Government Affairs Committee Update

October 2005

Funding Bill Stalled in Senate; Please Participate in ASH’s Grassroots Efforts
The full Senate may vote on fiscal year (FY) 2006 funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Sickle Cell Treatment Act (PL 108-357)—two issues where ASH has been actively involved— during the week of October 24.  All members are strongly encouraged to visit the ASH Advocacy Center and participate in the NIH and Sickle Cell Treatment Act campaigns.  Even if the full Senate does not take up the bill next week, letters from ASH members will help inform the debate that will occur when the House-Senate Conference Committee begins to resolve the differences between each chamber’s version of the FY 2006 Department of Health and Human Services spending bill. 

FY 2006 has become an extremely tight year for federal discretionary spending programs.  With funding for hurricane-related relief and rebuilding efforts taking precedence on Capitol Hill, Congress is under pressure to cut spending in other areas to restrain the growth of the federal deficit.  Some proposals under consideration call for Congress to enact a 1 to 2 percent cut in all FY 2006 discretionary spending.  NIH is a target of those policymakers that want to rein in federal discretionary spending.   Your grassroots support for NIH and Sickle Cell Treatment Act funding is very important as the Senate moves to the final stages of debate over FY 2006 funding.  

Senator Specter Agrees to Postpone Senate Stem Cell Debate until 2006
Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA)—Chair of the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (Labor-HHS) Appropriations Subcommittee—reached an agreement with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, MD, (R-TN) to postpone the debate on the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act (HR 810) until early next year when the bill can be a priority item for the Senate to consider.  Until this agreement was achieved, Senator Specter was working to force a vote on HR 810 this year. 

The concern was that inserting the stem cell issue into the annual appropriations process would drag out the debate over the Labor-HHS bill, when Congress was trying to complete FY 2006 appropriations and adjourn for the year. 

The House of Representatives approved HR 810 by a 238 to 194 vote on Tuesday, May 24.  On Friday, July 29, Senate supporters of the bill received a huge boost when Majority Leader Frist announced his support for the legislation.  However, even Majority Leader Frist’s support was not able to dictate that the Senate hold a debate on HR 810 this year. 

NIH Announces New Institutional Clinical and Translational Research Awards
NIH unveiled the Institutional Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSAs) program on October 12, which is designed to energize the discipline of clinical and translational science at academic health centers around the country. 

The CTSA program will encourage the development of the discipline of clinical and translational science by providing the resources for the creation of a redefined academic home.  The program will allow for local flexibility so that each institution can determine whether to establish a center, department, or institute, or other interdisciplinary structure, depending upon local and regional circumstances.  NIH plans to award four to seven CTSAs in FY 2006 for a total of $30 million, with an additional $11.5 million allocated to support 50 planning grants for those institutions that are not ready to make a full application. 

More information about the CTSA Program, CTSA Request for Applications, and CTSA Planning Grants are available online. 

ASH Continues Advocacy Efforts on NIH Public Access
ASH continues to lead efforts to establish direct links to journal Web sites to enhance access to research.  Fifty-seven leading medical and scientific organizations representing 123 journals—including the New England Journal of Medicine, Health Affairs, Blood, CHEST, and Cancer Research—offered a proposal to NIH to provide access to articles on journal Web sites using the existing system of links from abstracts that are indexed on NIH’s Medline. 

Government Affairs Committee Meeting on Saturday, December 10
At the ASH annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, the Government Affairs Committee will meet Saturday, December 10, from 10:00 am to 12 noon, in the Oak Room at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center.  By Friday, November 11, please RSVP for this meeting by emailing ASH Government Relations and Practice Coordinator Stephanie Kart at skart@hematology.org. 

Update on Practice Issues
For the latest information on hematology practice-related issues, please review the October Practice Committee Update. 

If you have questions, or need more information, please contact ASH Government Affairs Manager Jeff Coughlin at (202) 776-0544.