By George Weiner, MD
2009-05-01
Dr. Weiner is Chair of the ASH Committee on Government Affairs
and Professor of Internal Medicine and Director of the Holden
Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Iowa.
Members of the Society’s Committee on Government Affairs came to
Washington from around the nation in early March for the Committee’s
annual spring meeting and Capitol Hill Day with Washington still abuzz
with the excitement of a new presidential administration, the start of
a new Congress, and new governmental programs designed to help resolve
the economic crisis.
Many Committee members have established relationships with their
Senators and Representatives, as well as congressional staff members,
after several years’ worth of Capitol Hill Days. Numerous congressional
offices look forward to these meetings each year and recognize ASH and
its members as an authoritative voice on the need for increased support
for biomedical research and other issues relevant to hematology.
Committee members attended nearly 40 meetings and focused congressional
attention on funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), stem
cell research, and legislation to increase the federal government’s
commitment to researching and treating acquired bone marrow failure
diseases.
This year’s Capitol Hill Day came on the heels of passage of the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which provided NIH with
an unprecedented $10 billion in short-term funding. Committee members
described advances made possible through federally funded hematology
research and thanked Representatives and Senators for providing NIH
with this funding. Committee members also stressed the need for
predictable and sustained long-term growth in NIH funding in the fiscal
year 2010 budget and beyond.
The Committee also continued to urge congressional support for
lifting the restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell
research that had been in place since 2001, noting the Society’s policy
in support of all avenues of stem cell research. In an advocacy victory
for ASH less than a week after Capitol Hill Day, President Obama signed
an Executive Order lifting the restrictions on federal funding of
embryonic stem cell research.
Thanks to all the members of the Committee on Government Affairs who
participated in Capitol Hill Day. Every ASH member can play an
important role in the Society’s advocacy efforts. You can also have
your voice heard in the halls of Congress by participating in the ASH
Grassroots Network and visiting the ASH Advocacy Center. For more
information about ASH advocacy efforts and the ASH Grassroots Network,
visit www.hematology.org/takeaction, or contact the ASH Policy & Practice Department at 202-776-0544.
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