In mid-February, President Trump signed into law an appropriations bill that funds the nine federal departments that had not received full-year funding through the end of fiscal year (FY) 2019. The House and Senate had approved the bill the previous day, following intense negotiations by a bicameral conference committee established to reach a compromise on government spending levels, including border security measures, for FY 2019.

The new law includes funding increases for a number of science agencies, including the National Science Foundation (+$300 million), the Food and Drug Administration (+$269 million), and the United States Department of Agriculture’s “Agriculture and Food Research Initiative” (+$15 million). Because the National Institutes of Health (NIH) had received its full-year appropriation for FY 2019 in September 2018 (+$2 billion), it was not directly affected by the new law.

Prior to the law’s enactment, the federal government had been partially shut down for 35 days, the longest such closure in history. Through social media and other mechanisms, AAI had encouraged the immunology community to contact their Members of Congress and urge them to reopen the federal government. After Congress reached an interim agreement that reopened the federal government for three weeks, AAI Committee on Public Affairs Chair David D. Chaplin, M.D., Ph.D., issued the following statement:

“AAI is relieved that the President and Congress have agreed to reopen all agencies affected by the partial government shutdown. We are concerned, however, that the temporary nature of this reprieve will continue to damage the federal scientific enterprise and demoralize our valued federal scientific workforce. We urge the President and Congress to reach a permanent agreement that will allow all federal science agencies, and the dedicated scientists and contractors who advance their missions, to approach their work – and the future – with confidence.”

On the final day of the 115th Congress, the Senate confirmed Kelvin Droegemeier, Ph.D., as the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Largely because of the partial government shutdown, however, he was not sworn into office until February 11. The position had not been filled since President Trump took office, marking the longest vacancy since the OSTP was established in 1976.

Droegemeier, who earned a Ph.D. in atmospheric science, has previous experience in both science and policy. Before joining OSTP, he was Vice President for Research and Regents’ Professor of Meteorology at the University of Oklahoma. He served two terms on the National Science Board (which oversees the National Science Foundation) under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

In mid-December, the NIH Advisory Committee to the Director (ACD) held a meeting to discuss several important topics. Meetings of the ACD are open to the public, and the archived webcast and slide presentations are available on the ACD website.

The ACD received an update on the NIH Next Generation Researchers Initiative (NGRI), which was launched in June 2017 to provide support for meritorious early-career investigators. A Working Group of the ACD, which was established to provide advice on the development and implementation of the NGRI, presented its report, which was approved by the ACD.

Other presentations of interest include an update on NIH policies to prevent and address sexual harassment (see presentation here), and a report from the Foreign Influences on Research Integrity Working Group. All of the presentations and reports from that meeting can be accessed at https://acd.od.nih.gov/meetings.html.

The National Association for Biomedical Research (NABR), of which AAI is a member, recently filed a complaint with the Department of Transportation (DOT) because of the refusal of several airlines to transport animals for use in research. NABR claims that this refusal has led to increased research costs and uncertainty about the ability of researchers to continue projects involving those animals. In its complaint, NABR argues that this refusal is discriminatory because airlines will transport the same animals to zoos and as pets, violating carrier rules regarding discrimination of cargo. NABR also alleges that airlines created these policies only to avoid public criticism of animal research, not for safety or transportation reasons.

On behalf of AAI, CPA Chair David Chaplin submitted a letter to DOT on October 4, expressing deep concern about NABR’s allegations and urging DOT to investigate its complaint.