ASN Health and Nutrition Public Policy Newsletter
May 5, 2008
Summary
Congress continues to negotiate a Farm Bill and the FY 2009 budget, while members focus on the global food crisis and other economic issues. Landmark legislation preventing discrimination based on genetic information clears both chambers. NIH is soliciting ideas for trans-NIH Strategic Initiatives, HHS and USDA are seeking nominations to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee and AHRQ is seeking nominees to its National Advisory Council. Read about these topics and more below.
o Farm Bill conference pushes toward resolution, despite delays
o FY 2009 budget negotiations continue
o Congress continues to focus attention on funding for food safety initiatives
o Global food crisis garners congressional attention
o Congress passes Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act
o ASN cohosts briefing for congressional staffers
o NIH soliciting ideas for Roadmap/Trans-NIH Strategic Initiatives
o Grant Opportunities at the NIH
o REMINDER: Call for nominations to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee
o AHRQ calls for nominations to its National Advisory Council
o Soaring food costs threaten schools' ability to offer healthy lunches
o Study finds life expectancy has declined in some
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Farm Bill conference pushes toward resolution, despite delays
At the end of last week, Congress extended current farm law until May 16 to allow still more time to work out the details and pass a bill that the President will sign, or that can garner enough support in both chambers to override a Presidential veto. Despite a number of statements from Senate and House conferees that they were nearing a deal, the Farm Bill continues to experience delays. 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 is 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. Topping the list of unresolved issues was how to prevent wealthy individuals or families from collecting subsidies. Conferees have struggled to set an adjusted gross income (AGI) eligibility level that can get through Congress but still satisfy Bush.
While it seems unlikely that agricultural research will fare well in the legislation due to tight limits on overall spending, ASN continues to support the formation of the National Institute for Food and Agriculture and national nutrition monitoring language. Research has received little attention in conference, and even less funding.
Negotiations on the fiscal year (FY) 2009 budget continue on Capitol Hill, with a conference between the House and Senate expected to begin this week. House Budget Chairman John Spratt (D-SC) has expressed hope that House conferees for the budget would be appointed Tuesday with a final agreement reached by the end of the week. According to Spratt, a deal was ade with the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition to drop budget reconciliation provisions, which had proved to be the biggest obstacle to progress. However, the Committee still needs to determine discretionary spending limits for the year.
FY 2009 budget negotiations continue
“I hope we can get to conclusion by the end of the week, but that is optimistic,” Spratt said. The House and Senate are about $3.6 billion apart in their discretionary spending levels, but both are well above President Bush's proposed limit.
Senators on the Appropriations Committee are likely to accept a bipartisan request for increased funding for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to address food safety issues. Led by Senate Majority Leader Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR), 17 senators urged Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture Chairman Herb Kohl (D-WI) and Ranking Member Bob Bennett (R-UT) to boost funding by $128 million in FY 2009 for the Agency, citing a 2007 FDA Science Board Report that concluded FDA does not have the capacity to ensure food safety because of inadequate resources, increased responsibilities and complex surveillance demands. The President's budget request proposed flat funding for FDA, and specifically, the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
Congress continues to focus attention on funding for food safety initiatives
Senators on the Appropriations Committee are likely to accept a bipartisan request for increased funding for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to address food safety issues. Led by Senate Majority Leader Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR), 17 senators urged Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture Chairman Herb Kohl (D-WI) and Ranking Member Bob Bennett (R-UT) to boost funding by $128 million in FY 2009 for the Agency, citing a 2007 FDA Science Board Report that concluded FDA does not have the capacity to ensure food safety because of inadequate resources, increased responsibilities and complex surveillance demands. The President's budget request proposed flat funding for FDA, and specifically, the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
“This is the worst food crisis in more than thirty years,” said Durbin. “With food prices soaring, millions of the world's poor risk deprivation and starvation—many of them children. Feeding the hungry is no longer just a moral issue but one of global security. It is not only the right thing to do; it's the safest thing to do.”
Food banks in the
After years of discussions about the importance of establishing a federal standard barring discrimination in employment and health insurance on the basis of genetic information, Congress has approved for the President's signature the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). The measure would prohibit insurers from basing enrollment or premium decisions on the results of genetic tests, and would bar employers from using such data in hiring, assignment, promotion or firing decisions.
Congress passes Genetic Information Non-discrimination Act
“Studies show that 85 percent of Americans fear that employers will use genetic information to discriminate,” said Rep. Judy Biggert (R-IL), who also a leading proponent of the bill. “The dean of a prominent university in
GINA's sponsor Rep. Louis Slaughter (D-NY) first introduced the legislation over 13 years ago. President Bush is expected to sign it.
On April 14, ASN was pleased to co-host a briefing for congressional staffers with the American Crop, Soil and Agronomy Societies (CSA) and the Council for Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics (C-FARE). The briefing, “Designer Crops: Building Health and Nutrition from the Ground Up.” The event highlighted the issues of hunger and malnutrition, which affect more than 2 billion people worldwide. The panel of scientists explored the nutrition, agricultural, and economic tools and technologies that can help to understand and overcome chronic hunger, malnutrition, and disease in both developed and developing nations.
ASN co-hosts briefing for congressional staffers
“Poor diets adversely affect human health worldwide,” said ASN member Jerry Combs, PhD, Director of the
ASN members may view the presentations by Drs. Welch, Combs and Winter-Nelson on the Public Affairs section of
ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION
NIH soliciting ideas for Roadmap/Trans-NIH Strategic Initiatives
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has published a Request for Information (RFI) seeking input from the scientific community, health professionals, patient advocates and the general public about innovative and cross-cutting initiatives to be funded through the NIH Common Fund, in other words, the Roadmap. The NIH expects to spend $30-50 million per year from within the currently projected Roadmap budget for new five-year initiatives.
Common Fund programs are expected to have exceptionally high impact and to transform the way research is conducted. All Common Fund/Roadmap initiatives are relevant to multiple diseases, and they address common challenges that are faced by investigators working in multiple disease areas. Responses to NIH should include the following: a short project title; a description of the problem and opportunity; and, two to three terms one would use to classify the proposal.
Responses are requested by June 2, 2008, should be limited to one page and may be submitted to roadmap_ideas@nih.gov. All ideas will be reviewed to ensure they meet the criteria for Roadmap/Trans-NIH strategic initiatives and will be examined in light of existing or planned research. This request is not be confused with a call for applications.
At the ASN meeting in conjunction with Experimental Biology, Dr. Elizabeth Wilder from the Office of Portfolio Analysis and Strategic Initiatives (OPASI) provided an in-depth view of current and future Roadmap initiatives. Specifically, she highlighted which ones related directly or indirectly to nutrition science. The slides from her presentation have been posted on ASN's website and are available to members on the under Public Affairs page under “Resources.”
For more information and to read the RFI in detail, please go to the NIH grants website. For more information on the Roadmap, go to the OPASI website.
Grant Opportunities at the NIH
Studies to Treat or Prevent Pediatric Type 2 Diabetes (STOPP-T2D) (U01)
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases is soliciting Cooperative Agreement applications for a limited competition from the Data Coordinating Center (DCC) for the STOPP-T2D studies, including TODAY and HEALTHY. The DCC application will include the 15 TODAY clinical centers (CC), the 7 HEALTHY field centers, and the central laboratories, reading centers and cores. The TODAY CC, with the support of the DCC, will complete the TODAY study, continuing to implement the protocol and completing outcomes assessment of the enrolled TODAY subjects. The HEALTHY field centers, with support from the DCC, will complete the final year of the HEALTHY study, implementing the intervention in the existing 42 HEALTHY schools and completing outcomes assessment of the enrolled HEALTHY subjects. This FOA will utilize the cooperative agreement (U01) grant mechanism. The NIDDK intends to award up to $26 million dollars in FY09 to fund one application. For more information, visit this grant request HERE.
Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research (K24)
The purpose of the Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research is to provide support to mid-career health-professional doctorates or equivalent who are typically at the Associate Professor level or the equivalent for protected time to devote to patient-oriented research (POR) and to act as research mentors primarily for clinical residents, clinical fellows and/or junior clinical faculty. The intent of this award is two-fold: 1) to enable mid-career clinician scientists to devote more time and to augment their capabilities in patient-oriented research; and 2) to enable mid-career clinical scientists to mentor new clinical investigators in the conduct of patient-oriented research. An award recipient who continues to have an independent peer-reviewed patient-oriented research program and continues to provide mentoring to new investigators can continue to contribute to the overall goals of the program after being promoted to Full professor. For more information, visit this grant request HERE.
Academic Career Award (K07)
The purpose of the NIH Academic Career Award is to provide support to increase the pool of individuals with academic and research expertise to become academic researchers and to enhance the educational or research capacity at the grantee sponsoring grantee institution. The Academic Career Award supports Development awards for more junior level candidates and Leadership awards for more senior individuals with acknowledged scientific expertise and leadership skills. For more information, visit this grant request HERE.
REMINDER: Call for Nominations to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee
Last month the USDA and HHS published the much anticipated intent to establish a Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) and call for nominations for Committee members. The Committee, once chartered, will determine if a revision of the 2005 edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans is warranted, based on a thorough evaluation of the most current scientific and applied literature and, if so, will proceed to develop recommendations for these revisions in an advisory report to the Secretaries of USDA and HHS. The Committee is expected to begin meeting in September of 2008, and it is scheduled to issue its report to the Secretaries during the spring of 2010.
ASN has been actively engaged in this process and will be submitting a list of names to USDA and HHS. Nominations are due May 24. For more information and instructions on how to submit nominations, please see the Federal Register Notice.
AHRQ calls for nominations to its National Advisory Council
The Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ) is requesting nominations for public members to serve on the National Advisory Council for Health Care Research and Quality. The Council advises the HHS Secretary and the Director of AHRQ on Agency activities to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans. AHRQ is seeking individuals who are distinguished in the conduct of research, demonstration projects, and evaluations with respect to health care; in the fields of health care quality research or health care improvement; and, in the practice of medicine or other health care professions to name a few.
If you are interested in being nominated by
NATIONAL INITIATIVES
Soaring food costs threaten schools' ability to offer healthy lunches
As the cost of milk, grains and fresh produce increases, schools nationwide are struggling to provide healthy meal options for students. Although the federal government reassesses its school meal budget annually to ensure underserved children continue to receive healthy lunches, some school officials say that recent federal subsidies have not kept pace with increases in the cost of providing nutritious meals.
The USDA currently provides $2.47 per lunch to help schools serve free meals to children, marking a three percent increase over last year's funding. During the same year, however, milk and bread prices rose roughly 17 percent and 12 percent, respectively. School food directors note that raising cafeteria meal prices is likely the best option for covering the difference, but are concerned that even small increases could strain middle-class families that do not qualify for federal assistance. To offset rising costs without removing healthy items from cafeteria menus, school leaders are working to select the most economical options. Eric Goldstein, chief executive for school support services in the New York school system—which is the largest system in the nation and serves 850,000 meals a day—notes that although school food programs are getting creative, many are “worried it's not sustainable.”
Study finds life expectancy has declined in some
Although life expectancy has been increasing in the
Ezzati said that race and poverty account for some of the disparity, but not all of it. Female mortality increased in a large number of counties primarily because of chronic diseases related to smoking, overweight and obesity, and high blood pressure. Obesity-related illnesses, such as adult-onset diabetes and hypertension, also contributed to increases in male and female mortality.
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As Congress continues to work on a fiscal year (FY) 2008 supplemental appropriations for the wars in