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Washington Update
*Congress has finally reconciled
the last of the FY 2004 spending bills into the Consolidated Appropriations
Bill, approved by the House and
awaiting Senate approval in the new year. Under the bill, most NIH institutes
would receive a budget increase of 3 percent. The Social, Behavioral
and Economic Sciences Directorate of the National Science Foundation
is in line for a 5 percent increase and the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention will get nearly a 4 percent increase in FY 2004. The Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality will eke out a $0.2 million increase
above last year’s budget. To examine the bill, go here.
For an analysis of overall R&D spending in the FY 2004 appropriations,
check out the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s
report at here (PDF). *The National Institute of Mental Health has seen its budget double from 1997 to 2002, but fewer of those dollars are going toward clinical research into serious mental illnesses, according to a report released Nov. 19 by Public Citizen and the Treatment Advocacy Center. The report authors charge that “NIMH [has] rejected for funding many reasonable research proposals on serious mental illnesses and funded much research that had no relationship to any mental illness.” To read the full report, go here. *The winners of the first Innovation in Prevention Awards, part of HHS’ HealthierUS initiative, were announced Dec. 10 at the National Press Club. The awards recognize creative programs nationwide that address chronic conditions such as obesity, tobacco use and poor nutrition and their underlying behavioral risk factors. Awards are given to groups in seven categories, including faith-based organizations, small and large employers, schools, non-profits, public health centers and health care delivery systems. For a list of the winners, go here. *Improvements in research on human subjects will require more trained clinical investigators and better information technology — and a good hard look at exactly who these human subjects are, the acting director of HHS’ Office for Human Research Protections said at a Dec. 6 meeting. Speaking at the Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research conference, Bernard Schwetz said that not enough is known about the age, sex, race and overall numbers of people taking part in clinical studies. More data on the funding sources and adverse event reports connected to these studies should also be collected, Schwetz said. *One-stop shopping for grant searches and applications? That’s the goal behind grants.gov, the new clearinghouse Web site for all federal grant programs. Grants.gov was launched Dec. 9 with application packages from HHS and the Departments of Commerce, Education, Energy and Justice. More agencies are expected to post their programs in coming months. Let HABIT know how you feel about the new site and its capabilities after your first visit to http://www.grants.gov. *HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson says that he will resign his post after
the 2004 elections, according to a report in the Dec. 10 New York Times.
Thompson made the comment after the passage of the new Medicare law,
saying he will not be secretary when Medicare prescription drug benefits
take effect in 2006. |
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