February 7, 2008

The Federation of Animal Science Societies (FASS) supports seminars to inform and educate Congressional
staff members and other policy stakeholders.

Can FASS have an impact on science policy? The short answer is not by itself. Numerous organizations have considerably more resources to apply to influence science and public policy than FASS. However, FASS has participated with numerous coalitions that share similar goals. One coalition is the National Coalition for Food and Agricultural Research (NCFAR). On January 14 I met with other members of the NCFAR Research Outreach Committee to plan the seminar series for 2008. The seminars are held in the House of Representatives Agriculture Committee hearing room and are focused on informing Congressional staff members and other policy stakeholders about the value of public investment in food and agriculture research. We planned eight seminars for this year. The seminar on June 9 will be “Recombinant DNA Processes—Development of Animal Vaccines and Avian Influenza Vaccine Development Programs.” Another seminar, which will be September 8, will focus on the role of science in making food safety decisions when data are incomplete. Since 2005 the members of NCFAR have supported 22 seminars. FASS has been listed as a sponsoring organization and will continue to participate this year.

Will the FY 2008 appropriation for the National Science Foundation (NSF) affect the animal sciences?

Although the grants administered by USDA continue to be the primary federal source of research dollars for US animal scientists, the NSF has become an additional source for some funding of animal scientists. FASS is a member of the Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF), which works to secure adequate funding for the NSF. On January 15 the CNSF held its monthly meeting. The focus of the meeting was a discussion of the likely impacts of the FY 2008 appropriations for the NSF. There were anecdotal indications that the budget is influencing some NSF-funded projects. If you are affiliated with a university, I encourage you to do a little checking to see if your institution is seeing any impact of the 2008 NSF budget. If you discover some examples, please send them to me so I can share them with the other members of the CNSF. On February 4 Dr. John Marburger, director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, will provide an overview of the FY 2009 Federal Research and Development Budget. In the February report I will provide a summary of the presentation.

House and Senate 2007 Farm Bills: watch to see what happens in the Research Title.

The 2007 Farm Bill has been a frequent topic in the agricultural news reports in print and audio outlets for many months. Most of the discussion has been on titles other than the Research Title. However, to members of the FASS societies, the Research Title may be the most important. There are significant differences between the two versions. I have participated in several activities with commodity groups or coalitions to review the Title in the past several months. The primary lobbying efforts of the commodity organizations are not on the Research Title, but they are willing to support the Research Title through coalitions with which we are associated. A couple of major differences to note will be outlined below; it remains to be seen what the final product will look like. Currently, there are four agencies (ARS, CSREES, ERS, and NASS) within the USDA Research, Extension, and Economics (REE) mission area, each with separate entries in the President’s budget request. The House version requires that the President’s annual budget submission be a unified request for all REE mission area agencies. The Senate version requires the Under Secretary of REE to collaborate with USDA research officials to develop a coordinated research agenda across all components of the research mission. Currently, the REE agency’s budget is administered by the respective officers. The House version establishes a National Agricultural Research Program Office (with a six-member board of directors) to administer the unified budget of REE. The Senate version transfers all the budget authority of CSREES to a newly created National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA). The current National Research Initiative is changed significantly in both the House and Senate versions. The House version creates a National Institute for Food and Agriculture (not to be confused with the Senate NIFA) that consolidates all competitive research, education, and extension programs, including the current NRI and IFAFS, which are merged. The Senate version creates a NIFA that replaces CSREES with four offices. The Senate version then formalizes coordination between ARS and NIFA.

Please stay informed on what happens in the Research Title of the 2007 Farm Bill. The President has threatened to veto the entire bill if changes to other titles are not made.