Omnibus spending bill passes both chambers; POTUS signs into law  President Obama on Friday, December 18th, signed a $1.1 trillion funding bill that will keep the federal government running until Sept. 30, 2016. Earlier on Friday, the House of Representatives passed the spending package with a vote of 316-113. A total of 150 Republicans joined with 166 Democrats to vote yes, while 95 Republic…

  The National Institutes of Health (NIH) today released the NIH-Wide Strategic Plan, Fiscal Years 2016–2020: Turning Discovery Into Health, which will ensure the agency remains well positioned to capitalize on new opportunities for scientific exploration and address new challenges for human health. Developed after hearing from hundreds of stakeholders and scientific advisers, and in collaboration…

  Omnibus drama continues…  Earlier this week Democrats rejected Republicans’ first omnibus offer which, according to The Hill, included 30 policy riders that Democrats objected to, including the language passed in the House two weeks ago that would functionally halt Syrian and Iraqi refugees from coming to the United States. The inclusion of the riders, combined with the surprise timing of the pr…

  On November 11th, FASEB submitted proposed changes to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects. The agency issued the modifications in an effort to better protect those who participate in research studies while simultaneously easing oversight and administrative requirements for scientists. HHS also addressed digital privacy and securit…

  Congress Passes Budget Deal; Appropriations Committee Begins Work on Funding Levels for Fiscal Year 2016  In his last week in office, former House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-OH) managed to avert another fiscal crisis. Modeled after the bill that was negotiated by Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) in 2013, the new agreement (HR 1314) raises the Budget Contro…

  The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced revisions to its Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) on October 16. The new PAPPG will be effective for proposals submitted or due on or after January 25, 2016. The revisions include:  Enforcement of 5 pm deadline in submitter’s local time across all NSF funding opportunities  Implementation of NSF’s Public Access Policy  …

  On October 5th, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a request for comments regarding the abuse potential, actual abuse, medical usefulness, trafficking and impact of scheduling changes on the availability for medical use of 10 drug substances, including ketamine. ASPET has submitted comments articulating the Society’s objection to object to any adoption of an international regul…

  ASPET President Dr. Kenneth Thummel joined over 20 FASEB Society Presidents in signing a letter urging Congress to raise the spending caps and pass a bipartisan budget that includes increased funding for scientific research. Earlier this year, the importance of federal investment in biological and biomedical science and research was recognized by the House and Senate Appropriations Committees…

  The Senate Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies met in an open session at 10:00AM on Wednesday, Oct 7th, 2015 in Room SD-124 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The hearing was entitled NIH: Investing in a Healthier Future. During the subcommittee hearing, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) asked Collins about the effect Congress's failure to come to t…

CQ HealthBeat reports that it is unlikely mandatory funding for research will be included in the Senate's version of the House's 21st Century Cures Act. According to reports, there are similar increases in the underlying agency authorizations in both bills, but due to a lack of viable offsets, the Senate will not include a mandatory fund in its "Innovations" legislation. This does not mean that m…