PAA Public Affairs

by Anne Harrison-Clark

Recently a number of bills were introduced in both Houses that indicate strong congressional support for NIH. Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor/HHS&E, which has jurisdiction over NIH, and Senators Connie Mack (R-FL) and Phil Gramm (R-TX) each introduced legislation calling for an increase in funding for basic, scientific and medical research in general, and significant increases in NIH funding over the next ten years. On the House side, similar legislation was introduced by Rep. John Porter (R-IL), Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor/HHS&E and Rep. George Brown (D-CA).

On April 16, the House Science Committee approved HR 1273, a two-year reauthorization for the NSF. The bill faces hurdles in the Senate, which in previous years has chosen to legislate programs through the appropriations process. Recall that the 1996 Omnibus Science Bill was approved by the House, but was not acted on by the Senate. This pattern may be repeated in this Congress. This time around, there is a low likelihood of renewed attacks on the Social, Behavioral and Economic Science Directorate, but continuing efforts by the GOP to reduce or eliminate a number of cabinet departments may have some impact on the NSF. Senator Rod Grams (R-NM) is expected to reintroduce a bill eliminating the Department of Energy, with some programs folded into the NSF.

1997 is a critical year for the decennial census. A series of key decisions affecting the reliability and comprehensiveness of the Census will be made by Congress and federal officials. The use of sampling in the 2000 census is an unresolved issue. To further complicate problems relating to the decennial census, the Census Bureau itself has come under significant attack recently -- but the Bureau is working hard to be more responsive to its

critics, both in Congress and in the Executive Branch. On April 1st, the Bureau submitted to Congress the subjects it plans to include in Census 2000. The short form, sent to every household, asks seven questions, down from twelve, thus making it the shortest census since 1820. The long form, sent to one in six housing units, has 27 subjects. The long form faces continued con-gressional scrutiny.

On April 17, President Clinton approved a broad reorganization of the State Department and three foreign affairs agencies, including USAID. Under the agreement, USAID remains a separate agency, but its Director reports to the Secretary of State rather than the President. Some of USAID's administrative functions will be folded into the State Department, but the agency will keep its budget and continue to receive direct appropriations from Congress. The reorganization is a long-standing priority of Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Jesse Helms (R-NC). In February Congress approved a presidential certification pertaining to the release of USAID population assistance monies. Had the vote failed, the release of funds for FY97 would have been held up until this July. As a result of the vote, beginning last March funds are dispersed at the rate of 8% per month. Total funding for foreign operations in FY97 is $12.3 billion. Prior to the vote, PAA President Karen Oppenheim Mason and APC President Peter Donaldson wrote to Congress on behalf of both organizations. Over 100 key Senators and Representatives received letters asking them to remember the importance of demographic data collection when they voted on the President's certification.