U.S. Budget Deal - Preliminary AAAS Observations

Joanne Carney, director of the AAAS Office of Government Relations, offered the following observations Monday, Aug. 1, 2011, regarding the preliminary U.S. debt-limit agreement:

"Federally funded U.S. research and development in the out years--a vital driver of innovation, new enterprise and long-term economic progress--unfortunately remains at risk following the preliminary debt-limit agreement reached by President Barack Obama and congressional leaders Sunday, July 31. Strong support for U.S. science, engineering, and higher education organizations remains essential, particularly as the recovering economy remains fragile.

That agreement, as posted on the House Rules Committee website Monday, caps FY 2012 discretionary spending at $1.043 trillion, $23 billion more than the House budget resolution, but $73 billion less than the President's request. The agreement specifies non-security and security spending caps for FY 2012 and FY 2013, both increasing by just $2 billion for FY 2013.

Thus, for the short term, the compromise will allow for more discretionary spending than is currently being considered in the House appropriations bills, which, while good news, would still need to be amended and voted on to reflect any additional increases. However, the small overall spending increase for FY 2013 will further stress the agency's R&D investments going into next year.

In the long term, the budget cap increases of less than 2.3% each year will continue to put additional pressure on agency budgets as they struggle to keep pace with inflation and could result in a real decrease in R&D investment for the foreseeable future."

- Joanne Carney, director, AAAS Office of Government Relations

7-27-11: AAAS comment on embryonic stem cell research ruling

July 27, 2011

AAAS comment on Judge Royce Lambeth's ruling on embryonic stem cell research

From: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Contact: Earl Lane, 202-326-6431, elane@aaas.org

Alan I. Leshner, chief executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and executive publisher of the journal Science, had the following comment on the decision today by Judge Royce Lambeth to dismiss a lawsuit challenging federal funding of embryonic stem cell research:

"AAAS is very pleased that Judge Lamberth has ruled in support of the Obama Administration's human embryonic stem cell research policy. AAAS has long favored federal funding for the broadest array of stem cell research -- including embryonic stem cell research -- so long as it adheres to strict ethical guidelines such as the ones set forth in the current policy.

"The scientific consensus is that embryonic stem cell research is an extremely promising approach to developing more effective diagnostics and treatments for devastating conditions such as diabetes, spinal cord injuries and Parkinson's disease. Judge Lamberth's injunction last year threatened to cause real harm to researchers in this field and discourage the next generation of stem cell scientists. By excluding one of the most promising areas of stem cell research, the injunction could have slowed dramatically the development of potential new diagnostics and therapeutics.

"AAAS strongly believes that it is only though federal support of multiple avenues of stem cell research that we can better understand the potential value and limitations of each approach. We urge Congress to pass the Stem Cell Research Advancement Act and codify the Obama policy into law."

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The nonprofit AAAS is the world's largest general scientific society. For more information, go to www.aaas.org.

Response to the OSTP's 2011 R&D Budget Briefing

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) held it 2011 budget briefing at AAAS on February 1. See http://www.aaas.org/go/ostp/.

The response from Dr. Alan I. Leshner, CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and executive publisher of Science, was as follows:

"The increases proposed for R&D are extremely gratifying, particularly given the freeze for overall domestic spending. They deliver on the President's commitments to advance science and apply it more vigorously to national and global goals. Having said that, given the overall commitment to keeping the budget constant, it will be very important for the nation to recognize the importance of science and to sustain these increases through the political process."

Other preliminary reactions from AAAS were as follows:

"The total 2011 R&D request is flat, compared with 2010, and there's a huge shift to nondefense-related R&D spending, versus defense-related R&D spending."

"We're pleased to see that NASA's overall budget went up. Of course, there were some changes such as a move away from trying to return astronauts to the moon by 2020. But it's our understanding that space initiatives will instead undergo an essential retooling."

"The 2011 R&D budget request continues a welcomed trend by returning the United States to a real-dollar funding increase for research: There was a real-dollar increase for research in 2009 versus 2008, but that was the only increase until this year, since a peak in 2004, and we are still down 4.4% from that peak in constant Fiscal Year 2010 dollars."

Look for updated analysis online at the AAAS R&D Budget and Policy Program, http://www.aaas.org/spp/rd/.

Also, track the Twitter feed by Program Director Patrick Clemins, http://www.aaas.org/spp/rd/.

Response to NSF Science & Engineering Indicators 2010

The 2010 National Science Foundation (NSF) Science and Engineering Indicators report was released 15 January. Produced biennially, this report is widely considered to be the gold standard for information detailing the state of the American science and engineering enterprise. For details, please log onto http://bit.ly/6hNmRi.

Alan I. Leshner, chief executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and executive publisher of the journal Science, offered the following preliminary response:

"The Science Indicators report once again provides a superb and very useful, in-depth analysis of the state of U.S. and international science and engineering research and education, both basic and applied. Science Indicators also reveals some very important and at times alarming trends about international threats to the U.S. lead in science."

For additional commentary, contact Ginger Pinholster at (202) 326-6421, gpinhols@aaas.org.

Nobel Prizes

Responding to a reporter query, AAAS CEO Alan I. Leshner, executive publisher of Science, said of the latest Nobel Prize winners:

"This year's Nobelists emphasize the benefits of supporting a wide range of basic science, without overfocusing on potential utility, and then reaping the benefits, both in terms of increased understanding and practical uses. Every one of the Nobelists started out doing an interesting basic science project, and then it turned out to be quite useful in multiple settings."

-December 1, 2009

Friday the 13th story in the WaPo, 2008

Two Metro Fires, Power Outage Disrupt Downtown

By Debbi Wilgoren, Howard Schneider and James V. Grimaldi
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, June 13, 2008; 3:35 PM

Two fires along Metro's Red Line and a power outage through much of Washington's center city this morning left commuters stranded, offices and tourist attractions dark and street traffic in chaos.

Three pedestrians were struck and injured by cars that were navigating busy streets without benefit of traffic signals, D.C. fire department spokesman Alan Etter said. Traffic signals were out in an area spanning roughly 30 blocks, from shortly after 7 a.m. until about 10:30 a.m. D.C. traffic operations crews in lime-green vests directed cars through some, but not all, key intersections.

Meanwhile, fires broke out at 7:30 a.m. and 9:50 a.m. on the tracks near the busy Metro Center station. Officials said equipment that regulates power to the track overheated, causing insulation to smolder. In each instance, trains in both directions had to share a single track, causing significant delays through the heart of downtown. The station was closed for about 20 minutes starting at 9:52, although trains continued to pass through on a single track from Judiciary Square to Farragut North.

The 3 1/2 hour power outage cut electricity to scores of office buildings, as well as the Dupont Circle, Farragut North, Farragut West, McPherson Square and Shaw-Howard stations. Farecard machines, turnstiles, escalators and elevators were not working because of the power outage, and the Dupont Circle station was shut down at 9:30 a.m. after medics treated a dozen people for shortness of breath after they trudged up that station's particularly steep escalators. The station has the longest climb in the city, and the ascent left many winded. One man was taken to the hospital after his internal defibrillator triggered.

Power was restored to the affected area about 10:30 a.m., and the Dupont Circle station reopened at 10:50 a.m.

Riders who were caught up in this morning's delays on the Metro and had to exit at stations with no functioning Farecard turnstiles will not be charged for those rides, Metro spokeswoman Cathy Asato said. The Farecard turnstiles have been reprogrammed so riders should be able to use their paper Farecards or SmarTrip cards normally and be charged for their afternoon rides.

The power outage affected approximately 8,000 customers downtown, included many office buildings, shops and restaurants, landmarks such as the Treasury Department and attractions such as the International Spy Museum.

At the affected Metro stations, only the emergency lights were on, leaving the stations "significantly darker than usual," Metro spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said.

The disruptions are the fourth major service problem for Metro in the last 10 days. A heat kink in a track on the Orange Line caused major delays Wednesday night; a six-car train derailed Monday, trapping riders in the tunnel between the Rosslyn and Court House stations for nearly two hours; and debris and downed power lines halted service between the East Falls Church and West Falls Church stations during last week's heavy rainstorms.

Pepco spokesman Robert Dobkin said this morning's outage was caused by an equipment failure at a Pepco substation on 10th Street NW.

The Spy Museum at 800 F St. NW was among many places that were closed while the power was out-- "You can't spy in the dark," quipped Benta Davis, a museum gate attendant who was standing outside to pass the time.

At Chop't, a restaurant at 730 7th St. NW, the usual 10:30 a.m. opening had been pushed back to noon. "The problem we are going to experience is . . . all the frozen stuff. I don't want to risk selling spoiled food," said Dimitri Bamba, the manager of the restaurant.

Frustrated commuters described trips that in some cases took twice as long as usual. "It was very agitating. . . . It was very hot," said Cherisse Wilder, a retail sales representative at AT&T who boarded the Green Line at the Suitland station.

Alonzo Fisher, another retail sales representative for AT&T, boarded a Red Line train at the Shady Grove station at around 7:30 a.m. He did not arrive at Gallery Place until nearly two hours later, after a long stop-and-go trip. "Dupont Circle was pitch black," he said. "People had to come out cautiously."

At Jonathan's Gourmet Deli at 14th Street and New York Avenue, the kitchen crew stood idle, unable to cook during what would normally be the pre-work breakfast rush.

Food already on the breakfast buffet, and items from the refrigerator, were available for purchase, but workers had to use a hand-held calculator to ring up sales. Office workers lingered in the deli, saying they were waiting for the power to come back before heading to their jobs on the upper floors of nearby buildings.

A carnival-like scene developed along 12th Street NW, between F and K streets, near the heart of the blackout. Workers milled on the streets, not sure whether they were experiencing a late start to the work day or an early jump on the weekend.

Business people manipulated Blackberrys to reschedule meetings. Police officers directed traffic in the intersections. Faces peered out windows down on the scene as others chatted on cellphones making last-minute plans.

"Are you going home?" a bellman asked Lisa Washington as she strode past the J.W. Marriott at Metro Center. "No, this is better than being in a movie," said Washington, the chief operating officer at the Design-Build Institute of America.

Two lawyers from the firm Williams & Connolly, holding expandable folders, sat down with a client in one of three plush chairs dragged out into the courtyard. "Welcome to the law firm," one of the lawyers said, laughing, as the meeting began.

Inside the darkened Marriott, workers raced around the lobby with flashlights and groups of people huddled over muffins in the coffee shop.

"I was in the shower when the lights went off," said Marianne Patarino of Boston, who with her husband Frank, was accompanying their 14-year-old son on a field trip. She said she slipped out of the shower after the lights went off, dressed quickly, grabbed maps and other items she needed for the day and walked five stories down the stairs.

"It is a good thing I travel compactly," Patarino said. "I had everything in one place."

Her husband took the elevator, which was running on auxiliary power.

When Wendy Wise of the American Association for the Advancement of Science arrived at Metro Center, the station was still open, but lit by backup bulbs. "There was enough light to see," Wise said. "There were Metro people standing there waving you out."

Her colleague, Cathy Holland, who works on Science magazine's online site, surveyed the scene at 12th and H and said, "This is insane."

Much of the talk on the street had to do with the cause of the outage being related to today's date -- Friday the 13th. But workers from the association, an international nonprofit that works toward "advancing science around the world," laughed and rolled their eyes at the talk of jinxes and superstition.

"The plural of anecdote is not evidence," said Alan I. Leshner, chief executive and executive publisher of Science magazine,. "Some things happen by coincidence. Coincidence is not proof of superstition."

A colleague, Albert H. Teich, director of science and policy programs, said, "Tuesday the 13th is superstitious in Mexico."

Replied Leshner: "I'm moving to Mexico."

At Dupont Circle, one of the passengers treated for shortness of breath was Gainna Ellis, 42, a receptionist whose morning ordeal had started hours earlier. She commuted by Metro from her home in Greenbelt to her office near Metro Center, only to find her building--and the whole street--without power. Told that the backup generator was about to go off, she decided to head home.

Then, "I got a bright idea to come to Krispy Kreme," a doughnut shop near Dupont Circle, Ellis said. She made it to the store while the Dupont Circle station was still operating, bought a dozen doughnuts and a cup of coffee, and walked down the immobilized escalators -- apparently ignoring Metro's strict no-food rules.

Inside the station, she learned it had just been shut down. "So I had to climb up all these stairs again. That was too much," said Ellis, who suffers from high blood pressure. ". . . Then I started feeling sick, like I was about to throw up."

A firefighter helped her up the stairs, walking with her and urging her to take her time. Emergency personnel gave her water to drink and took her blood pressure four times, until it came down.

An hour later, Ellis was still near the station, hoping for a shuttle bus to take her to the Green Line.

Staff writers Sindya N. Bhanoo, Michael Birnbaum, Benjamin Hubbard and Lena H. Sun contributed to this report.

7-24-09: AAAS CEO describes political interference with health research as "extremely dangerous"

AAAS Chief Executive Officer Alan I. Leshner, Ph.D., executive publisher of the journal Science, offered the following comment regarding a proposed amendment to the House Fiscal Year 2010 Labor, Health, and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill. The amendment, set forth by U.S. Congressman Darrell Issa (R-California), reportedly was scheduled for discussion on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday, July 24, 2009.

Dr. Leshner responded as follows:

"Public health research, such as efforts to prevent HIV/AIDS, should not be turned into a political issue. Understanding the factors that affect disease transmission is vitally important to improving human health worldwide. Rep. Darrell Issa's proposed amendment would rescind funding for three potentially important efforts to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. It further would undermine a rigorous peer-review system that the U.S. National Institutes of Health has in place to assess the scientific merit of grant proposals. We must not let political objectives or moral ideology trump scientific evidence, or the goal of improving global public health. It's extremely dangerous when politicians substitute their views for those of public health and scientific experts in deciding which science should be done."

The Coalition to Protect Research Integrity has provided the following information regarding the three grants in question:

1) Substance Abuse Use and HIV Risk Among Thai Women

Grant Number: 1R21DA026324-01A1

The proposed collaboration study between Ms. Usaneya Perngparn, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand and Dr. Nemoto, Public Health Institute, California, will investigate the sociocultural contexts of HIV risk behaviors and drug use among Thai female and male-to-female transgender (kathoey) sex workers in Bangkok. Research is currently needed to develop and adapt HIV prevention models that take into account sociocultural factors so that the further transmission of HIV and sexually transmitted infections can be averted. Participation in these types of studies also can provide a way for persons suffering from the health consequences of illicit sexual activity to receive treatment while contributing to our knowledge of prevention and treatment outcomes in these populations.

2) HIV Prevention for Hospitalized Russian Alcoholics

Grant Number: 5R01AA016059-03

Investigators are adapting a prevention approach that has been demonstrated to be effective in decreasing high-risk HIV related behaviors in the U.S. for use in Russia, a country with a rapidly expanding incidence of HIV. The approach, called Health Relationships Intervention, involves the development of a plan of action for each client to increase social support and reduce high-risk behaviors. This includes the disclosure of information to family and friends on the client's health, social needs and condition thereby assisting the client in maintaining low risk behaviors.

3) Venue-based HIV and Alcohol Use Risk Reduction Among Female Sex Workers in China

Grant Number: 1R01AA018090-01

Research has provided evidence linking alcohol-related, high risk sexual behavior with HIV and other sexually-transmitted infections. Research has also provided rich descriptions of social, cultural, and economic contexts in which people engage in alcohol-related sexual risk behaviors. More specifically, alcohol use characteristics (e.g., binge drinking) have been linked with sexual risk-taking that occurs in a range of high risk environments. The investigators have proposed a 5-year study to develop, implement, and evaluate a theory-guided, multiple components, and venue-based HIV and alcohol use risk reduction intervention among commercial sex workers (FSWs) in China.

Additional information regarding the NIH peer-review process is provided below:

The NIH uses a rigorous peer review process to determine which grant applications to fund. NIH's scientific peer review process is the gold standard for determining the quality and relevance of grant proposals.

Thousands of scientists each year submit applications to the NIH requesting funding for their scientific proposals. Applications are evaluated initially by the NIH's Center for Scientific Review and peer review groups composed of scientific experts from around the U.S. and the world. These groups (also called "study sections") assess and rate the scientific and technical merit of the proposed research or training projects.

Projects reviewed in a particular session are scored and ranked in relation to each other. The applications are then assigned to one of the 27 institutes and centers at NIH. A second level of peer review is conducted by the NIH National Advisory Councils of the respective funding Institutes or Centers, which are composed of both scientists from the research community and public representatives. These councils ensure that the NIH receives advice from a cross-section of the U.S. population in its deliberation and decision-making.This system ensures that research conducted and supported with taxpayer dollars is scientifically meritorious and serves to improve the lives of all people equally. Approximately 70 percent of meritorious, scientifically valid proposals do not receive funding through this process. The grants that receive funding, however, are the best in their fields.

In response to previous congressional concerns about whether sexual health research should be funded by the agency, NIH reviewed the entire NIH sexuality portfolio in 2004. That investigation found that all of the NIH grants in areas of sexual health met the rigorous standards of scientific and ethical quality, that they were not funded out of proportion to the public health burden of these diseases, and that the merit review system had been followed.