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Policy Update
NIH Funding: Highlights of FY06 Labor, HHS, Education Appropriations Bill
These amounts differ substantially from what was approved by the House in June, which called for $28.5 billion in FY 2006 for NIH (a 0.5% increase over FY 2005) and $4.84 billion for NCI (a 0.34% increase). The Senate’s version of the LHHS appropriation bill is expected to come up for a vote after the August recess, and the differences between the House and Senate versions will then have to be worked out in committee. The House
Committee on Energy and Commerce is developing a bill to
reauthorize the NIH. The $29 billion agency has not been
reauthorized since 1993, and Chairman Joe Barton (R-TX) has been
outspoken in his desire to address the issue and enact some
provisions that would place increased managerial, budgetary, and
oversight authority in the hands of the NIH Director. According
to an Energy and Commerce Committee press release from mid-July,
the Chairman feels that reauthorizing the NIH is a “very high
priority…We’ve doubled the agency’s budget but have not done
anything to improve management.” A discussion draft was
circulated in mid-July and the Energy and Commerce Committee held
a hearing on the matter July 19th at which the current
NIH Director, Dr. Elias Zerhouni testified. The discussion draft
and the hearing has sparked a lively debate in the health policy
community...[Full
Article]. FOCR Activities FOCR Co-Hosts Drug Safety Briefing on the Hill
The educational briefing provided congressional staffers with an opportunity to hear from patients and scientists about issues related to drug safety, efficacy, and access. Moderated by Mort Kondracke, the Executive Editor of Roll Call, the event featured 3 patients dealing with 3 different conditions (autoimmune disease, cancer, and ALS), a patient advocate from the Parkinson’s community, and 2 prominent scientists (Dr. Ray Woosley of the C-Path Institute and Dr. Bob Young of the Fox Chase Cancer Center). Pictured above from left to right: Ray Woosley, M.D., Ph.D., President, C-Path Institute, Abby Bernstein, Lupus Patient, Judy Taylor, Cancer Patient, Mort Kondracke of Roll Call, Kristin Suther’s, Ph.D., Parkinson’s Patient Advocate, Bob Young, M.D., President, Fox Chase Cancer Center, and David Hershorn, ALS Patient. For more details about the briefing and the panelists who spoke, please see the event's press release.
This month's IN THE SPOTLIGHT features a conversation with The Honorable Ralph Burnett, District Court Judge for Maryland and two-time prostate cancer survivor, on issues of drug safety. [Full interview]
On July 12th, Senator Specter (R-PA) and Senator Harkin (D-IA) held their 16th hearing on government funding for stem cell research in the subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies. The hearing was on the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005 (H.R. 810), a bill that recently passed the House that would amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for human embryonic stem cell research. More specifically, the hearing focused on alternative methods for deriving stem cells and featured testimony from Robert Lanza, M.D. (VP Medical and Scientific Development Advanced Cell Technology) and Dr. James Battey (Director, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, NIH). [Full Article]
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On
July 12, 2005, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee held a markup
on the FY 2006 Labor, HHS, Education, and Related Agencies
On
July 20, 2005 in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Friends of Cancer
Research co-hosted a congressional briefing on drug safety with five
other non-profit organizations representing a variety of life-altering
diseases including the 
