CONTENTS
BUDGET & APPROPRIATIONS
- Next CR Still Being Negotiated
CONGRESSIONAL ISSUES
- House Approves Cures Act
- Organizations Urge Support for Cures Act
- House Passes FY17 Defense Authorization Conference Report
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
- Labor Department Files Appeal to Overtime Regulation Ruling
BUDGET & APPROPRIATIONS
NEXT CR STILL BEING NEGOTIATED
Congress will need to take up another FY17 continuing resolution (CR) next week to replace the current CR that expires on December 9. Details of the new CR have not been released, but the measure is expected to fund most federal programs at their current levels. Among the issues to be decided are the funding and policy exceptions, known as anomalies, and the duration of the CR. House negotiators have wanted the CR to last through March, but Senate negotiators are pressing for it to last through April.
CONGRESSIONAL ISSUES
HOUSE APPROVES CURES ACT
The House on November 30 passed the 21st Century Cures Act (now HR 34) in a vote of 392 to 26. The bill now moves to the Senate, where a procedural vote is scheduled for late afternoon Monday, December 5. Senate passage is likely.
The Cures Act enjoys broad support from the research community and has been endorsed by the White House, but other groups oppose using the Public Health and Prevention Fund as the offset for increased funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Some Senators have expressed concern about changes related to the Food and Drug Administration.
Prior to House consideration, a manager’s amendment to the bill reallocated funding levels for NIH, without changing the agency’s overall total of $4.796 billion over 10 years. The amendment moved $55 million from the BRAIN initiative to the Precision Medicine Initiative, resulting in PMI being allocated $1.455 billion over 10 years and the BRAIN initiative $1.511 billion over 10 years. Both initiatives will receive funding in FY17 (previously $0). Funding for the Cancer Moonshot was extended two years (FY22-23) although the overall total remains roughly the same.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee has prepared several documents about the Cures Act, including an updated chart on Innovation Fund spending and a section by section outline of the bill.
Organizations Urge Support for Cures Act
AAU and other higher education and research groups are encouraging approval of the Cures Act during the current lame-duck session. Last week, United for Medical Research (UMR), jointly led by AAU, published an op-ed in The Hill, while several groups, including UMR and AAU have promoted passage of the Cures Act on social media.
Earlier this week, AAU sent a letter to House and Senate leaders urging passage of the bill, focusing on its increased funding for NIH; support for researchers and the next generation of the biomedical research workforce; and its direction to federal agencies to reduce the burden on research of regulations in such areas as animal welfare, sub-recipient monitoring, and financial conflict of interest reporting.
HOUSE PASSES FY17 DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION CONFERENCE REPORT
The House today approved the conference report for the National Defense Authorization Act of 2017 (NDAA). The vote was 375 to 34. The Senate is expected to follow suit next week.
The conference agreement authorizes increased FY17 funding for Research, Development, Test & Evaluation (RDT&E) and Science & Technology (S&T)—$1.6 billion and $334 million, respectively, with the focus on applied R&D. Authorized funding for the 6.2 applied and 6.3 advanced technology development accounts is increased by $76 million and $309 million, respectively, while funding for 6.1 basic research is cut by $51 million across all branches, except Defense-wide.
The conference agreement includes the following policy items:
Manufacturing Universities . The agreement establishes the Manufacturing Engineering Education Grant program to award grants to industry, non-profits, universities, or consortiums of such groups, to enhance or establish new programs in manufacturing engineering education. (Section 215)
Micro-purchasing threshold . The threshold for simplified acquisition of supplies or services is increased from $3,500 to $10,000 and applies across all agencies. The language permits the threshold to exceed $10,000 if deemed appropriate by the relevant executive branch authorities. (Section 217)
SBIR STTR . The Small Business Innovation Research and the Small Business Technology Transfer programs are reauthorized for five years to 2022, with both programs maintained at their current set-aside levels. The reauthorization does not extend the NIH Research Evaluation and Commercialization Hub (REACH) program, a pilot program that provides proof-of-concept funding. (Section 1824)
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
LABOR DEPARTMENT FILES APPEAL TO OVERTIME REGULATION RULING
The Labor Department yesterday announced that it would appeal a federal judge’s preliminary injunction blocking implementation of the agency’s revised overtime-pay regulations. The rule, which was scheduled to go into effect December 1, would raise the salary overtime threshold from $23,660 to $47,476, with an automatic increase every three years. Further information is available from CUPA-HR.