December 8, 2003
Volume 22, Issue 22
CONSOLIDATED SPENDING BILL AWAITS FINAL APPROVAL
On November 25, the conference report on the Consolidated Appropriations bill (H.R. 2673) was filed in the House. It contains final appropriations for seven of the thirteen FY 2004 spending bills. On December 8, the House will return from the Thanksgiving recess and give the bill final approval and adjourn until the start of the 2nd session of the 108th Congress on January 20, 2004.
The Senate will return to business on December 9. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) would like to gain Senate acceptance of the consolidated spending bill by unanimous consent and adjourn the Senate. Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV), ranking member of the Senate appropriations committee, has announced he will not allow this to happen. Angered by last minute Administration lobbying that negated some congressional actions, Byrd and his fellow Democrats are now seeking to frustrate the process. This may lead to postponing completion of FY 2004 appropriations until Congress returns in mid-January. In the meantime, agencies in the seven bills will continue to operate under a Continuing Resolution that runs through January 31 and maintains their funding at FY 2003 levels.
What follows below are the funding levels and other directions that appear in the conference report (HRpt. 108-401) accompanying the legislation. In order to keep the bill within the overall spending limits, the appropriators included a 0.59 percent across-the-board cut for all agencies in the bill. This is reflected in the numbers reported.
National Science Foundation Up 5 Percent
The FY 2004 appropriation for the National Science Foundation (NSF) is $5.578 billion. Touted by the Congress as the largest NSF budget ever, the $268 million increase over NSF’s current plan represent a 5 percent boost. The conference agreement provides $4.277 billion for the Research and Related Activities (R&RA) account, an increase of $195 million over NSF’s current funding plan and $220 million above the FY 2003 appropriation.
The R&RA account includes funding for the Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE) Directorate. The allocation of $203.8 million represents close to a 5 percent increase, which puts SBE second in term of percentage increase among the research directorates. Unfortunately, this amounts to only a $9.5 million boost over the current plan, far below the absolute increase for the other Directorates. With SBE trying to ramp-up the interdisciplinary NSF-wide Human and Social Dynamics priority (proposed in the budget at $24.5 million, with almost $16 million from the SBE budget), this might put a strain on other programs in the Directorate. However, in the language in the conference report, NSF is told: “The conferees urge the Foundation in allocating the scarce resources provided in this bill…to be sensitive to maintaining the proper balance between the goal of stimulating interdisciplinary research and the need to maintain robust single issue research in the core disciplines.”
Congress appropriated $939 million for the Education and Human Resources Directorate, close to $36 million above the current plan. The Math and Science Partnership program received a little less than $140 million, close to a $12.5 million increase from last year, but still significantly below the Administration’s request of $200 million. The bill provides sufficient funds so that NSF graduate stipends will reach $30,000 in FY 2004.
National Institutes of Health
The omnibus bill provides the National Institutes of Health (NIH) a budget of $27.818 billion, $836 million more than last year. The accompanying report emphasizes that this is more than a 7 percent increase because of one-time costs in FY 2003. It represents, however, only a 3.7 percent increase in new funding before the across the board cut. The actual increase will be reduced by nearly $700 million as a result of the adoption of the Senate proposal which allows for a 2.2 percent evaluation tap to be applied to programs authorized under the Public Health Service Act. The House provision would have allowed for a 1.3 percent evaluation tap. The funds from the tap are used to support programs in part or in full supported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).
The conference agreement also includes a provision supported by the Senate which provides the Director of the NIH with $7.5 million in funding and authorizes the Director “to enter into agreements to carry out research in support of the NIH Roadmap initiative.” (See Update, October 6, 2003). According to the report, the provision was included “to assess the merits of this funding approach and to demonstrate whether this funding mechanism would accelerate the research agenda.” The Director is directed to enter into these agreements “solely on the basis of scientific merit, opportunity for medical breakthroughs and urgency of need.” All awards are expected to go through a “competitive process.” (See related story on page 6).
While expressing its disappointment with a report identifying the benchmarks the HHS is using to measure the speed and cost of its human resources transactions, the agreement does not include a general provision proposed by the Senate prohibiting the use of funds for the HHS human resources consolidation plan. HHS is directed, however, to provide the House and Senate Appropriations Committees a report identifying these benchmarks.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Committee appropriated $4.51 billion to the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) for disease control, research, and training, a net increase of $169 million or 3.9 percent from the FY 2003 appropriation of $4.34 billion. In addition, the Committee allocated $210.8 million for the CDC under Section 241 (the Public Health Service Act evaluations set-aside).
Of the $4.51 billion, the panel appropriated $1.3 billion for HIV/AIDS, STD, and TB Prevention, $18 million more than the current funding level. Included in this amount is $987.3 million for HIV/AIDS activities. To combat global HIV/AIDS, the conferees earmarked $291.7 million for the Global AIDS Program (GAP), with $149.1 million earmarked for the International Mother and Child HIV Prevention Initiative; $168 million for STD activities; and $136.3 million for TB activities. Within the total for HIV/AIDS, $103.4 million is provided to continue CDC’s support of activities that are targeted to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic and its disproportionate impact on communities of color.
For Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, the Committee allocated $854 million, a net increase of $64 million or 8.1 percent above the FY 2003 appropriation of $790 million. The President’s Steps to a Healthier U.S. Initiative, a new program that will focus on investments to prevent and reduce diabetes, obesity, and asthma related complications, was allocated $43.7 million, a net decrease of $56 million from the Administration’s request.
Under Section 241, the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) received $126.7 million, a increase of $1.7 million above the FY 2003 appropriation of $125 million. Despite this 1.3 percent increase, the agency has been underfunded for nearly a decade and the Center’s core data systems are still facing a uncertain future. Moreover, the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) received $41.7 million to support research tools and approaches through the Public Health Service Act set-aside.
Agency for Health Research and Quality
The Agency for Health Research and Quality (AHRQ) received $301.8 million as proposed by both the House and the Senate. With an increase of $0.2 million above the FY 2003 level of $301.6 million, AHRQ will continue to support, conduct, and disseminate research that improves the outcomes, quality, access to, and utilization of health care services. The panel appropriated $79 million for reducing medical errors and $12 million for the conduct of research on the comparative clinical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and safety of drugs and devices.
NIJ Gets Discretionary Funding Back; BJS Funding Saved From Senate Cut
Following significant advocacy activity by COSSA and its allies, the consolidated spending bill overrides actions taken by the Senate Appropriations Committee (see Update, September 8, 2003) and reinstates discretionary funding for the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), and restores funding for the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS).
The allocation for the NIJ base budget for FY 2004 is $47.7 million. This is an $11.3 million reduction from the FY 2003 number. However, unlike the Senate version which had earmarked all of NIJ’s base funds, the report language notes that: “The conference agreement includes $10,000,000 for discretionary activities of which not less than $6,000,000 shall be for social science research and evaluation.” NIJ also receives funding through transfers of $5.2 million from the Violence Against Women account; $5 million for safe schools technology development from the COPS budget; and $10 million from the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant.
BJS received $31.9 million, a slight reduction (mostly due to the across-the-board cut) from FY 2003 funding. The Administration had proposed $35.8 million, the House had allocated $33.7 million, the Senate wanted to cut BJS to $25 million. There is $2.5 million in the budget for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention for research, evaluation, technical assistance, and training.
To put these numbers into some context: the appropriators reduced funding for state and local law enforcement assistance from $2.03 billion to $1.3 billion.
Department of Education
Within the Institute of Education Sciences, research was funded at $165.5 million, a boost of $26.4 million over the FY 2003 appropriation, but still well below the Administration’s $185 million request. Education Statistics received $91.7 million, slightly above the last year’s level of $89.4 million. Assessment was provided $94.7 for FY 2004, a minor drop from the FY 2003 level. The Regional Education Labs, which faced elimination in the President’s budget, were maintained and actually received a 15.8 percent increase, to $66.7 million, from Congress.
For International Education and Foreign Language Studies, Domestic Programs were appropriated $89.2 million for FY 2004. This marks a $4 million drop from the FY 2003 level. The Overseas account was funded at $12.8 million, virtually the same as last year. The Institute for International Public Policy was level funded at $1.6 million.
The Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, which annually includes scores of earmarks by members of Congress, received $154.4 million. Amazingly, this marks a drop of $18.3 from the FY 2003 appropriation. As a symbol of the Administration’s scorn for earmarks, the President’s budget included only $39.1 million for the program.
Within Graduate Education, the Javits Fellowships were appropriated $9.8 million – the same as last year’s level minus the across-the-board cut. The Thurgood Marshall Legal Opportunity program was zero funded. The program had received $5 million in FY 2003.
Department of Agriculture
Within the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, the Hatch Act formula funds program received $179 million, just about the same as last year’s level. The National Research Initiative, which is no longer divided into funding categories, was appropriated $164 million, slightly less than the FY 2003 figure of $166 million. The Special Grants category, which contains a large number of Congressional earmarks, was funded at $110.6 million, just below last year’s $111.5 million.
The Economic Research Service received $71 million, a 3.3 percent boost over last year, but still short of the President’s $76.7 million request. The National Agricultural Statistics Service was funded at $128.1 in the FY 2004 omnibus. This is a 7.5 percent decrease below the FY 2003 level of $138.5 million. The Administration had requested $136.2 million.
NANOTECHNOLOGY BILL ENACTED; INCLUDES SOCIAL AND ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS PROVISIONS
Congress has enacted and President Bush has signed into law a plan to invest $3.7 billion in research and development into nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is the manipulation of materials at the atomic scale. According to the National Science Foundation (NSF), applications from the development of this technology may be worth more than $1 trillion in the global economy in little more than a decade.
House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) hailed passage of the legislation stating: “the American economy will grow bigger if America’s scientists and engineers focus on things that are smaller.” Chief House co-sponsor of the bill Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA) noted that nanotechnology “has the potential to create entirely new industries and radically transform the basis of competition of others.” Senators George Allen (R-VA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) were the main movers behind the bill in the Senate.
The other side of nanotechnology, discussed at a House Science Committee hearing in April (see Update, April 14, 2003), is the potential dangers of this technology. Bill Joy’s article in Wired Magazine and Michael Crichton in his novel Prey raised the specter of the threat to human beings engendered by nanotechnology developed organisms. To deal with these issues, the legislation includes provisions “ensuring that ethical, legal, environmental, and other appropriate societal concerns, including the potential use of nanotechnology in enhancing human intelligence and in developing artificial intelligence, which exceeds human capacity are considered.”
The bill establishes a research program to identify these issues, calls for activities that address them in the interdisciplinary nanotechnology research centers, provides for public input and outreach, and includes researchers in ethical, legal, social, and environmental implications on the National Nanotechnology Advisory Panel.
The NSF and the Department of Energy (DOE) would be the main Federal agencies in charge of this initiative. NSF is authorized to receive about $1.7 billion of the funding and the DOE about $1.5 billion. The National Institute of Standards and Technology and NASA would have smaller roles.
HUD Assistant Secretary for Policy, Development, and Research
On November 25, President Bush announced his intention to nominate Dennis C. Shea to be Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for Policy, Development, and Research. If confirmed by the Senate, Shea would replace Alberto Trevino.
Shea recently served as Executive Director of the President’s Commission on the United States Postal Service. He also held a previous appointment as a consultant to the American Enterprise Institute and served as policy director for former Senator Robert Dole’s 1996 presidential campaign. Shea holds both a B.A. and J.D. from Harvard University.
Institute for Education Sciences Board
On November 20, President Bush made the first nominations to the National Board of Education Sciences, a body created by the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 “to advise and consult with the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) on agency policies.” The nominees are (with term length in parentheses):
· Jonathan Baron, Executive Director, Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy (three years)
· Elizabeth Ann Bryan, Senior Education Advisor, Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer, & Feld (four years)
· James R. Davis, Superintendent of Schools, Hattiesburg, MS (two years)
· Robert C. Granger, President, William T. Grant Foundation (four years)
· Frank Philip Handy, CEO, Strategic Industries (three years)
· Eric Alan Hanushek, Senior Fellow, The Hoover Institution (two years)
· Caroline M. Hoxby, Professor of Economics, Harvard University (four years)
· Gerald Lee, President WBEB Radio, Philadelphia (four years)
· Roberto Ibarra Lopez, Superintendent, Sanchez Charter High School, Houston (two years)
· Richard James Milgram, Professor of Mathematics, Stanford University (three years)
· Sally Epstein Shaywitz, Professor of Pediatrics, Yale University (three years)
· Joseph K. Torgesen, Professor of Psychology, Florida State University (four years)
· Herbert John Walberg, Emeritus Professor of Education, University of Illinois, Chicago (three years)
According to IES Director Grover “Russ” Whitehurst, two board nominees are yet to be named to fill out the 15-member panel.
GERBERDING DISCUSSES CDC GOALS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
On November 14, Julie L. Gerberding, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released The State of the CDC, Fiscal Year 2003 – the first annual report that describes the scope of CDC’s contribution to public health over the last year. The central theme – protecting people’s health in a transforming world – resonated throughout Gerberding’s presentation of the report, at the National Press Club in Washington.
Gerberding attributed much of CDC’s success to its credibility and dissemination of scientific information in a timely manner: “CDC has earned this credibility by putting science to work, by creating and disseminating evidence-based health information that improves the health and safety of people of all ages and backgrounds, in all communities,” she noted. Gerberding stressed that American taxpayers are getting a “good return” on their investment in CDC and that she is confident that the CDC will create even greater value from that investment in the future.
CDC Faces SARS
Describing the various challenges that the agency faced in FY 2003, Gerberding explained how the last several months could be viewed as a “time of urgency and enormous change” for our world, our nation – and for CDC. According to Gerberding, “SARS, monkeypox, West Nile virus, terrorism threats – these are health issues that are framing CDC’s role as the nation’s lead agency for promoting health and safety and prompted us to adapt to the changing world.”
The global outbreak of SARS, she noted, is one vivid example of just how transforming these changes really are. “SARS truly epitomizes the small world we now live in – a world characterized by globalization, connectivity, and most of all, speed,” Gerberding added. She acknowledged that if those three key characteristics – globalization, connectivity, and speed – were absent in the CDC’s mission to stop the spread of the disease, SARS would have become a serious international menace to public health and the economy.
Protecting Americans from Bio-Terrorism
Not only was the CDC faced with the SARS epidemic last fiscal year, but the agency, as a result of September 11th, has been mandated by the Administration to ensure the safety of Americans should a bioterrorism attack occur. “CDC has a lead role to play in protecting Americans from the health consequences associated with terrorism,” Gerberding stated. In FY 2003, CDC allocated more than $1 billion to upgrade state and local public health agencies’ readiness to respond to events such as bioterrorism, infectious disease outbreaks, and other public health emergencies. With the expansion of 121 Laboratory Response Networks at home and aboard, the CDC has been able to target seven critical areas:
1. Preparedness planning and readiness assessment;
2. Surveillance and epidemiology;
3. Laboratory capacity to identify biologic agents;
4. Laboratory capacity to identify chemical agents;
5. Health alerting and information technology;
6. Communicating health risks and health information dissemination; and
7. Education and training.
Preventing Chronic Diseases
While the CDC has been given the task to protect Americans from international threats, the agency has also been faced with preventing chronic diseases, injuries, and disabilities. “What we’re finding is things that don’t at first seem connected – like terrorism preparedness and preventing chronic illnesses like diabetes and heart disease – are,” she added. Gerberding highlighted that “fast detection of an emerging health threat, strong science to determine its cause, connectivity with relevant partners, and fast action to protect people are all essential to protecting individuals from all categories of health threats in our portfolio.” In FY 2003, CDC initiated Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tommy Thompson’s Steps to a Healthier US in partnership with other HHS agencies. Gerberding stressed that the CDC has made preventing diseases, injuries, and disabilities a high priority and hopes that through this initiative the agency can help Americans live longer and healthier lives.
Future Initiatives of CDC
Closing her remarks, Gerberding discussed the agency’s Innovative Futures Initiative, designed to receive input from agency customers about how to effectively disseminate data and address customer concerns (See Update, November 3, 2003). “We are engaging our customers – the people we serve across America – as well as our partners, stakeholders, and employees in and outside – in assessing CDC’s ability to shape our future,” she noted. Focusing on globalization, America’s aging population, and the CDC’s role in the health system of the future, Gerberding identified three overarching challenges for the future of her agency:
1. Building the systems and capacities to safeguard the public health in the transforming of the 21st century – which includes defining our public research agenda, modernizing our buildings and facilities, creating a state-of-the-art public health network, and enhancing our capacity to assess and monitor the health status of Americans.
2. Protecting people from health threats here and abroad, which includes investments in all hazards terrorism preparedness and response capabilities, and detection and containment of new emerging infectious diseases as well as other infections.
3. Transforming knowledge into public health impact that truly improves the lives of people of all communities, which includes investments in cost-effective programs to prevent diseases, injuries, and disabilities, and alleviating health disparities.
Although the CDC has many challenges to address in that nation’s public health infrastructure, Gerberding is confident that “the agency will continue to evolve to better serve America in this global, highly connected, and fast world.”
NIH ROADMAP INITIATIVES INCLUDE SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE FOCUS
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has begun to issue a series of funding initiatives designed to implement the “NIH Roadmap for Medical Research” released by Director Elias Zerhouni on September 30. (See Update, October 6, 2003). Designed to identify major opportunities and gaps in health research that no single NIH institute could address in isolation, the Roadmap initiatives will also include a focus on social and behavioral science research. The social and behavioral science community is encouraged to take advantage of these many funding opportunities.
The initiatives released by the agency thus far have been broadly drafted so as to be inclusive of the full range of disciplines. Accordingly, if an initiative calls for behavioral research, it is understood that social science research is included as well. In addition, the way the Roadmap process is structured, the contact person listed may be at an Institute that social and behavioral scientists have not traditionally interacted with in the past. Acting Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Director Virginia Cain is serving as a point of contact for scientists who run into obstacles. She can be reached at Virginia_Cain@nih.gov or (301) 402-1146.
Individuals interested in these and other Roadmap funding opportunities should consult the website (http://nihroadmap.nih.gov) often as initiatives are being posted regularly.
Below are recently released initiatives:
Interdisciplinary Health Research Training: Behavior, Environment and Biology (RFA-MH-04-007)
The Institutes, Centers, and Offices of the NIH invite applications for Interdisciplinary Health Research Training: Behavior, Environment, and Biology. This institutional, postdoctoral National Research Training Award (NRSA) will support the establishment of programs that provide formal coursework and research training in a new interdisciplinary field to individuals holding advanced degrees in a different discipline.
These training programs are required to include a behavioral or social science discipline, and the agency is especially interested in programs that integrate the behavioral and/or social sciences with the more traditional biomedical sciences. The NIH is also encouraging the development of programs that accept postdoctoral trainees with varied research backgrounds, provide multiple tracks of research training that enhance each trainee's development of new, interdisciplinary knowledge and skills, while supporting opportunities for trainee interaction and research integration across the research tracks.
Developed as an NIH Roadmap initiative, this RFA will be administered by the National Institute of Mental Health on behalf of the NIH.
A letter of intent is due by February 11, 2004; the application is
due by March 11, 2004. For more information see:
http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/
RFA-MH-04-007.html.
Short Programs for Interdisciplinary Research Training (RFA-RM-04-008, formerly RFA-DK-04-003)
The NIH is particularly interested in developing a new interdisciplinary research workforce. The agency defines an interdisciplinary approach as one that results from the melding of two or more disciplines to create a new “interdisciplinary” science. NIH recognizes the “enormous contributions that existing interdisciplinary approaches have made and are making to our understanding of health, disease, and disability. However, the Roadmap is focused on developing new interdisciplinary approaches and therefore the necessary interdisciplinary workforce.”
Accordingly, the NIH is proposing a series of initiatives that aim to provide investigators with the training to effectively lead and engage in integrative and team approaches to complex biomedical problems. The initiatives will fall into three categories: 1) programs for long-term interdisciplinary research training; 2) short-term courses and research experiences; and 3) curriculum development.
This RFA seeks to promote the development and implementation of new short training programs that will provide students who are trained in one discipline with fundamental knowledge of one or more other disciplines. Recognizing the need for flexibility, the RFA will support two general types of programs: 1) Short Laboratory Courses (programs with a didactic emphasis on a particular discipline or complex biomedical and/or health research problem), and 2) Short-term Research Institutes (programs with a research emphasis on a particular discipline or complex biomedical and/or health research problem).
The RFA will be administered by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases on behalf of the NIH.
A letter of intent is due by January 14, 2004 and the application is due
by February 11, 2004.
Supplements for Methodological Innovations in the Behavioral and Social Sciences (RFA-RM-04-013)
The NIH invites NIH-funded investigators to submit supplemental research grant applications to develop methodological innovations in the behavioral and social sciences. These modest supplements will support the addition of a methodological development component to already-funded NIH research projects. Methodology issues include research design, data collection techniques, measurement, and data analysis techniques in the social and behavioral sciences.
The goal of this RFA is to encourage methodological and technological innovation that will improve the quality and scientific power of data collected in the behavioral and social sciences. Development of methodology and technology for multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, Multi-method, and multilevel analytic approaches that integrate behavioral and social science research with biomedical research is particularly encouraged.
The RFA will be administered by the NIAMS on behalf of the NIH. A letter of intent is due January 13, 2004 and the application is due by February 13, 2004. For more information see:
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-RM-04-013.html
COSSA provides this information as a service and encourages readers to contact the sponsoring agency for further information. Additional application guidelines and restrictions may apply.
W.E.B. DuBois Fellowship Program
The National Institutes of Justice (NIJ) is seeking fellows to advance knowledge regarding the confluence of crime, justice, and culture in various societal contexts through the W.E.B. DuBois Fellowship program
DuBois Fellows are asked to focus on policy-relevant questions in a manner that reflects the saliency of those questions as an integral part of the American past, present, and future. Researchers from all academic disciplines are encouraged to apply. Conversely, the Fellowship places particular emphasis on crime, violence, and the administration of justice in diverse cultural contexts. Therefore, researchers may choose from, but are not limited to, the following list of broad topic areas: immigration, crime and victimization; transnational crime; police-community relations; courts, sentencing, and corrections; and civil rights.
If interested, applications are due February 20, 2004 and they must be submitted using the Office of Justice Programs’ automated Grants Management System. Paper applications will not be accepted and extensions to the deadline are generally not granted. To start the process, visit NIJ’s web site at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/fundopps.htm.
Inside Update . . .
· NANOTECHNOLOGY BILL ENACTED; INCLUDES SOCIAL AND ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS PROVISIONS
· GERBERDING DISCUSSES CDC GOALS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
· NIH ROADMAP INITIATIVES INCLUDE SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE FOCUS