October 29 , 2007
In this issue:
Upcoming Activities
HEALTH
While Chairman Baucus is not expected to release details until later this fall, Senate Finance Committee members are working with him on details of a Medicare package that will stave off a scheduled 10-percent cut in physician reimbursements. One of the biggest points of discussion is whether the fix should span one year or two years and on how to pay for it. Baucus has proposed a range of $8 billion to $12 billion in cuts to private Medicare Advantage plans as one offset, which Republicans say is unacceptable. The other option for raising revenue is cutting reimbursements to healthcare provider groups.
Separately, Finance ranking member Charles Grassley (R-IA) will hold a roundtable discussion Tuesday to assess whether legislation is needed to ensure that nonprofit hospitals are meeting expectations in order to receive tax breaks. Participants will include representatives from the government, hospitals, hospital associations, public charities and academics.
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APPROPRIATIONS
House and Senate appropriators are trying to piece together a massive $700 billion-plus spending package that combines appropriations for the departments of Defense, Labor, HHS, Veterans Affairs and Education. The effort is aimed at reducing a veto threat, but early indications from the White House are not positive. The bill could also contain another $50 billion-$70 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with funding for wildfire suppression and about $10 billion above Bush's requests for social services, education, job-training and health research.
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HEARINGS OF NOTE
Thursday, November 1, 2007
House Education and Labor Committee. Hearing on "Barriers to Equal Educational Opportunities: Addressing the Rising Costs of a College Education," 10:00 a.m. Witnesses to be announced.
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Recent Actions
HOMELAND SECURITY
In conjunction with the sixth anniversary of anthrax attacks that killed six people in 2001, a GAO report takes HHS to task for wasting hundreds of millions of dollars on anthrax vaccines missteps, including losing tens of millions of dollars on expiring vaccines.
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IMMIGRATION
This past Wednesday the Senate failed to approve the DREAM Act, a bill designed to grant provisional legal immigration status to eligible undocumented immigrant students who either attend college or serve in the military for two years. Some supporters of comprehensive immigration reform voted no, fearing that the stand-alone bill could weaken the chances of passing a comprehensive immigration bill.
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MEDICAL RECORDS
The House Science Committee unanimously approved a bill Wednesday authorizing $16 million for NIST to increase its efforts to develop a national database for patient records. The authorization is for two annual installments of $8 million to increase NIST’s information technology. The bill also directs NIST to establish a Healthcare Information Enterprise Integration Initiative with participation by other government agencies and the healthcare and IT industries. The initiative would focus on technical standards for implementing the program. In addition, the bill also instructs NIST, in consultation with the NSF, to establish a grant program for universities that partner with businesses, non-profits and government labs to establish the Centers for Healthcare Information Enterprise Integration.
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NIH PILOT PROGRAM
The NIH has announced a new pilot compliance program to "assess institutional implementation and compliance with the requirements of the Federal financial conflict of interest regulation." This pilot is the result of last year’s Targeted Site Reviews on financial conflict of interest.
A notice on the NIH Web site states:
"We will select a number of institutions for review by requesting a copy of their FCOI policy and related information. As with the Targeted Site Reviews, if areas of noncompliance are noted institutions will be expected to formally address and resolve the issues with the NIH Division of Grants Compliance and Oversight. The results of the pilot program will be shared with the NIH research community as part of our continuing educational efforts to improve and enhance compliance with FCOI requirements. The continuation of this program will be based on an assessment of this pilot."
For further information as well as an additional “observational document,” see: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-08-010.html.
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EDUCATION
The House Veterans Affairs Economic Opportunity Subcommittee approved a bill last week that would make it easier for National Guard and reservists to get active-duty education benefits. The bill would allow any soldier that has served more than 20 months of consecutive active-duty service to be eligible to receive full education benefits provided under the G.I. Bill.
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EDUCATION
The House has voted to extend the HEA for another six months. The Senate has not yet taken action to extend the HEA but is expected to do so soon.
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EDUCATION TAXES
Among other things, the broad tax reform legislation introduced by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-NY) would extend for one year the above-the-line tuition tax deduction and the IRA charitable rollover. The ten-year costs of these one-year extensions are $1.39 billion for the tuition tax deduction and $452 million for the
IRA charitable rollover. Chairman Rangel's tax reform bill also includes a provision that would allow college and university endowments and other tax-exempt entities to invest directly in domestic hedge funds and other investment funds without incurring unrelated business income tax (UBIT). The estimated cost is $1.34 billion over 10 years.
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
The Senate has confirmed Williamson "Bill" Evers as Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development. As assistant secretary, he will serve as the principal advisor to Secretary Spellings on all matters relating to K-12 and higher education policy development and review, performance measurements and evaluation, and budget processes.
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