AAAS Policy
Alert -- December 16, 2009
Budget News
Last week, with the Senate in session throughout the weekend,
Congress released and agreed to a consolidated appropriations
("omnibus") conference report (H.Rept.111-366)
including appropriations
for Transportation, HUD, and Related
Agencies; Commerce, Justice,
Science and Related Agencies; Financial Services and General
Government; Labor, HHS, Education, and Related Agencies; Military
Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies; and State,
Foreign Operations, and Related Programs. A number of agencies
with
significant research and development (R&D) investments are
contained in this omnibus bill including the Department of
Transportation (4.0% increase in R&D to $949 million), the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST; 9.6% increase in R&D
to $603 million), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA; 0.1% increase in R&D to $701 million), the National
Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA; 5.3% increase in total
budget to $18.7 billion), the National Science Foundation (NSF; 6.7%
increase in total budget to $6.9 billion), and the National Institutes
of Health (NIH; 2.3% increase in total budget to $31.2 billion). All
percent changes listed above are between the conference report and FY
2009 enacted appropriations and do not include American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (ARRA) ("stimulus") funds.
With the completion of this consolidated appropriations conference
report, only the Defense appropriations bill remains to be acted on by
Congress. The current continuing resolution (CR) expires this Friday
(December 18) and it is expected to be extended until Saturday in order
to allow both chambers to resolve some defense spending issues in the
conference report that the White House objects to. For details on the
current status of all appropriations and links to detailed tables on
individual agency R&D budgets, see the AAAS R&D Budget Web
site.
Meanwhile, Senators Tom
Coburn (R-OK) and John McCain (R-AZ) issued a
report
last week that lists 100 projects funded through the 2009 ARRA
that the Senators consider as examples of wasteful, mismanaged or
shortsighted investments by the federal government. The 100 projects
highlighted in the report cover $7 billion in stimulus spending and
include some R&D.
Climate Change Developments
Climate Bill Outline Released.
Senators John Kerry (D-MA),
Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) released their
framework
for climate change legislation in a letter to President Obama
that proposes a 17 percent emissions reduction from 2005 levels by 2020
and an 80 percent reduction over the long term. The framework also
notes support for clean energy technology, nuclear energy, clean coal,
and carbon capture and storage.
Climategate Continues. On
December 8,
House Science and Technology Committee Ranking Member Ralph Hall
(R-TX), along with eleven Committee Republicans, introduced H. Res.
954, a resolution expressing the sense of the House of
Representatives
that certain scientific protocols and standards be honored prior to the
U.S. considering any official actions to address climate change.
Meanwhile, more than 1700 U.K. scientists signed a statement
that
affirms "the utmost confidence in the observational evidence for global
warming and the scientific basis for concluding that it is due
primarily to human activities. The evidence and the science are deep
and extensive. They come from decades of painstaking and meticulous
research, by many thousands of scientists across the world who adhere
to the highest levels of professional integrity." Finally, AAAS CEO
Alan Leshner published
an opinion piece in The
Washington Post arguing
that the consensus among scientists is that human-induced climate
change is real. The article was republished in the U.K. The
Guardian,
the Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
and the Miami Herald, as well
as a
number of other media outlets.
Climate Provisions in Omnibus.
The FY
2010 omnibus bill sent to the President includes $1.5 million for a
National Academy of Sciences study aimed at identifying which tax
provisions have the greatest impact on carbon emissions and estimating
the magnitude of those impacts. Provisions requiring the study were
included in last year's bailout bill but not funded until now. Also
included in the omnibus is a call for OSTP to "put forward a plan to
create a National Climate Service."
Other
Congressional News
House S&T Committee and
Subcommittee Chairs to Retire.
Both Rep. Bart
Gordon (D-TN), Chairman of the House Science and
Technology Committee, and Rep. Brian
Baird (D-WA), Chairman of the
House Science and Technology Subcommittee on Energy and the
Environment, announced they will retire at the end of the current term.
On December 14, the same day Gordon announced his pending retirement,
Rep. Jerry Costello (D-IL), the second ranking Democrat on the full
committee, announced his intention to pursue the chairmanship of the
full committee.
Alternative Medicine in
Healthcare Reform. A provision in the pending
Senate health care reform legislation would allow doctors to
incorporate alternative health providers in some treatment plans,
according to a report in the Los
Angeles Times. The bill
also includes
language saying an insurer "shall not discriminate" (Title II, Section
2706) against any health care provider who is licensed by the state.
Critics fear that the language could require insurers to expand
coverage for unproven alternative therapies. The Times noted that
California licenses naturopaths, who use supplements, nutrition,
medicinal plants, and other techniques. Senate Health, Labor and
Pensions Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) is the leading proponent
of the provisions on alternative therapies.
Grassley Asks Medical
Societies About Funding from Industry. Sen. Charles Grassley
(R-IA)
wrote letters
to 33 medical groups to inquire about financial support
they may receive from the drug, medical device and insurance
industries. The groups include the American Medical Association, the
American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society. Grassley
has been looking into conflict-of-interest issues in biomedical
research for several months.
Executive
Branch
White House Launches Open
Government Initiative. On December 8, the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) launched an Open
Government Initiative requiring all
federal agencies to begin crafting policies that would promote a more
open government based on three principles: transparency, participation,
and collaboration. According to the OMB Memorandum, each federal agency
is to create an Open Government Webpage and an Open Government Plan
within 120 days. OMB also will establish an interagency working group
and issue a strategy for federal spending transparency.
OSTP Seeks Public Input on a
Federal Public Access Policy. On December 10, the White House
Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) launched
a public
consultation on a Federal Public Access Policy. Under the
Administration's Open Government Initiative, OSTP has established a
public
forum to engage in a stakeholder dialogue and to receive
feedback on how to make the results of federally funded research more
widely available. AAAS circulated the request for advice to its entire
membership and to its 262 affiliated societies. A Request for
Information (RFI) was also posted in the Federal Register
and public
comments are due January 7, 2010.
WH Issues Biosecurity Strategy.
The National Security Council (NSC) issued
a National Strategy for
Countering Biological Threats on December 9, 2009. The Strategy
reinforces the important benefits of life science advances and lays out
a broad vision for supporting life science research to benefit public
health threats at a global level, while providing a framework for
reducing the threat of a biological attack.
Second ARPA-E Funding
Announcement. Last week, Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced a
second opportunity for research funding through the Advanced Research
Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). ARPA-E
is seeking concept papers in
three technology areas: Carbon Capture Technologies; Batteries and
Energy Storage; and Electrofuels. The total amount of funds available
is $100 million and concept papers are due January 15, 2010.
Patent Office Moves to Speed Up
Review of Green Technologies. The U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office has begun a pilot program to fast-track applications involving
green technology. According to the
USPTO announcement, "applications
pertaining to environmental quality, energy conservation, development
of renewable energy, or greenhouse gas emission reduction, will be
advanced out of turn for examination." The program is limited to the
first 3,000 applications to file a petition and will be reevaluated
after a year. Currently, it takes on average 40 months for PTO to reach
a decision on a patent application. This program is intended to shorten
the process by about 12 months.
CDC Updates H1N1 Flu Numbers.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released
the latest
tolls from the H1N1 flu: It has infected an estimated 50 million
Americans and killed 10,000. So far 95 percent of the deaths have
occurred in people younger than 65; a reversal of the usual pattern
with seasonal flu. Though H1N1 appears to be on the wane, CDC officials
warn that it could return and are encouraging people to get the H1N1
vaccine, which is now more widely available.
Elsewhere
The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
(CGIAR) has named Carlos
Pérez del Castillo as the inaugural
Chair of its Consortium Board, established to provide leadership and
direction for a newly-formed Consortium of CGIAR Centers. An economist,
del Castillo has served in the government of Uruguay, and on a number
of regional and international advisory bodies. CGIAR reform initiatives
were given a boost by the December 8 announcement that the Bill
and
Melinda Gates Foundation will increase its involvement from
observer
status to active membership on the CGIAR Council. The Gates Foundation
has also committed money to the Common Fund, which is at the heart of
CGIAR's efforts to consolidate the group's 15 research centers.
People in the News. -
John H.
Marburger, III, who from 2001 to 2009 was
science advisor to President George W. Bush and Director of the White
House Office of Science and Technology Policy, will serve as Interim
Vice President for Research at Stony Brook University, effective
January 21, 2010. Marburger had previously served as Stony Brook's
president (1980-1994) and as Director of Brookhaven National Laboratory
(1998-2001).
- On December 13, MIT economist Paul
Samuelson died at the
age of 94. Samuelson was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1970 for his
contributions "to raising the general analytical and methodological
level in economic science."
Current and archived issues of AAAS
Policy Alert can be found at
http://www.aaas.org/spp/
Publisher: Alan I. Leshner
Editor: Joanne Carney
Contributors: Kavita Berger, Joanne Carney,
Phillip Chalker, Patrick Clemins, Mark Frankel, Erin Heath, Barbara
Jasny, Earl Lane, Stephen Nelson, Gretchen Seiler, Al Teich, Kasey
White, Brad Wible
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