ASTMH Advocacy Highlights - November 2013

ASTMH Council Advocacy UpdateJodie Curtis, Senior Government Relations Director

Erin Will Morton, Senior Government Relations Manager

ASTMH 2013 Annual Meeting 2

Sequestration

- Everyone agrees it is a bad thing

- Many on both sides of the aisle want to get rid of it, but how?

Travel cuts

- Impacted by sequestration but separate and apart from sequestration

Government shutdown

- Negative impact on research

What’s happening now?


ASTMH Accomplishments: May – November, 2013


Submitted public testimony in June to the Senate Labor, Health and Human

Services, and Education (LHHS) appropriations subcommittee regarding fiscal

year 2014 requests for NIH

Sent letter to Secretary Sebelius requesting the participation of their employees

at the annual ASTMH meeting

Advocated for sustained global health R&D funding at NIH

ASTMH language about Fogarty Center’s work included Senate Appropriations

Report

ASTMH Advocacy: NIH


FY 14 Senate Report Language: FIC (submitted by ASTMH)


Submitted public testimony in June to the Senate Labor, Health and Human

Services, and Education (LHHS) appropriations subcommittee regarding fiscal

year 2014 requests for CDC

Sent letter to Dr. Frieden requesting the participation of their employees at the

annual ASTMH meeting

Participated in coalition efforts to raise awareness of the importance of CDC’s

work in global health and infectious disease

ASTMH Advocacy: CDC


Submitted public testimony in July to the Defense appropriations subcommittee

regarding fiscal year 2014 funding for R&D within the DoD

Sent letters to House and Senate Defense legislative assistants in honor of

World Malaria Day and requesting support for MIDRP, WRAIR, and NMRC

Letters to Army and Navy officials, requesting the participation of their

employees at the annual ASTMH meeting in November

Co-chair DoD advocacy working group (inside-the-beltway coalition)

ASTMH Advocacy: DoD


FY 14 House Report Language: DoD (in partnership with PATH & GHTC)


Endorsed and advocated for H.R. 1515, the 21st Century Global Health

Technology Act

Participated in community advocacy efforts for USAID highlighting the

importance of R&D within each of USAID’s global health programs—especially

NTDs

Submitted report language in partnership with GHTC and DNDi that was

accepted in the FY 2014 Senate Appropriations Report

ASTMH Secondary Advocacy: USAID


FY 14 House Report Language: USAID NTD (in partnership with DNDi)


Multi-year process

Peter Hotez elected ASTMH President and brings more attention of NTDs to policymakers

Council members do Hill visits and include NTDs as a topic

Drinker Biddle continues with Hill visits in DC

ASTMH cosponsors and ASTMH members speak at congressional briefings about NTDs

First-ever Congressional hearing on NTDs

- ASTMH supported House Foreign Affairs hearing on NTDs

- ASTMH advocacy laid the groundwork for hearing

- ASTMH actively engaged with Members of Congress and Hill staff at the hearing

Advocacy Case Study: First-Ever Congressional Hearing on NTDs – How does an issue get traction?


Dave Walker

Alan Magill

Dan Bausch

Stephen Dobson

Kayla Laserson

Pat Walker

Pete Zimmerman

Karen Goraleski

Jacci Schiff

ASTMH Council Hill Day: May 6, 2013

17 Congressional Office Visits12 Senate5 House8 Dem9 Rep


ASTMH moderated a Capitol Hill briefing on the cholera epidemic in Haiti and the Dominican Republic

47 Hill staff attended


Multi-partner engagement:

Reception highlighting R&D needs for Chagas disease


NTD briefing highlighting the need for USAID investment in R&D in the current NTD program

Thank you letter to Reps. Bass (D-CA), and Roybal-Allard (D-CA) for supporting the event


Rep. Albio Sires (NJ-8) and Mario Diaz-Albert (FL-25) for introducing H.R. 1515, the “21st

Century Global Health Technology Act”

Rep. Christopher Smith (NJ-4) for convening the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global

Human Rights, and International Organizations’ hearing, “Addressing the Neglected Diseases

Treatment Gap”

Rep. Ander Crenshaw (FL-4) for sponsoring House Resolution 35, supporting the goals and

ideals of World Malaria Day and reaffirming US leadership and support for efforts to combat

malaria

Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Thad Cochran (R-MS), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Jim Inhofe (R-OK),

Mark Kirk (R-IL), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Patty Murray (D-WA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Barbara

Mikulski (D-MD), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) for co-sponsoring of Senate Resolution 119

regarding World Malaria Day

ASTMH Thank-You Letters


Letter to OMB Director thanking the administration for its continued support for

global health research and development programs and asking for funding to be

sustained at HHS, NIH, CDC, FDA, USAID, and DoD in FY 2015

Letter regarding the National Science Foundation’s merit review process and

addressing the concerns of shifting away from "scientific merit" as the ultimate

criteria for determining which science to fund

InterAction Global Health Briefing book sections on malaria and neglected

tropical diseases

ASTMH Sign-on Letters


Life in Washington


Very partisan

Ineffective Congress

Low approval rating

Unable to move legislation in

regular order

No budget

What’s really going on…


New budget conference committee

FY 2014 continuing resolution expires January 15

Debt ceiling expires February 7

Sequestration

FY 2015 funding

On Deck…


FY 2014 BudgetAgency FY 12 Final FY 2014 President FY 2014 Senate FY 2014 House

NIH $30,868,000,000 $31,331,387,000 $30,954,976,000 N/A

NIAID $4,487,000,000 $4,578,813,000 $4,548,383,000 N/A

Fogarty $70,000,000 $72,864,000 $72,380,000 N/A

CDC $5,655,670,000 $5,834,173,000 $6,183,769,000 N/A

CDC Parasitic Diseases and Malaria

$22,069,000 $22,231,000 $19,334,000 N/A

Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Disease

$310,393,000 $380,664,000 $283,237,000 N/A

Global Health/Child Survival (USAID)

$2,629,800,000 $2,645,000,000 $2,785,000,000 $2,505,000,000

USAID NTDs $89,000,000 $85,000,000 $100,000,000 N/A

USAID Malaria $650,000,000 $670,000,000 $667,000,000 $650,000,000


First ever ASTMH “Hill Day” with

general membership

12 members volunteered time to

advocate on the Hill

Global health community support

Training for advocates

ASTMH Hill Day: Tuesday, November 12


ASTMH Hill Day


17 Hill Meetings

- 11 Senate/6 House

- 12 Democrats/5 Republicans

“I hope you know how great and

important it is that you came to

Capitol Hill to do this. Folks up here

need to hear from real scientists.” Eric

in Senator Gillibrand’s (D-NY) office

ASTMH Hill Day


Increase CapWiz participation

Repeat our message

Continue to engage with the community on global health funding priorities

Advocate R&D message on the Hill and with the community

Hill meetings, testimony, and briefings must continue

Social media and advocacy

Continue to raise advocacy issues in the ASTMH newsletter and blog

Advocacy Webinars

Increase participation in Hill Days

Create a culture of advocacy within the Society

ASTMH Engagement – Next Steps

ASTMH Advocacy Highlights - November 2013

Health & Medicine

Transcript of ASTMH Advocacy Highlights - November 2013