and equipment purchases that will shore up
the workforce as we prepare for reform." HRSA Administrator
Mary Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N., also acknowledged that the programs
"have been significantly underfunded these past few years,"
and that "these funds will help us begin to rebuild the infrastructure
that is so essential to producing the number of skilled health professionals
the Nation needs." HHS estimates that the funds will support
training 8,000 students and health professionals by the end of FY
2010.
Information:
Tannaz Rasouli, Senior Legislative Analyst
AAMC Government Relations
trasouli@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
On the Agenda in Washington...
Aug. 4: Senate HELP Committee to Vote on Pending Nominations
Time: TBA; Location: TBA
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP)
is scheduled to vote on pending nominations (nominees to be announced).
Aug. 5-6: National Cancer Institute Special Emphasis Panel
8 a.m.- 5 p.m.; Marriott Bethesda North Hotel and Conference
Center, 5701 Marinelli Road, Bethesda, Md.
NIH's National Cancer Institute Special Emphasis Panel, NCI-ARRA
Grand Opportunities Clinical/Translational, will meet
to provide concept review of proposed grant applications.
Aug. 6-7: President's Council on Science and Technology Policy
Time: 10 a.m.; National Academies, Keck Center, 500 5th Street,
NW, Room 100
The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology will
meet Aug. 6 and 7, with presentations from the Office of Science
and Technology Policy, the Department of Health and Human Services,
and others, including panels on health information technology and
comparative effectiveness research. An agenda,
Web cast, and additional details about attending are available on
the PCAST Web site. Please
note that parts of this meeting are closed to the public.
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