American Chemical Society Legislative Action Alert—National
Institutes of Health
(Posted December 14, 2005)
Congress is currently debating the Labor, Health and Human Services,
Education and Related Agencies appropriations bill (H.R. 3010). A previous
version of this bill was defeated just before Thanksgiving. Unfortunately,
the bill that is expected to emerge from this round of negotiation is
likely to call for the same weak funding increase (0.9 percent) for
the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as the defeated version. We
cannot let this bill pass without a fight, or NIH may be considered
an easy target for funding cuts in the future.
Please support a funding increase of 3.7 percent for NIH for FY 2006,
keeping the budget just above the amount required to stay ahead of basic
research inflation. A prompt response to this issue is critical as Congress
is aiming to have this bill approved by both the House and Senate within
5-7 days. We urge you to contact your representatives and senators and
ask them to vote against any bill (i.e., send it back to conference)
that does not meet that 3.7 percent increase.
To write to your members of Congress, please visit the ACS Legislative
Action Center (http://www.chemistry.org/government/lac).
Opportunity to Ensure NIH Funding
(Posted December 9, 2005)
We have a second chance to influence the fiscal year 2006 budget for
NIH. Before leaving town for the Thanksgiving Day break, the House rejected
the conference agreement reached on the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations
bill for fiscal year 2006.
While a number of factors contributed to the defeat of this bill, certainly
one of the main reasons was the bill's failure to fund critical health
and education programs adequately. NIH's growth, for example, would
be held to about $250 million (a 0.7% increase), the smallest increase
in more than three decades.
The Senate responded by instructing its conferees to support the Senate
recommended amount for NIH ($29.4 billion, a $1 billion increase [3.7%
increase]). However, the House is resisting adding any more money for
NIH.
Therefore, please urge your Representative to support the Senate passed
recommendation of $29.4 billion by clicking on http://capwiz.com/faseb/home/
Akaka Amendment Voted Down in Congress
from the Animal in Research and Regulatory Affairs and Legislative
Assistance Committees
(Posted October 2005)
Thank you to those individuals who responded to the recent legislative
alert emailed to all SOT members on September 30 and contacted members
of Congress with concerns about the Akaka amendment. SOT learned that
Senator Akaka's Class B dealer amendment (SA 1729) was voted down and
removed from the USDA Appropriations bill in conference on October 25.
This action represents an important victory for biomedical research.
The amendment, if approved, would have prohibited federal funding to
biomedical research facilities that lawfully purchase animals from Class
B dealers as designated under the Animal Welfare Act. Animals acquired
from Class B dealers serve an important role in scientific and medical
research and teaching.
In an effort to maintain good relationships with Capitol Hill staff,
you may want to consider sending a brief fax or e-mail expressing your
gratitude to the member of Congress and/or staff members with whom you
connected. A simple "thank you" will go a long way to ensuring
our voices are heard during the next battle. A
sample "Thank You" letter.
Special Alert: Senator Inhofe Introduces Animal Enterprise
Terrorism Act
by Bill Holbrook (202) 224-6176
(Posted October 28, 2005)
WASHINGTON, DC—Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Chairman of the Environment
& Public Works Committee, has introduced legislation that will enhance
the effectiveness of the U.S. Department of Justice's response to recent
trends in the animal rights terrorist movement. S. 1926, the Animal
Enterprise Terrorism Act, was drafted with technical assistance from
counter-terror experts at the Department of Justice and the Federal
Bureau of Investigation.
" The chilling testimony embracing assassination and destruction
that we heard from the 'spokesman' of the Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty
eco-terror group only points to the need for a tightening of current
law for authorities to be to able to prevent future activities, and
to better investigate and prosecute eco-terror cases," Senator
Inhofe said. " S. 1926 specifically addresses the 'tertiary targeting'
tactic employed by eco-terrorists by prohibiting intentional damage
of property belonging to a person or organization with ties to an animal
enterprise. Currently, only the animal enterprise itself is covered
by law. The bill also increases penalties for intentional economic disruption
or damage, and for intentionally causing bodily harm or placing a person
in reasonable fear of death or bodily harm."
On Wednesday, the Committee convened a hearing on eco-terrorism, specifically
examining the Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty group.The Animal Enterprise
Terrorism Act:
Senator Akaka's amendment on Class B dealers (SA 1729), amending the
Agriculture Appropriations bill for FY 2006, was adopted by voice vote
this afternoon on the Senate floor. This amendment is based upon the
false assumption that dogs and cats are routinely stolen and sold to
research facilities. If signed into law, research facilities that purchase
animals from a dealer that holds a Class B license under the Animal
Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2131 et seq.) will have the federal funding received
through the Department of Agriculture terminated for fiscal year 2006.
The next action on this legislation will take place in conference. We
will keep NABR members apprised of recommended actions.
The text of the amendment was as follows:
SA 1729. Mr. AKAKA submitted an amendment to H.R. 2744, the Agriculture
Appropriations bill for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2006, and
for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
On page 173, after line 24, insert the following: SEC. 7lll. None of
the funds made available by this Act may be used to provide funding
to a research facility that purchases animals from a dealer that holds
a Class B license under the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2131 et seq.).
For more information, please contact info@nabr.org
subject=Re: Senate Passes Akaka Amendment to Ban Class B Dealer or NABR
at (202) 857-0540.
