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Washington Update
*On April 2, White House science adviser John Marburger III, Ph.D.,
released a statement refuting claims that the Bush administration has “suppressed
and distorted” scientific research on environmental science, reproductive
studies, peer review and a number of other topics. Marburger’s
statement is a direct response to a critical February 2004 report from
the Union of Concerned Scientists. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., also
a frequent critic of administration science policy, said the Marburger
response “omits relevant facts” for at least 19 scientific
issues. To read the Marburger response, go here.
To read Waxman’s reply, go here.
To read the Union of Concerned Scientists report, go here. *The White House of Office of Management and Budget released a revised version of its proposed guidelines for peer review in federal agencies (see HABIT, Jan. 27, 2004) on April 15. The revised guidelines give agencies more control of internal peer review and make it easier for certain time-sensitive public health, medical and safety research to bypass a lengthy review. According to a April 16 Washington Post article, researchers are divided on whether the revisions go far enough in protecting peer review from manipulation by political and business interests. To read and comment on the revised guidelines, go here, under “Information Quality.” *Electronic health records, clinical decision support tools, electronic ordering, and standards for sharing health data need immediate federal funding and support so they can be used to lower costs and improve health care quality, according to a draft report released by the President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee on April 13. To read the full report, go here. A final version is due in June. *The Patient Safety and Quality Information Act, a congressional bill that would allow the confidential collection of data on medical errors from health care providers nationwide, has not moved forward since being approved by the House of Representatives in March 2003, the April 5 issue of Congress Daily reports. Democrats and Republicans in the Senate are clashing over their own versions of the bill, holding up its approval. To read the competing versions, go here and search for “H.R. 663” and “S. 720.” *On April 9, the National Cancer Institute named Karen H. Antman, M.D., as deputy director for Translational and Clinical Science and Mark S. Clanton, M.D., M.P.H., as deputy director for Cancer Care Delivery Systems. According to NCI Director Andrew C. von Eschenbach, M.D., Antman will direct a number of national translational programs aimed at reducing suffering and death from cancer by 2015. Clanton will work on expanding the NCI research portfolio to improve evidence-based cancer care delivery. *On March 23, Ralph W. Hingson, Sc.D., M.P.H., became director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism’s Division of Epidemiology and Prevention Research. An expert on drunk driving legislation and underage drinking research, Hingson will oversee a new NIAAA initiative targeted at 9- to 15-year-old drinkers. *Marguerite Barratt is the new division director of the Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences division of the Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate at the National Science Foundation. Barratt was previously a program director for Developmental and Learning Sciences at NSF. *Bernard A. Schwetz, D.V.M.,
Ph.D., became the new head of HHS’ Office
of Human Research Protections on April 8. Schwetz has been the acting
director since February 2003. |
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