Science Policy News

Recapping the Year in ASPET Advocacy

Many of the same challenges in advocacy from the past year carried over to 2022. The Capitol Hill complex reopened to visitors; however, with new security procedures that continue to inhibit meetings with congressional staff and stakeholders, ASPET members continued to feel disruptions to their research that Congress is still working to address. Nevertheless, ASPET’s advocacy work continued, and the Society made significant progress on many key issues. The December issue of The Pharmacologist gives us an opportunity to look back at the year in advocacy, assess ASPET’s advocacy results and anticipate what’s in store for 2023.

FY 23 Appropriations

Much like previous years, Congress was unable to finalize an appropriations package before the end of the fiscal year on September 30, 2022, and the government is currently operating under a continuing resolution (CR) that funds the government at FY 22 levels. The CR expires on December 16, 2022. Below is a look at the amounts ASPET requested for agencies that fund scientific research. These numbers were developed with the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB).

■ National Institutes of Health (NIH) » $49 billion requested ■ National Science Foundation (NSF) » $10 billion requested ■ Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical and Prosthetic

Research Program » $980 million requested

ASPET and its partners advocated for these funding levels at virtual hill days, in testimony, and in targeted messaging to congressional leadership. ASPET also made FY 23 appropriations a centerpiece of its Washington Fellows program, and fellows met virtually with congressional staff to encourage robust, sustained and predictable funding for biomedical research. Though Congress is still negotiating the final FY 23 package, the House proposed funding levels for the federal science agencies. The Senate will release its top line numbers following the 2022 midterm elections. At present, those numbers are:

■ National Institutes of Health (NIH) » $47.5 billion (House) ■ National Science Foundation (NSF) » $9.63 billion ■ Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical and Prosthetic

Research » $926 million

Before voting on a final package, the two chambers will have to reconcile differences between their appropriations numbers. ASPET and its partners will continue to advocate for increased funding for biomedical research until the process is completed.

In anticipation of the FY 24 appropriations process, ASPET will be updating several position papers that provide explanations of why ASPET supports funding for the NIH, NSF and the VA’s Medical and Prosthetic Research Program. The papers provide background on the agencies, highlight areas of biomedical research that these agencies support and reinforce ASPET’s commitment to advocating for congressional support for these agencies. The position papers are the basis for ASPET’s advocacy on appropriations funding moving forward and help standardize ASPET’s messaging on this issue. View the newly created position papers on the ASPET website.

Animal Research

ASPET continues to meet with the new FASEB Animal Research Special Interest Group comprised of member societies that have an interest in the use of animal models in biomedical research.

ASPET signed on to a letter to the House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) Appropriations Subcommittee that stressed the importance of animal research supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Steve Kohut, one of ASPET’s representatives on the FASEB Animals in Research and Education subcommittee, participated in FASEB’s first Animal Research Capitol Hill Day. FASEB anticipates a larger Hill Day on this policy area in the future.

ASPET supported FASEB and 27 other scientific societies with comments to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW). The comments were submitted in response to a Request for Information for input on flexibilities for conducting semiannual animal program review. The joint comments submitted on July 12 highlighted recommendations that OLAW include language that permits institutions to review standard operating procedures that are unrelated to animal welfare on a more flexible, as-needed basis.

The Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act 2.0 passed the Senate by unanimous consent during the passage of the Continuing Appropriations and Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act 2023. The Act allows for alternatives to animal testing for purposes of drug and biological product applications. The Act does not ban animal testing however, the above language gives an avenue for future amending that could ban animal testing. The legislation heads to the House of Representatives but further action is not expected until after the November elections.

Drug Policy

The DEA withdrew a proposed rule that would have placed five tryptamine hallucinogens in schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.

Other Issues

OSTP Directive for Public Access

The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) issued a memo that directs funding agencies to update their public access policies to provide free, immediate and equitable access to Federally funded research with said policies to go into effect 12/31/25. This directive would end the longstanding ability of journals to paywall content for up to one year before making its freely accessible. ASPET is actively engaged in this policy area and will be releasing comments in the future.

CHIPS and Science Act

President Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act on August 9, 2022. The law authorized increases to the National Science Foundation to essentially double its budget; however, Congress will still need to budget for the increase.

New OSTP Director Confirmed

Arati Prabhakar, PhD, became the first woman, immigrant, and person of color to lead the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy. Prabhakar, an engineer and former director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), will also serve as President Biden’s science adviser, a role elevated to a Cabinet-level position for the first time. In July, ASPET signed on to a letter urging a fast confirmation process.

ARPA-H Falls Under NIH

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra announced on May 25, 2022, that the Advanced Research Project Agency for Health (ARPA-H) would be formally established and an independent entity within NIH. ASPET and others are stressing to Secretary Becerra and the Biden Administration that any funding for ARPA-H should not come from existing NIH funding.