The U.S. Congress has been increasing its control
over HHS research funding in a manner that
restricts the types of research funded in
addition to academic freedom. You may find this
recent development of interest. Following is a
statement about the Consortium of Social Science
Associations and the text of a letter that
describes the latest manifestation of this problem.
The Consortium of Social Science Associations
(COSSA) is circulating a letter regarding
provisions in the House Labor/HHS appropriations
bill that would prohibit the use of funds by the
National Institutes of Health on economic
research programs, projects or activities
http://healthyamericans.org/health-issues/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/House-LHHS-FY-2013-Economics-31.pdf.
The letter cites that, “Economic research,
specifically research on the linkages between
socioeconomic status and health outcomes in the
elderly and achievement and health outcomes in
children, has been an integral part of the
interdisciplinary science NIH has supported
historically.” The deadline is close of business
today. Please RSVP to [log in to unmask]
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Text of letter:
We the undersigned national organizations are
writing to express our concerns regarding several
provisions in the Fiscal Year 2013 Labor, Health
and Human Services and Education Appropriations
Act that micromanages the National Institutes of
Health (NIH) in addition to freezing its budget;
thus limiting the agency’s ability to support the
most promising, scientifically-driven research.
Specifically, we are opposed to language in the
bill that prohibits the NIH to use funds “for any
economic research programs, projects or activities.”
As you know, the NIH mission is to support
scientifically rigorous, peer-reviewed research,
including basic and applied behavioral and social
science research. Economic research, specifically
research on the linkages between socioeconomic
status and health outcomes in the elderly and
achievement and health outcomes in children, has
been an integral part of the interdisciplinary
science NIH has supported historically. The
agency’s investment has yielded key data,
methodologies and substantive insights on some of
the most important and pressing issues facing the U.S.
For example:
* NIH funded surveys such as the Health and
Retirement Survey, the Panel Study of Income
Dynamics, parts of the National Longitudinal
Survey of Labor Market Experiences, and surveys
on International Aging and retirement provide
data necessary to monitor and detect changes in
important socioeconomic trends in health.
* Economic modeling and methodologies and the
longitudinal data from these surveys enable
researchers to disentangle cause from effect and
measure the relative significance of the
different socioeconomic and environmental
determinants of health related trends.
* Results of NIH funded economic research provide
insights into important topics such as the
functioning of the health care system, design and
effects of health insurance and financing,
diffusion of new health technologies, cost
analysis and projections of health care,
retirement date, savings, wealth accumulation and
assets, and health-employment nexus and relationship.
NIH support of economics is also playing a key
role in nurturing new fields of research such as
the economics of aging, neuroeconomics and
behavioral economics. Other agencies, including
the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,
Social Security Administration, Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, and
Administration on Aging, rely on the NIH to
review, fund, and disseminate research findings
that these agencies can translate into informed
policy and programmatic decisions.
As the bill moves forward, we urge the Committee
to reconsider the implications of this language
and remove it from the final funding package
whether the bill moves independently or is made
part of a larger spending measure.
Thank you for your consideration of our views.
Sincerely,
American Economic Association
Association of Population Centers
Coalition for the Advancement of Health Through
Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (CAHT-BSSR)
Coalition to Protect Research (CPR)
Consortium of Social Science Associations
Population Association of America
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