GINA Passes Senate, Likely to Become Law
Last week, the Senate passed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) by a vote of 95-0, clearing a major hurdle on the eve of
National DNA Day. FASEB President Robert Palazzo, Ph.D. said in a statement
celebrating the passage of the bill that “this long-overdue legislation will provide the necessary protections against misuse of genetic information, allowing us to fully realize the potential of personalized medicine.”
GINA had stalled for a year in the Senate due to a hold on the bill that Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) had placed on it. The delay was
particularly frustrating because in the decade since the introduction of the first genetic nondiscrimination bill, the Senate unanimously
had passed the legislation multiple times only to see it languish in the House. When the House passed GINA last year, and the President
declared his support in a public speech, the bill seemed destined to become law… until Senator Coburn raised his objection. Fortunately,
advocates and Senate leadership were finally able to overcome the objection, and GINA will soon be headed to the President’s desk for
signing.
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Congress Halts Proposal to Increase the SBIR Set-Aside
Recently, the House of Representatives’ Technology and Innovation Subcommittee Chairman David Wu (D-OR) introduced H.R. 5789, the
Science
and Technology Innovation Act of 2008, to reauthorize the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and the Small Business
Technology Transfer Research (STTR) program. When the bill arrived on the House
floor, it contained provisions that would have increased the set-aside for the SBIR program from 2.5% to 3.0% of the research budget of
each agency it affected. In a time of flat funding for research programs government-wide, the passage of this legislation would have had
the effect of cutting funding for all other research activities by $650 million.
FASEB, the Association of American Universities (AAU), and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) issued statements opposing the change, pointing out that no one has made a convincing case to demonstrate why this
program needs singling out for additional funding. The Administration, in a statement of administration policy or SAP, also opposed the
amendment. FASEB President Robert Palazzo, Ph.D. wrote to the Chair and Ranking Member of the Technology and Innovation Subcommittee, the
Chair and Ranking Member of the House Science Committee, and all members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee to oppose the increase
in the SBIR/STTR set-aside. In his
letters, Palazzo cited the potential harm to other areas of research that the increase would cause.
“Rather than increasing support for one area of research at the expense of all others, we urge you and your colleagues in Congress to
increase funding for all research agencies, thereby increasing the total investment in SBIR and other projects.”
On April 23, Representative Vern Ehlers (R-MI) introduced an amendment to remove the SBIR/STTR increase from the reauthorization bill, and
in a “Dear Colleague” letter to all members of the House, Representative Ehlers cited the FASEB, AAMC, and AAU letters opposing the
increase. FASEB President Robert Palazzo wrote a
letter to Ehlers thanking him for his efforts on behalf of research. The full House of Representatives subsequently adopted the Ehlers amendment by voice vote.
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Farm Bill Continues to Experience Delays
Despite a number of statements from Senate and House conferees that they were nearing a deal, the Farm Bill continued to experience
delays, requiring another two weeks of extension. Chairs of the Senate and House Agriculture Committees, Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Collin
Peterson (D-MN), said this week that pending some financial calculations from the Congressional Budget Office, they hope to bring the bill
to the floor in the next week. It remains unclear, however, whether President Bush would sign the Farm Bill in its current form;
statements from the White House have indicated that the Administration believes the bill requires further negotiation. While it seems
unlikely that agricultural research will fare well in the legislation due to tight limits on overall spending, FASEB continues to support
the formation of the National Institute for Food and Agriculture, as well as to oppose attempts to impede research using non-purpose bred
animal models.
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