Washington’s Shutdown Hits Two-Week Mark, Science Agency Feels Impact
On December 22, 2018, Congressional Leadership and the White House failed to reach an agreement to avoid a partial government shutdown resulting from disputes over a U.S.-Mexico border wall. Roughly 2/3 of the government was funded, on-time, sparing several agencies, including the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense, from the impacts of shutdown. However, the National Science Foundation (NSF) was not spared from the shutdown and it is estimated that nearly 90% of its workforce is currently furloughed. Before the funding lapse, the NSF had been operating under a Continuing Resolution, despite House and Senate appropriators signing-off potential funding increases for the agency.
It remains unclear how the two parties will come to an agreement to reopen the government. Senior Members of both parties have signaled that this could be a long shutdown and signs of the shutdown are beginning to be seen by the average American. Last week, the Smithsonian Institute shuttered its museums and the National Zoo, as it ran out of reserve funding. We are hopeful that the shutdown will end soon, but an exit pathway has proved elusive and President Trump and Congressional Democrats seemingly have a long way to go before announcing a potential deal.
NIH Seeks Input on Proposal for Reducing Regulatory Burdens in Animal Research
On December 7, the NIH issued a request for information (RFI) on a new report “Reducing Administrative Burden for Researchers: Animal Care and Use in Research.” The report was created in response to a directive in the 21st Century Cures Act, which required federal agencies to review policies around the care and use of laboratory animals. NIH’s Deputy Director for Extramural Research Mike Lauer provides further comments on the report in a recent blog post. In their first round of comments, the NIH received over 19,000 responses from the public. The deadline to provide comments for the next round is February 5, 2019.
National Cancer Institute Announces 5% Budget Cut, Despite Overall NIH Funding Increase
According to a report in Science, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) is cutting its operating budget by 5% across the institute. This comes despite a rising overall budget for the NIH, as Congress approved a $2 billion increase for NIH operations for Fiscal Year 2019, and a nearly $180 million increase for NCI. NCI Director Norman “Ned” Sharpless cited Congressionally-mandated priorities and a large number of funding applications in justifying the operating cut. Much of the ~$180 million funding increase is specifically set aside for the cancer moonshot. This is the largest NCI operating budget cut since 2011.
Public Affairs Annual Meeting Programming: Brexit, Congressional Budgets, Grants, and Science Communications
Are you planning to attend the 2019 BPS Annual Meeting in Baltimore? Are you interested in international affairs, Congressional budgets, and/or science policy? We strongly encourage you to consider attending a Public Affairs Annual Meeting session. This year, we will host a Science Communications Workshop with AAAS (register online here, space is limited), a session on Brexit and its implications for the research community and immigration, NSF and NIH grant writing workshops, and a session on Congressional funding of science. Learn more about these sessions on the BPS Annual Meeting website.
*SAVE THE DATE* Rally for Medical Research – September 18-19, 2019
Annually the Biophysical Society participates in the Rally for Medical Research, which brings over 200 scientific research and patient advocacy organizations together to call on our nation’s policymakers to prioritize medical research. Last year, BPS members from Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Mississippi participated in the day. BPS offers travel funds to members interested in participating. To express interest in the 2019 event, please contact Sean Winkler at [email protected].
In Final Act of 115th Congress, Senate Confirms White House Science Advisor
On January 2, 2019, the Senate confirmed a package of over 70 nominees in its last official act of the 115th Congress. The package included Kelvin Droegemeier, who was nominated to be the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy in July. Droegemeier’s nomination was well received by both the research community and Capitol Hill, and he sailed through his initial confirmation hearing in August. However, it took almost six months for his nomination to come to the Senate floor, which left the position vacant for most of President Trump’s first two years in office. BPS covered Droegemeier’s nomination hearing on its blog.
Senate Health Panel Chairman Lamar Alexander Announces Retirement
On December 17, Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) announced that he will not seek another term in 2020. Sen. Alexander has been in the Senate since 2003 and will serve out the remainder of his term. He previously served as Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference and is considered close to leadership in both parties. Sen. Alexander is the chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, which oversees healthcare policy, among other issues. Read more about his retirement at The Hill.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi Secures House Speakership
On January 3, 2019, Representative Nancy Pelosi was voted Speaker of the House of Representatives for the second time in her career. She joins former Rep. Sam Rayburn (D-TX) as the last House Speaker to have lost and then reclaimed the Speaker’s gavel. Rep. Pelosi navigated the Tea Party wave of 2010 and several cycles of Congressional defeats for Democrats until their return to power in the 116th Congress. She cut several deals with her critics to secure the gavel, including a pledge to serve no more than four additional years as Speaker in order to groom the next generation of Democratic leaders. Politico ran a feature on her return to the Speakership titled The Survivor.
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