Biophysical Society Bulletin | June 2022

Public Affairs

Register Now for the 2022 Rally for Medical Research Join the Biophysical Society, and more than 300 national STEM organizations and professionals, for the 2022 Rally for Medical Research on September 13–14 (https:/www.biophysics.org/policy-advocacy/take-action). The Rally is an opportunity to advocate for significant, long-term, sustainable funding increases for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). While the NIH has seen continued increases in funding since Fiscal Year 2016 totaling $15.4 billion (a 51% increase), the proposed increase in President Joe Biden ’s Fiscal Year 2023 budget is one of the smallest in recent years. In addition, significant funds are being directed at standing up the newly created Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). It is imperative that researchers like you let Congress know of the ongoing need to invest in basic and biomedical scientific research. If the United States wants to remain on the cutting edge of scientific research and attract the best and brightest minds in STEM, we must continue to invest in research. Participating BPS members will be scheduled for appointments based on their home address and will be provided with all necessary talking points for meeting with members of Congress. Register now to ensure that Congress provides a long-term plan for research funding (https:/www.biophysics.org/policy-advocacy/take-action). For more information about the Rally, please contact Leann Fox, Director of Advocacy and Public Policy, at lfox@biophysics.org with any questions.

ARPA-H to Be within NIH but Independently Managed by HHS

fund them almost immediately. It will fund fast-paced, high risk projects meant to accelerate the development of medical treatments. Becerra’s decision faces challenges from both the House and the Senate. While a bill in the Senate supports making ARPA-H part of NIH but specifies that its physical location will be far from the agency’s campus, a House proposal would make ARPA-H completely independent. Representative Anna Eshoo (D-CA), the House bill’s sponsor, vocally opposes plac ing ARPA-H within the organizational chart of NIH. Some lawmakers have expressed concerns that NIH’s 27 other institutes will receive fewer resources due to the focus on ARPA-H. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services Ranking Member Tom Cole (R-OK) has voiced his opposition to shifting funding away from basic and biomedical research into a brand-new program that will take time to get up and running. His concerns are shared by others on Capitol Hill that the push to fund ARPA-H could result in diminishing emphasis and financial investments for other work being done by NIH.

With the passage of the 2022 federal spending bill came the creation of a new high-risk, high-reward biomedical research agency, ARPA-H. The new agency will exist as a new mem ber of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) family, with a distinct mission that will focus on rapid applica tion of knowledge and catalyzing breakthrough medicines and technologies. HHS was given the power to decide whether the agency would be independent or a part of NIH. On March 30, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra announced that ARPA-H will be a part of NIH. The NIH has a long history of funding basic research projects aimed at achieving attainable goals that don’t have strict benchmarks for success. NIH contracts are typically multiple years long, allowing projects latitude for scientific exploration. In contrast, like the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), ARPA-H will likely hire program managers on short-term contracts who will solicit research ideas and

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