Freedom of Information Act Office
IC Directors' Meeting Highlights
October 31, 2011
| To: | IC Directors |
| Subject: | IC Directors' Meeting Highlights — August 11, 2011 |
Dr. Collins made brief announcements on the deaths of Dr. Bernadine Healy, former NIH Director from 1991 to 1993, and former Senator Mark O. Hatfield, Oregon, whose legacy lives on at the NIH Clinical Center.
Leadership Forum update
A draft agenda for the September 8, 2011, Leadership Forum was reviewed by the IC Directors. There will be five sessions co-moderated by IC Directors. This will be an all day meeting at Building 60, the Cloisters, here on the NIH campus. A special dinner speaker is to be determined.
Special ICD Meeting on Thursday, August 18, from 8:00 AM to 8:45 AM
This special meeting is being convened to discuss a publication currently under embargo.
Debt Limit Update: Neil Shapiro
Mr. Shapiro discussed the Summary of the Budget Control Act of 2011 as provided by the ASFR Office of Budget. The Act requires that Congress vote on a joint resolution proposing a balanced budget amendment no later than December 31, 2011. The Act provides for a cumulative increase to the debt limit of between $2.1 T and $2.4T over 10 years. This two part process establishes a procedure to increase the debt limit by $400 B initially and allows the limit to be raised further.
The Act has an impact on the FY12 and FY13 HHS discretionary programs and establishes and provides for adjustments to caps and discretionary spending through FY 2021. The initial two years require caps for security spending and non-security. All discretionary appropriations to HHS are, by law, non-security. The Act also makes changes to the Pell Grant by increasing mandatory funding and student loan programs.
Possible Options for FY13 NIH Budget Process: Francis Collins
Dr. Collins noted that OMB has yet to provide a passback and that the budget process has been focused on various models for NIH. It is certain that NIH will be required to provide a spread across all ICs and three options were presented to the IC Directors in effort on focusing on how we should proceed.
For FY13, three themes were proposed to the Department framing basic research, translational research, and training in the workforce. Director discussion emphasized a combination of the options proposed with an overall consensus for Option 3 to build upon the FY11 process focusing on specific areas of emphasis in the ICs which looks at cost and increases in the quality of life. A question remained, however, on mandated programs and how or if they could be cut.
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