December 8, 2006

Dear Senator:

The House of Representative passed their NIH Reauthorization bill in late September, under a timeline that did not allow Members of Congress and stakeholders to fully analyze the bill. Several organizations within the HIV/AIDS community raised concerns with the bill, but it passed quickly without time for much revision. Now the House is refusing to consider several health bills until the Senate passes a NIH bill that the committee has not had sufficient time to consider. Our concerns about the bill are outlined below:

(1) Authority of the Director to Eliminate Institutes/Centers/Offices: The House version of the bill not only caps the number of Institutes and Centers at the existing level (27), but it also gives the director the explicit authority to reorganize (including eliminate) institutes/centers/offices without congressional approval. Current law allows the Director to create and reorganize institutes and centers as necessary, but with a new cap on the total number, in order for the Director to create something new he would have to eliminate something already in existence. Thus, he now has greater incentive to eliminate an institute or center to make way for a new one.

Current law does not, however, apply to the reorganization of the offices within the Office of the Director, but the House bill does provide the Director with this authority. Therefore, the bill gives the Director the new authority to eliminate offices such as the Office of AIDS Research without congressional approval. An office/institute/center, especially one created by congressional mandate, should not in danger of elimination by the politically-appointed Director of the NIH unless approved by Congress.

Our suggestion: If the reorganization provision must be included in the bill, a provision must be added protecting any office/institute/center from elimination unless approved by Congress. (Failed Capps Amendment in the House would have protected any office/institute/center created by congressional mandate from elimination, except by congressional mandate.)

(2) Division of Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives: The House bill creates a new Division to oversee the trans-NIH initiatives that will be carried out using common fund money. This Division has been modeled after the very successful Office of AIDS Research, which serves as a coordinating body for AIDS research across the institutes and centers. The Division would be housed in the Office of the Director, with the existing offices of the Office of the Director falling below it. With an additional layer between the offices and the Director of the NIH, this raises concerns about how the offices will operate, and to whom the Director of these offices report.

Our suggestion: The structure of the Division of Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives must be clarified in the bill. It should be explicitly stated the Director of the Office of AIDS Research reports to the Director of the NIH, and not the Director of the Division.

We urge you not to pass an NIH Reauthorization bill that will put too much power into the hands of a politically-appointed NIH Director, and could jeopardize the future of the Office of AIDS Research and other offices, institutes and centers created by Congress to effectively steward public resources.

Thank you,