Science Government Relations News

2012

• President’s budget released for fiscal year 2013

  Highlights include level funding for NIH and a 4.8 percent increase for NSF

• RFI released for a new institute of substance use and addiction disorders

  It is APA's hope that the extramural science community will rally with a vigorous response.

• NICHD invites comments on proposed reorganization

  Seven of the current ten extramural research branches would be renamed and two additional branches are proposed to be added

• Administration focuses additional resources on Alzheimer’s disease research and services

  President Obama has announced that $50 million in Fiscal Year 2012 and $80 million in FY 2013 will be spent on research

• APA comments on NIH working group on Diversity in the Biomedical Research Workforce

  APA recommended NIH undertake a thorough scientific examination of the role of potential bias in the peer review process

• Friends of NIDA host briefing on Developing Medications to Treat Addiction

  The briefing featured a roundtable discussion among national experts from NIDA and the pharmaceutical industry

• APA partners with Tobacco Free Kids and others to comment on proposed FDA regulations

  The comments cite a significant body of scientific evidence substantiating the need for rigorous standards of tobacco product review

• PCORI Seeks Input on National Research Priorities and Research Design Framework

  PCORI has announced a public comment period that ends on March 15

• National Advisory Mental Health Council discusses HIV/AIDS behavioral research

  NIMH Deputy Director Phil Wang provided the overview of the NIMH’s HIV/AIDS research portfolio, which makes up $196 million of NIMH’s overall budget

• NIH “Rock Talk” provides good information on grant success rates and more

  Scientists interested in NIH funding should check out the blog of NIH Deputy Director of Extramural Research, Dr. Sally Rockey

2011

• NIH delays draft plan for reorganizing addictions research

  Draft is now expected in late summer.

• APA and Friends of NIDA hold congressional briefing on marijuana research

  Researchers report on progress in understanding and treating marijuana dependence.

• NIH task force begins planning for new addictions institute

  APA presses for an open reorganization process with input from external scientists.

• National Science Foundation: New director, new directions, new challenges

  Opportunities for psychology are encouraging but budget remains uncertain.

2010

• NIH moves toward creation of a new addictions institute

  Reorganization will encompass NIAAA, NIDA, and portions of other institutes

• Behavior change research highlighted at first PCORI board meeting

  New research institute established by health care reform law begins to develop an agenda

• Congress will wait to decide on science funding

  Decisions on appropriations for federal agencies have been put on hold until after mid-term elections in November

• APA’s Breckler testifies on public access to congressional panel

  Steven Breckler, Executive Director for Science, expresses APA’s support for increased public access to federally funded research but urges careful assessment of policy options

• APA’s Science Fellow placed at NIH for the year

  Sarah Johnson, PhD, will be a special assistant in the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research at the National Institutes of Health

• Psychologist Robert Kaplan is named Associate Director for Behavioral and Social Sciences Research at NIH

  Kaplan, a professor, psychological scientist, and APA member with a distinguished background in health research, is expected to begin in early 2011

• APA selects 2010-2011 Executive Branch Science Fellow
• NICHD acting director Alan Guttmacher outlines “vision process” for future research

  The NICHD acting director has described steps the institute will take – including a request for stakeholder input – to achieve scientific goals and meet public health needs

• APA member presents APA’s defense appropriations testimony in the Senate

  Psychologist Dan Putka urges the Senate to reverse proposed Administration cuts to behavioral research within the Department of Defense

• APA Organizes Congressional Briefing on Addiction Treatment

  Federal leaders present new strategies for treating and preventing drug addiction.

• APA and Sesame Workshop Team Up for Military Families on the Hill

  Representatives from APA and Sesame Workshop met with Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, to discuss collaborative efforts to support military personnel and their families.

• APA Responds to NIH Call for Comments on Research Training

  APA experts are helping shape a strategic plan on research training for the NIH’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences.

• APA's Capitol Hill Exhibit Showcases NSF-Funded Research

  APA researcher gets rave reviews on Capitol Hill for his studies of digital media and children

• NIMH Director Briefs Mental Health Liaison Group
• APA’s Advocacy for Health Research
• APA Responds to NIH Request for Information on Basic Behavioral Research
• NIGMS Asks Advice as it Develops Strategic Plan on Research Training
• NIGMS and NICHD to Seek Input from Scientists on Future Programs
• APA Comments on Draft Objectives for Healthy People 2020
• APA Comments on Draft Strategic Plan of National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases

2009

• APA Provides Input on House Bill to Create Office at Department of Energy

  Throughout the spring, Science Directorate staff have been working with Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA) and House Science Committee staff on legislative language to create an office of behavioral science within the Department of Energy (DOE).

• Capitol Hill Poster Session Showcases NIH-Funded Behavioral and Social Science Research

  Staff from the American Psychological Association (APA), Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA), and other scientific and advocacy organizations recently organized a combined poster session and reception on Capitol Hill, called National Institutes of Health: Improving the Nation’s Health through Behavioral and Social Sciences Research.

• APA Weighs in on FY10 Budgets for NSF and NASA

  On April 2, Steve Breckler, APA’s Executive Director for Science, delivered testimony before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies, chaired by Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV).

• Challenges to Enhancing Diversity of the Scientific Workforce

  As a founding member of the Collaborative for Enhancing Diversity in Science (CEDS), APA recently sponsored a Congressional briefing that focused on the challenges faced by all stakeholders, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), in creating a diverse scientific workforce.

• Scientific Research Funding Gets Significant Boost in Economic Stimulus Legislation

  Congress has delivered to President Barack Obama a hard-fought legislative package including tax cuts and targeted spending designed to boost the flagging economy.

• Institutes Debate How to Spend Stimulus Funds

  As NIMH, along with the rest of NIH, needs to use the stimulus funds within two years, some funds will likely go to projects that were determined to be scientifically meritorious during the last round of peer review.

• COSSA Annual Meeting Highlights Breadth of Federal Investments in Behavioral Research

  This Consortium of Social Science Associations meeting featured presentations by federal agency leaders and congressional and Administration policymakers.

• NIH Initiative on “Science of Behavior Change” Beginning to Take Shape

  The initiative focuses on linking basic and applied science on how to change behavior.

• Trick or Treat? Fiscal Year 2010 Funding Decisions Postponed Until Halloween

  As Fiscal Year 2009 ended, Congress had made little progress on passing the appropriations bills that fund the federal government.

• Duane Alexander Announces Departure from NICHD

  The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development's director has served since 1986.

• What are APA’s Main Concerns at the National Institutes of Health?

  APA shares concerns about personnel appointments, political attacks on research and other issues with NIH's new director.

• NIH Research Funding Sparks Media and Congressional Scrutiny

  Researchers are finding themselves fielding questions about their work's economic impact as well as scientific importance.

• APA Staff Meet with NIH Directors Raynard Kington and Christine Bachrach

  NIH leaders are upbeat about the possibilities for science in general and the behavioral and social sciences in particular.

• Science Continues to Monitor New NIH Oversight Board

  The Scientific Management Review Board oversees organizational structure and resource allocation across NIH's 27 institutes and centers.

• APA Member Testifies before the Senate on Defense Research

  On Thursday, June 18, APA was given an important opportunity to brief Congress on the value of psychological research sponsored by the Department of Defense (DoD).