Standing Up For Medical Progress
This week, we saw the July 13 deadline pass for public comments on the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) proposed federal grant rule. Research!America submitted comments opposing the proposed rule and noting the scant evidence in support of it. Our press release detailed the lasting damage the rule would inflict on our nation’s ability to conduct groundbreaking research.
A total of 496,775 comments have been submitted, including from many of our member organizations. Our webpage on the proposed rule links to comments from our friends and partners throughout the scientific community. Email [email protected] with your submitted comments if you would like them included.
Members of Congress have continued to declare opposition to the proposed rule, including the first bipartisan letter from Rep. Laura Gillen (D-NY) and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA). Their letter to the OMB director, urging him to reconsider the proposed rule, is here.
On the Hill: Dr. Erica Schwartz, nominated to serve as Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), appeared before the Senate HELP Committee this week alongside Sean Kaufman, nominee for Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response.
Much of the hearing focused on vaccine safety, scientific integrity, and the independence of CDC leadership. HELP Committee Chair Bill Cassidy (R-LA) pressed Dr. Schwartz on whether she would uphold evidence-based decision-making and maintain the agency’s scientific independence. Dr. Schwartz said that, if confirmed, restoring public trust through transparency and scientific integrity would be her top priority. If confirmed, she would lead the CDC as it responds to several significant public health challenges, including the recent cyclosporiasis outbreak and the international Ebola outbreak. Watch the hearing here and read more on recent outbreaks below.
Russ’s Corner
As I write this, 496,775 comments have been received on the sweeping new regulations proposed just a few weeks ago by the OMB. Ninety percent of the 52,000+ comments that have gone through the process of being posted publicly are opposed.
Thank you. This is an amazing response.
It is now incumbent upon OMB to review and consider those comments. If they choose to move toward a final rule, they’re required to respond to significant comments and objections (though not to each and every comment). Of course, our hope is that they see the depth and breadth of objections and choose not to finalize the rule.
We cannot count on hope, though. The end of the comment period marks a new phase in the fight against these regulations. Next, we need to be sure our legislators – in Washington and in your state houses – have seen our comments so they are aware of concerns. Governors need to know what these regulations would do to their states.
We have shown what we can do with these hundreds of thousands of thoughtful comments. As we move into the next phase, please know that together we still have influence. We still have a voice. We still have agency. And we still have work to do.
Russ
Special Alliance Member-only Meeting: Join us on Tuesday, July 21, at noon ET for an off-the-record meeting with Georgetown Law Professor David Super. We’ve asked David, whose expertise spans administrative law, constitutional law, and other research-relevant areas of government policy, to shed light on potential legal challenges to OMB’s proposed rule. There will be plenty of time for Q&A. If you are affiliated with a Research!America member organization, please email Jacqueline Lagoy for the Zoom registration link.
AHRQ-funded Research in Peril: We understand that the administration has canceled numerous grants that the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) had awarded. This is the newest in a series of actions that place the future of this agency, as well as the lifesaving research it funds, in serious jeopardy.
In compelling testimony before Congress, AcademyHealth President and CEO Dr. Aaron Carroll did not mince words as he described the role of AHRQ and the evolving situation: “If you want to know what AHRQ does, look at what Americans hate most about the health care system,” said Carroll. “[…] Those are exactly the problems AHRQ is designed to solve and right now, that work has largely stopped.”
We are proud to be a member of the AcademyHealth-led “Friends of AHRQ,” which is seeking information from the field about canceled grants. If you have received notice from AHRQ that your grant has been canceled, please email [email protected].
An Ongoing Outbreak: Cyclosporiasis, or the disease caused by the parasite cyclospora, has sickened Americans in 34 states, with more than 100 people in the hospital. CDC staff are working hard to find a specific source of the outbreak, but they are doing so with fewer people and resources after experiencing significant cuts last year. To help keep the public informed, the agency will update its Surveillance of Cyclosporiasis website on a weekly basis. You can read more about the outbreak here.
Ebola Case Estimates Double: The Ebola outbreak continues unabated in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where more than 1,900 people have been infected and 702 have died. The head of WHO’s Health Emergencies Program estimates that the true number of Ebola cases in the DRC could be at least double. This outbreak is a stark reminder that infectious diseases are not contained by country borders, and infectious disease research is imperative. The vast majority of Americans agree: 9 in 10 say it is important for the federal government to fund research addressing infectious diseases.
Advocacy Award Nomination Deadline Extended: We’ve extended the deadline to nominate outstanding research advocates for the 2027 Research!America Advocacy Awards. Submissions are now due by Friday, July 24. We welcome in particular nominations for the Outstanding Achievement in Public Health Award, the Building the Foundation Award, and the Rapid Translation Award. Take a look at the award descriptions and submit your nominations in the next week.
Support Our Advocacy Work: Your support is critical to our advocacy efforts. Research!America is working every day to ensure our nation’s discovery, development, and innovation ecosystem not only survives, but thrives. Working together, we can make medical research and public health, as well as overall science and technology progress, a higher national priority. Donate now.