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Public Affairs Report

Meeting with FDA Commissioner

On 15 October, Gail Cassell, chair of the ASM Public and Scientific Affairs Board, and Janet Shoemaker, ASM director of public affairs, met with Jane E. Henney, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to discuss ASM public policy issues related to food safety and FDA research programs and funding.

ASM Comments on NIH Review Panel Draft

NIH Panel on Scientific Boundaries for Review

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Panel on Scientific Boundaries for Review is conducting a comprehensive examination of the organization and function of the review process carried out by the NIH Center for Scientific Review (CSR). The purpose of the evaluation is to position the CSR peer-review system to foster expanded research opportunities created by the stunning success of the biomedical research enterprise and to permit the review system to keep pace with the accelerating rate of change in the way biomedical research is now performed. The Public and Scientific Affairs Board of ASM forwarded comments on the Phase 1 draft report on 14 October.

ASM Urges Increased Funding for CDC and NIH

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention FY 2000 Funding
National Institutes of Health Statement FY 2000 Funding

The ASM Public and Scientific Affairs Board forwarded letters to the House and Senate chairman of the appropriations subcommittees for Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies in early November, urging adoption of the $2.3 billion increase for the National Institutes of Health in fiscal year 2000 and increased funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) infectious disease programs. ASM also urged Congress to significantly reduce the level of delayed obligations in NIH and CDC funding in fiscal year 2000 to avoid a difficult funding situation for NIH and CDC.

Allied Health Roundtable

On 13 October, ASM and other members of the Allied Health Roundtable urged Congress to maintain funding levels for Health Professions Training for fiscal year 2000. The funding comes from the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill. The roundtable also urged Congress to maintain current funding levels for the Allied Health Project Grants program for fiscal year 2000.

The Allied Health Project Grants are designed to increase student enrollment and interest in the health professions. This grant is particularly needed today as the health professions face ever-greater recruitment burdens, especially in rural America.

Bioterrorism Funding

On 20 October, ASM joined members of a coalition in congratulating the U.S. Congress on funding efforts to counter bioterrorism in the FY 2000 Labor/HHS/Education Appropriations bill. Part of the funding is earmarked for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ($118 million) to improve the public health infrastructure.

Lab Budget Coalition and Skilled Nursing Facilities

On 1 November, the Lab Budget Coalition (LBC) sent a letter to key members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. This letter responds to concern over the Health Care Financing Administration's(HCFA) request to have language added to the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA) that would allow skilled nursing facilities to bill Medicare for services performed for skilled nursing facility residents by an outside laboratory. This request is contradictory to current law, which stipulates that Medicare part B payments for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests are made only to the person or entity performing the test. Among other things, this proposal could leave laboratories and patients with additional administrative hurdles and increased cost.

The Coalition urged Congressional Leadership to exclude HCFA's requested amendment to the BBA.

PSAB Hosts Global Change Meeting

The ASM Public and Scientific Affairs Board held the initial meeting of the Global Change Subcommittee at ASM headquarters on 11-12 November. The subgroup was formed after the 1999 ASM General Meeting in order to highlight the role of microbes in global change and pinpoint research opportunities within funding agencies, particularly the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, and the Environmental Protection Agency, to further study these effects. The subgroup is chaired by Gary King of the University of Maine's Darling Marine Center and also includes David Kirchman, University of Delaware, Abigail Salyers, University of Illinois, William Schlesinger, Duke University, and James Tiedje, Michigan State University. The Global Change Subcommittee is preparing an informational booklet that illustrates current problems related to global change and outlines ASM recommendations for action.

ASM Congressional Fellows Find Placements on Capitol Hill

Carolyn Wong and Susan Zullo, ASM's 1999-2000 Congressional Fellows, have found placements on Capitol Hill. Wong will be working on the minority staff of the Subcommittee on Health of the House Ways and Means Committee. She will be working in the office of the ranking minority member Representative Pete Stark (D-Calif.). Some of the issues she will be working on include expanding the availability of affordable health insurance, children's health issues, minority health issues, and Medicare modernizations.

Zullo is working in Senator Richard Durbin's (D-Ill.) office. She will be dealing with issues related to health in general. Specifically, she has recently introduced legislation for the Senator to increase organ donation awareness, which may be passed before the end of this Congressional session. Zullo is also currently helping Senator Durbin develop his health care proposal for all Americans and will address concerns in other areas of public policy including those involving genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and bioterrorism as well as any other relevant issues that may arise in the next year.