The Election is Over: Now What?

Association of Anatomy, Cell Biology, and Neurobiology

ChairsJanuary, 2009

President Obama’s Priorities

• Top 5 priorities on Transition web site

– Revitalizing the Economy– Ending the War in Iraq– Providing Health Care for All– Protecting America– Renewing American Global Leadership

• Where is Science?– On longer list of 23, under

“Technology”

www.change.gov

Campaign Promises

• Science focus in the campaign– “[O]ur science agencies are often able

to support no more than one in ten proposals that they receive, arresting the careers of our young scientists.”

• Double basic research funding in 10 years

• Cabinet status for Presidential Science Advisor

• Federal funding for hESC research

The Transition Teams: What They Do And How They Do It

• Audit teams– Visit each agency– Prepare briefing books

• Identify issues• Turn “bumper sticker slogans” into policy• Identify personnel needs and possible candidates for

4,000 jobs

• Obama team remains ahead of schedule

• Bush told agencies to cooperate

FASEB Met With Transition Teams

• NIH– Harold Varmus– Alta Charo– Greg Simon– Francis Collins

• NSF– Michelle McMurry

FASEB Recommendations for NIH Transition Team

• Restore sustainable funding for research – Obama plan to double funding

for NIH and NSF– Emphasize investigator-

initiated, competitive research– Restore balance to NIH portfolio

through support of R01 grants• New NIH Director should

– Actively communicate the value of federally funded research

FASEB Recommendations for NIH

• Continue to foster development of the workforce

• Protect against unnecessary and ineffective regulations

• Safeguard the humane use of animals in research and education

• Develop ethical guidelines for stem cell research

Obama Appointments

• Presidential Science Advisor and Chair, President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology – John Holdren, Harvard physicist and

global warming critic– Harold Varmus on PCAST– Francis Collins – NIH transition leader

• Secretary of HHS – Tom Daschle• Secretary of Energy – Steven Chu

– Nobel winning physicist from LBNL

Advocacy Targets

• Stimulus bills– Efforts failed in lame duck session– Dems have plans for $700B or more in

January– Tailor message to emphasize

economic benefits of R&D

• FY2009 funding (post March 6, 2009)

• President’s FY 2010 budget• Development of FY 2011 budget

– Focus on Obama doubling promise

Stimulus Requests

• Carnegie Corporation and 51 university Presidents – 5% of stimulus

• AAU, NASULGC, etc. – 6% of stimulus– Student Aid– Campus Infrastructure– Scientific Capital

• Instrumentation - $300 million• Infrastructure - $950 million• NIH - $1.2 billion• Young Faculty - $1.8 billion

Compiled by FASEB with data retrieved from http://www.nih.gov/

Funding for Competing Awards

$3,577$3,520

$2,412

$1,563$1,627

$1,817$1,920

$2,516

$2,912$3,029

$3,183

$3,513$3,405 $3,358

$3,719

$3,534

$1,205

$2,517$2,400

$2,280$2,235$2,101

$1,928

$1,506$1,401

$1,256

$2,264$2,133

$0

$500

$1,000

$1,500

$2,000

$2,500

$3,000

$3,500

$4,000

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008Pres

Budget

2009Est

Do

llars

(M

illio

ns

)

All Research Project Grants

R01 + R29

Number of Competing Awards (Including First R01)

7,518

9,3969,771 9,757

5,618 5,549

5,995 6,037

6,860 6,884 6,817 6,661

7,255

6,792

6,2755,878

6,309

1,430 1,367 1,487 1,575 1,611 1,658 1,638 1,625 1,735 1,589 1,496 1,3911,633

6,758 6,653

7,388

8,5568,765

9,098

10,39310,052

9,599

9,128

10,100

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008Pres

Budget

2009Est

Aw

ard

s

All Research Project Grants

R01 + R29

First R01 Awards

NIH and the Economy

• Jobs– Researchers and technicians– Supplier of services and

equipment

• New business activities– Every dollar invested in NIH

research yields a multiplier of 2.2 dollars in other business activity

• Source of new high-tech industry

NIH in the Stimulus Bill

• Supplemental funding for grants and centers will create and preserve jobs– Some may be fully funded– Remainder can be handled if annual 7%

increases are restored

• Funds for new and improved instrumentation will aid manufacturers and research

• Research facility improvement projects will create jobs and restore infrastructure

Funding Targets

• Stimulus bills– Efforts failed in lame duck session– Dems have plans for $700B or more in

January– Tailor message to emphasize

economic benefits of R&D

• FY2009 funding (post March 6, 2009)

• President’s FY 2010 budget• Development of FY 2011 budget

– Focus on Obama doubling promise

The 111th Congress

• Cautionary tale: Experience from 2000– Control of White House and Congress

raised expectations– Internal discord was great

• What can we expect?– Emphasis on authorization bills:

• Economy• Energy• Education• Health Care.

– Less attention on appropriations (spending) bills

The Good News

• Biomedical research is a priority– Science funding in the FY 2008

supplemental– Stimulus bills have included NIH– House L-HHS\Ed markup (+3.9%)

• We have strong champions– Senate

• Specter and Harkin• Reid and Byrd are supportive

– House• Pelosi and Obey

Leave No Stone Unturned

• Better messages• Better communication

– www.ScienceCures.org– www.NIHAdvocacy.org – www.animalrightsextremism.org– FASEB Guide to the Freshman Class– http://opa.faseb.org/pages/

PolicyIssues/training_datappt.htm

• Broader, more effective coalitions• Increased advocacy by scientists