News Headlines from Washington
Fiscal Year 2007 Budget Process Continues as Fiscal Year 2008 Process Begins
Members of Congress returned to Washington in January to mark the beginning of the 110th Congress and to complete the FY 2007 budget process that remained unfinished upon the 109th Congress’ adjournment in December. As this issue of The Hematologist went to print, congressional leaders had announced plans to pass a year-long continuing resolution (CR) to fund federal programs at FY 2006 levels through the remainder of the 2007 fiscal year. Though efforts by ASH and others continued to urge Congress to add additional funding to the FY 2007 budget in discretionary funding for health, education, and labor programs, ultimate FY 2007 funding levels are still expected to produce shortfalls for biomedical research.
ASH will continue its NIH advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill in the FY 2008 budget debate. The projected shortfall for FY 2007 will make the FY 2008 budget process crucial to ensuring that groundbreaking hematologic research is continued at NIH.
Stem Cell Legislation Debate Continues
As one of its first acts in January, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act (H.R. 3) by a substantial margin (253-174). This legislation is identical to legislation passed by the House and Senate last year. As this issue of The Hematologist went to press, the Senate was also expected to pass the bill, and, like last year, President Bush is expected to veto it. The final outcome of this year’s battle over the science and ethics of embryonic stem cell research, however, is not as predictable as it may seem. Because the new majority in Congress supports stem cell research, they will be able to work Congress’ complex rules in their favor.
Announcement from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities has announced that the Division of Hereditary Blood Disorders now has an official new name: the Division of Blood Disorders (DBD). The new name better represents its work in this arena. DBD collaborates extensively with health-care providers, academic centers, community-based organizations, and national and international preventive health agencies to implement specialized prevention programs for persons with blood disorders and their families. DBD has programs in the areas of hemophilia, thrombophilia, thalassemia, and other related disorders.
NIDDK Sponsors Workshop on MicroRNA in Cellular Development and Hematopoiesis
A two-day workshop on MicroRNA in Cellular Development and Hematopoiesis, sponsored by the Hematology and Endocrine Biology Programs of NIDDK at the National Institutes of Health, will be held at The Historic Inns of Annapolis in Annapolis, MD, on April 23 and 24. This workshop will review current information on the biogenesis and function of miRNAs and on how miRNA-mediated post-translational regulation influences organ and tissue development and function, with a particular focus on hematopoiesis. The program will include plenary talks by a panel of invited speakers, selected talks from submitted abstracts, and a poster session. The setting and format of the workshop should favor interactions and discussion among workshop participants. Travel grants will be made available to registrants whose abstracts are selected for oral presentation at the workshop.
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Take Action
As this issue of The Hematologist went to press, Congress was beginning its federal appropriations process for fiscal year (FY) 2008 and it was expected that President Bush would propose only a small increase for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in FY 2008, probably in the range of 1-2 percent. With NIH’s FY 2007 funding held at FY 2006 levels, NIH funding will likely continue to fall short of the rate of biomedical inflation.
The crucial importance of increased NIH funding to groundbreaking basic, clinical, and translational research in hematology makes it critical for all researchers to contact their Senators and Representatives to help ensure that Congress gets the message that hematologists and their patients want the House and Senate FY 2008 budget proposals to include more funding for NIH research. To easily contact Congress, visit the ASH Advocacy Center. ASH’s Advocacy Center Web site includes a draft letter that can be personalized and a feature that identifies a user’s Member of Congress based on zip code.
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