date: Thu, 19 Feb 2009 13:40:50 -0500 (EST)
from: AAAS Member Services <announcements@members-aaas.org>
subject: AAAS Policy Alert -- 19 February 2009
to: <p.jones@uea.ac.uk>

                                                        AAAS Policy Alert -- February 19, 2009

   Budget News

   On February 17 President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
   (H.R. 1) at a special signing ceremony at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Last
   week House and Senate conferees reached final agreement on the $790 billion economic
   recovery bill, and it was subsequently passed by votes of 246-183 in the House and 60-28 in
   the Senate. The [1]newly released AAAS analysis reports that the final stimulus plan
   contains $21.5 billion in federal research and development (R&D) funding, more than either
   the $17.8 billion in the Senate or $13.2 billion in the House versions. The final bill
   contains $10.4 billion for NIH, $3.0 billion for NSF, $1.6 billion for the DOE Office of
   Science, and $600 million for NIST. The bill also provides $3.5 billion for DOE's energy
   R&D programs, and would fund climate change-related projects in NASA ($1.0 billion) and
   NOAA ($830 million). The $21.5 billion R&D total provides $18.0 billion for the conduct of
   R&D and $3.5 billion for R&D facilities and large equipment.

   Congressional News

   Holdren, Lubchenco Nomination Hearing. The [2]Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation
   Committee held a hearing on February 12 to consider the nominations of John Holdren for
   Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and Jane
   Lubchenco for Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere. Holdren's testimony
   focused on the dual role of OSTP: creating policy for science, as well as science for use
   in other policy issues. Lubchenco addressed the economic importance of NOAA activities such
   as weather forecasting and fisheries management, and stated that she supported the creation
   of a National Climate Service within NOAA. Chairman Rockefeller (D-WV) announced that he
   intended to bypass a committee vote on both nominees and instead use a Unanimous Consent
   Agreement on the floor to speed their confirmations.
   House Passes Nanotechnology Reauthorization Bill. Although the stimulus bill may have been
   the major story last week, the House also passed the [3]National Nanotechnology Initiative
   Amendments of 2009 (H.R. 554), which would require a government roadmap for research on the
   environmental, health, and safety effects of nanotechnology. The new bill is identical to
   the NNI reauthorization bill that passed overwhelmingly in the House last year but stalled
   in the Senate.
   Senate Committee Changes Announced. The [4]Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
   announced a new subcommittee lineup that eliminated two subcommittees that addressed
   climate change and added new subcommittees to address the growing focus on green jobs.
   Senators Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) and Mike Crapo (R-ID) will serve as chairman and ranking
   member, respectively, of the new Water and Wildlife Subcommittee, while Bernie Sanders
   (I-VT) and Christopher Bond (R-MO) will head the Green Jobs and New Economy Subcommittee.
   The full committee will handle global warming issues. Meanwhile, Senate Judiciary Committee
   leaders have decided to eliminate the Human Rights and Law Subcommittee, saying that the
   full committee will continue to deal with human rights, and that President Obama's election
   makes a separate panel unnecessary.
   Senators Launch a WMD Caucus. Two members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
   Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Richard Burr (R-NC), launched a [5]Senate Caucus on WMD
   Terrorism. The caucus will focus on a range of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) threats,
   including nuclear, biological, and chemical. The Senators plan to utilize the caucus as a
   forum for legislators, staff, and experts to address the range of policy mechanisms that
   could be utilized "to prevent, prepare for, mitigate, and respond to acts of WMD
   terrorism."
   Possible Merger of Security Offices Debated. The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and
   Government Affairs met February 12 to discuss a proposal to merge the Homeland Security
   Council (HSC) with the National Security Council (NSC), both located in the Executive
   Office of the President (see webcast and witness testimonies [6]here). Witnesses on both
   sides of the issue agreed that personnel involved in homeland security advisory roles need
   better funding, more attention, and better staffing. Former DHS Secretary Tom Ridge, as
   well as Fran Townsend, and Senators Lieberman (I-CT) and Collins (R-ME) all strongly
   opposed the merger, noting that the Department of Homeland Security and the HSC are
   relatively new entities and should be given the time and resources to mature before
   considering whether the HSC should move under the NSC. Other witnesses claimed that the HSC
   could not meet its advisory responsibilities alone and that the NSC should be restructured
   to incorporate HSC staff and concerns. Traditionally, the White House structures its
   security advisory staff as it sees fit, but the HSC was created by statute, and the
   dissolution or merger of the council may need to be addressed through statute as well.
   New Portal for CRS reports. The website [7]wikileaks.org has joined several other
   [8]organizations in making Congressional Research Service reports available on-line. Unlike
   the other congressional support agencies (GAO, CBO), CRS is restricted from making its
   reports public, although Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) announced his intent to develop a
   system for releasing the reports.

   Executive Branch

   People in the News.
   - Acting FDA Commissioner Frank Torti has created the new FDA position of Senior Genomics
   Advisor, to be filled by Liz Mansfield, a scientist with experience at both the FDA and
   private sector. Her focus will be on helping the agency and those it serves analyze and
   make effective use of the increasing volume of genomic data associated with the drug
   approval process, an area in which the FDA has been criticized for lacking adequate
   scientific expertise.
   - Kei Koizumi, longtime director of the AAAS R&D Budget and Policy Program (and Policy
   Alert contributor), moves to OSTP this week as Assistant Director for Federal Research and
   Development, an appointment that does not require Senate confirmation.

   Elsewhere

   Anti-Evolution Bill Update: One New, One Defeated. Alabama now has an "academic freedom"
   bill for 2009; such bills have appeared almost yearly in the state legislature since 2004
   but have never passed. Meanwhile, Mississippi's anti-evolution bill, which would have
   required science textbooks to include disclaimers calling evolution a "controversial
   theory," has reportedly died in committee.
   New Report Calls for Transforming Energy Research. A new report by the Brookings
   Institution, [9]Energy Discovery-Innovation Institutes: A Step toward America's Energy
   Sustainability, calls for additional investments in traditional energy R&D as well as the
   creation of regional Energy Discovery-Innovation Institutes. The institutes would foster
   partnerships to develop and rapidly transfer highly innovative technologies into the
   marketplace.
   Court Rules Vaccines Don't Cause Autism. In 1986, in response to concerns that lawsuits
   against vaccine manufacturers might drive them out of business and that essential vaccines
   would no longer be available in the U.S., Congress passed the National Vaccine Injury
   Compensation Program. The program includes a special court to which vaccine lawsuits are
   referred and which has the power to award compensation from a special fund created for that
   purpose. Last Thursday, [10]the court ruled that there is no link between vaccines and
   autism and that families with autistic children are not entitled to receive compensation.
   Three distinct cases were tried, each of which was handled by a different "special master."
   The three rulings were similar and found no evidence that vaccines had caused the
   children's autism. The [11]Associated Press quoted Denise Vowell, one of the special
   masters saying "Sadly, the petitioners in this litigation have been the victims of bad
   science conducted to support litigation rather than to advance medical and scientific
   understanding" of autism. The plaintiffs are likely to appeal.

   ___________________________________________________________________________________________

   Publisher: Alan I. Leshner
   Editor: Steve Nelson
   Contributors: Kavita Berger, Joanne Carney, Mark Frankel, Erin Heath, Kei Koizumi, Kathryn
   Luke, Shirley Malcom, Al Teich, Kasey White
   NOTE: The AAAS Policy Alert is a newsletter provided to AAAS Members to inform them of
   developments in science and technology policy that may be of interest.  Information in the
   Policy Alert is gathered from published news reports, unpublished documents, and personal
   communications.  Although the information contained in this newsletter is regarded as
   reliable, it is provided only for the convenience and  private use of our members.
   Comments and suggestions regarding the Policy Alert are welcome.  Please write to
   alert@aaas.org.

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