Committee Approves Bills to Reform NIH, Address Biological Threats, Combat AIDS WASHINGTON – Congress took a giant step Wednesday to improve the federal government’s ability to discover new medical treatments and cures as the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted 42-1 to approve the National Institutes of Health Reform Act of 2006. In recent years, Congress has doubled NIH’s budget (to approximately $28 billion today) but could do more to ensure those dollars are spent effectively. If enacted, the committee’s bipartisan bill would represent the agency’s first agenda-setting “reauthorization” since 1993. Improving the way the NIH does business has been a priority for Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton, R-Texas, since he became chairman in 2004. Barton’s legislation has won the endorsement of 46 leading scientific societies, research institutions and patient-advocacy groups, including the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, the Association of American Universities, the American Heart Association, the March of Dimes and the Parkinson’s Action Network. “This legislation will provide for a more transparent agency that gives the public a full view of what the NIH has done and where they are going,” said Barton. “The legislation also encourages collaboration among the institutes and fosters more trans-institute research. “Academics, stakeholders, disease and patient advocacy groups, scientists, researchers, grantees, the NIH, and members sitting on both sides of the aisle agree that this legislation is built on sound policy and serves to further strengthen the NIH,” Barton added. Specifically, the National Institutes of Health Reform Act would: Authorize a five percent annual increase in NIH’s budget for fiscal years 2007-2009; Launch a new, agency-wide electronic reporting system to catalogue all of the research activities of the NIH in a standard format; Limit the overall size of the NIH to the current 27 institutes and centers; Set up a “common fund” to support particularly promising research that cuts across multiple institutes or centers. The common fund is capped at five percent of the overall NIH budget; and Create a Scientific Management Review Group, composed of institute and center directors and other experts, to evaluate NIH’s structural organization at least once every seven years and propose any restructuring plans it deems necessary. The panel also passed the Biodefense and Pandemic Vaccine and Drug Development Act of 2006 (H.R. 5533), introduced by U.S. Reps. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., and Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., to enhance America’s capacity to deal with a bioterror attack or other health emergency, such as a pandemic flu outbreak. H.R. 5533 authorizes $160 million for fiscal years 2007 and 2008 for research and development and designates a single federal authority – the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) – with the core mission of heading off a public health catastrophe. The legislation also requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop a strategic plan to identify biological and infectious disease threats, evaluate research and development opportunities and fund effective programs. In reauthorizing the Ryan White Care Act, the committee ensured that funding of medical care for HIV and AIDS patients is distributed more efficiently and effectively. The bill authorizes $12 billion in HIV/AIDS funding over five years and devotes money to states, cities and health care providers. The Ryan White Care Act reauthorization includes many reforms, including a requirement that 75 percent of all funding goes toward providing core medical services. The bill also caps administrative expenses at 10 percent for each entity receiving grants, which will help cut down on inflated overhead costs. Also, the bill will strengthen the program by providing more statewide coordination, which will lead to more transparency and accountability. Additionally, the legislation takes steps to correct funding disparities. “It starts to address why San Francisco received $4,137 per AIDS case, when another California area in Ms. Bono’s district received just $2,130, almost 50 percent less. That’s in the same state,” Barton said. “It shouldn’t matter where you live in the country when it comes to accessing medical care and therapy.” ####