Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 2507 - National Institutes of Health Reauthorization Act

(Conference) and SENT to Senate 6/2/92 (Waxman (D) CA and Kennedy (D) MA)

The Administration is strongly committed to the biomedical research of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The Administration urges Congress to enact a simple extension of appropriation authorizations for NIH. The conference agreement on H.R. 2507 is unacceptable. If the conference agreement were presented to the President in its current form, his senior advisers would recommend a veto.

H.R. 2507 is objectionable because it would permit federally funded transplantation research involving human subjects to use fetal tissue from induced abortions. Current policy allows federally funded transplantation research to use fetal tissue from spontaneous abortions or tissue derived from the treatment for an ectopic pregnancy. H.R. 2507 would broaden current policy by allowing the use of tissue from induced abortions as well. This has the potential of providing an incentive for abortions, and it could also create a demand cycle, dependent upon maintaining the legality of induced abortions.

The conference agreement also includes authorization levels that are excessive. The total cost of the provisions in H.R. 2507 could exceed the President's Budget by $3.1 billion.

The Administration has consistently supported major increases in funding for NIH. Since 1989, NIH funding has increased from $7.1 billion to $9.4 billion. However, the authorized levels in the conference report do not represent a realistic level of resources that might be available through the appropriations process. Given the difficult financing problems we face as a Nation, it is irresponsible to create expectations for funding at such unsustainable levels.

The conference agreement would dictate to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) the membership of "ethics boards" used to make decisions regarding the implications of the research conducted by NIH. The Administration believes that this mandate is an unconstitutional encroachment on the President's appointment power under Article II, section 2 of the Constitution. It would confer enormous powers on these panels of private citizens to direct the Federal funding of research, even if that research were not deemed warranted by the Secretary of HHS.

Further, the conference agreement would also allow unwarranted and unwise intrusion into the authority of the Secretary of HHS. The bill is too directive in its effort to expand certain research programs. It would impose activities and a number of advisory committees on NIH that are costly, unnecessary, and duplicate existing efforts in some cases.

If these issues are not satisfactorily resolved, the President's senior advisers will recommend a veto.

Other objectionable provisions contained in the conference agreement would:

— Confer special benefits to a single geographic location by permitting the purchase of up to 300 acres of land for the "establishment of a satellite campus in Maryland."

— Expand the Senior Biomedical Research Service (SBRS) from its current 350 positions to 750 positions. The Administration has not yet been able to evaluate the effectiveness of SBRS in terms of recruitment and retention. Expanding SBRS at this time would be premature.