Sexual Health Grants Targeted By Conservative Group

APA staff were alarmed to learn of an apparent "hit list" that was sent to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) following the October 2 testimony of NIH Director Elias Zerhouni, M.D., before a joint hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. At the hearing, several Members of Congress asked the NIH Director for an explanation of the medical benefits of a list of ten research projects. The list included studies of the sexual behaviors of older men, risk behaviors of prostitutes and a conference on sexual arousal. This line of inquiry followed on the heels of a House amendment proposed by Rep. Pat Toomey (R-PA) in July that would have rescinded funding for five of these same grants at NIH. That amendment was defeated by a slim vote of 212-210.

When NIH officials asked for a copy of the list that the Committee Members were referring to during the hearing, a staffer sent over another more distressing list of over 150 grants that addressed issues related to HIV/AIDS, high-risk sexual behaviors, stigmatization of homosexual populations, and substance abuse. The list, compiled by the Traditional Values Coalition (TVC), also contained the names of a number of researchers that received no federal funds, but who had studied issues related to homosexuality in the past. While staff of the House Energy and Commerce Committee denied any formal inquiries into these grants, there is still a concern that Congress might take steps in the future to stifle research on HIV/AIDS, adolescent sexual behavior, drug use, and homosexual populations.

APA Public Policy staff have contacted those psychologists who were included on the list to let them know that NIH may be collecting information about their grants to respond to any questions from Congress. APA also encouraged all psychologists to contact their Members of Congress to educate them about the importance of this research to the public health. While there is no current congressional action to restrict funding for these grants, there is a high probability that the House Republican Study Committee, the group that put together the smaller list, will continue to issue statements denouncing these and other sexual health research projects.

Dr. Zerhouni, addressing the November 3 annual meeting of the Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA), called on the behavioral sciences to do more in terms of educating Congress about the need for this research, especially those offices that have not previously been supportive of this research. Responding to the outrageous claims from the Traditional Values Coalition that NIH is run like the National Endowment of the Arts, Zerhouni stated, "Bad paintings do not destroy families. AIDS Kills. Art has never killed anyone."

In an APA statement in support of the NIH peer review process and sexual behavior research, APA CEO Norman Anderson, PhD, asserted, " Without studying those populations linked to the widespread transmission of disease, there is little hope that we will ever defeat this public health epidemic. Outside scientific experts from many of America's most respected universities, rather than NIH officials, evaluate the scientific relevance and validity of this research. This scientific process alone must be allowed to determine the value of all research."

In addition to its efforts to defeat the Toomey amendment, APA is organizing a new coalition with COSSA and other scientific organizations, the National Alliance to Support Sexual Health Research and Policy. The Alliance will hold its first meeting in December and will focus its efforts on educating Congress and congressional staff about the necessity for additional research on sexual health and development. We will continue to update this page with any action alerts or additional information on this issue.

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