President’s FY2022 Budget Request – On May 28^th the White House released the FY2022 Budget Request.  The Request includes $882 million for VA Research, an increase of 10.9% from the FY2021 enacted level.  See pages 24-26 for more details:    https://www.va.gov/budget/docs/summary/fy2022VAbudgetInBrief.pdf 

FOVA Testimony  - On May 27^th, the House Veterans Affairs Committee held a hearing on VA infrastructure. The FOVA Executive Committee (of which NAVREF is a member) submitted the attached written testimony.

Legislative Update – the House FY22 MilCon-VA bill was posted on June 24th and proposed $902M for VA research per the request advocated by the FOVA coalition!  This level of funding is $20 million above the Administration’s request.  NAVREF, as part of The Friends of VA Medical Care and Health Research (FOVA) executive committee, is endorsing $902 million for VA research by submitting a Statement for Record to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies in advance of their upcoming hearing.

The Friends of VA Medical Care and Health Research Executive Committee submitted a letter to congressional leaders encouraging additional investment in VA research facilities and IT infrastructure.  The letter is posted here: http://www.friendsofva.org/resources/2021/05.20.21Letter.pdf. 

The House Veterans Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on VA infrastructure this week

b.      The National Science Foundation for the Future Act (H.R.2225) was marked up and reported out of the House Science Research and Technology Subcommittee by a unanimous voice vote. 

c.       The Schumer/Young Endless Frontier Act was marked up last week by the Senate Commerce Committee.  On Monday, Senators voted to invoke cloture, allowing the measure to move to a floor debate and likely a final vote later this month.

a.            Public Service Announcement.  On April 22, 2021, Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Ranking Member Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) launched a bipartisan public service announcement (PSA) encouraging veterans and their families to get vaccinated. Tester and Moran teamed up with committee members and Veterans Service Organizations — Blinded Veterans Association (BVA), Disabled American Veterans (DAV), The American Legion, Nurses Organization of Veterans Affairs (NOVA), Iraq Afghanistan Veterans Association (IAVA), Military Veterans Advocacy, Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), as well as Veterans and Military Families for Progress (VMFP) — to highlight the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine in a bipartisan effort to increase vaccine confidence among veterans—especially those in rural areas—and help communities recover from the pandemic as quickly as possible.  Click here to watch the Senators’ PSA.

b.            Foreign Influence.  The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (SHELP) Committee met April 22 to discuss how to protect US biomedical research from “undue foreign influence.”  Policymakers have long been concerned that other countries, particularly China, are stealing intellectual property resulting from biomedical research conducted in the United States. They point to the relatively large number of foreign graduate students involved in academic research programs. Over the past year, there have been charges of hacking attempts from North Korea to gain access to information concerning the COVID-19 vaccines.

c.             Veterans’ toxic exposures.  So far, several pieces of legislation have been introduced to expand coverage of veterans’ health conditions that appear to have been caused by toxic exposures. In a Congress with deep, deep political divides, this appears to be the single most bipartisan issue on both sides of the Hill.

d.            Endless Frontier Act (EFA) Update: Another important development in the R&D arena is the reintroduction (with bipartisan support) of the Schumer/Young Endless Frontier Act. The legislation would add a Technology and Innovation Directorate to NSF and authorize $100 billion for the directorate over five years. The bill would also authorize $10 billion for regional technology hubs. The new bill reflects the recommendations of key science & technology leaders.

a.            Paycheck Protection Program Extension Act – On March 30th, President Biden signed into law the two-month extension to apply for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan. As a refresher, the legislation extends PPP through May 31. Further, if eligible organizations apply by May 31, the Small Business Administration will permit lenders an additional 30 days to process and approve any outstanding applications.  The maximum loan amount of a second PPP loan is two-and-a-half times the average monthly 2019 or 2020 payroll costs, up to $2 million.  Eligibility criteria for a second PPP loan are as follows:

• The applicant received a first PPP loan and will or has used the loan only for authorized uses;
• The applicant employs no more than 300 people; and
• The applicant can demonstrate at least a 25-percent reduction in gross receipts between comparable quarters in 2019 and 2020.

b.            The administration’s proposed American Jobs Plan/Build Back Better includes an $18 billion commitment to address VA hospital and clinic infrastructure. 

March 24 – Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs hearing:  Coping during COVID:  Veterans’ Mental Health and Implementation of the Hannon Act

Advocacy Update. 

•                                                                i.      Committee chair Rep. Takano (D-CA) said, in the coming year, they must work to account for service members’ toxic exposures during their military service. He also wants to do more to ensure equality in veterans’ access to benefits. That will mean hearing from organizations that represent traditionally underserved communities.
•                                                              ii.      Committee ranking member Rep. Bost (R-IL) said he wants to focus on improving health services for women veterans, and streamlining and easing the transition process out of the military into the civilian world. He wants to ensure the VA’s implementation of a new electronic health record goes smoothly. Among other priorities, Bost stressed the importance of continuing to work to prevent suicide among veterans.

Health:

o Chair: Rep. Brownley (C-CA)

o Ranking Member: Rep. Bergman (R-MI)

Oversight and Investigations:

o Chair: Rep. Pappas (D-NH)

o Ranking Member: Rep. Mann (R-KS)

Technology Modernization:

o Chair: Rep. Mrvan (D-IN)

o Ranking Member: Rep. Rosendale (R-MT)

Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs:

o Chair: Rep. Luria (D-VA)

o Ranking Member: Rep. Nehls (R-TX)

Economic Opportunity:

o Chair: Rep. Levin (D-CA)

o Ranking Member: Rep. Moore (R-AL)

President Joe Biden’s pick to head the Department of Veterans Affairs, Denis McDonough, appeared before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee on January 27th for his confirmation hearing.

The former Obama administration White House Chief of Staff was questioned by Senators who were concerned about the impact the transition would have on the Department of Veteran Affairs to cope with the coronavirus pandemic.

Committee Chairman, Senator Jon Tester from Montana, said the VA had tested nearly 1.3 million veterans and employees for COVID-19. “And now there are more than 8300 veteran families who are without their loved ones, including the more than 3100 VA is cared for within its facilities,” he said.

McDonough testified that President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden take the duty of caring for veterans seriously, because they “are members of a proud military family.”

“If confirmed, I will dedicate myself with every fiber of my being to fulfilling what President Biden rightly refers to as our country’s most sacred obligation: to prepare and equip our troops that we send into harm’s way and to care for them and their families when they return,” he said.

McDonough was also asked to support veteran caregivers and address the issue of veteran suicide.

FY 2021 Appropriations. Senate Republicans released an explanatory statement and text of their FY 2021 spending bill, including a total of $800 million for VA research, which would provide no increase over the comparable FY 2020 funding level. The press statement and highlights prepared by the committee staff are also available.

The FOVA Executive Committee sent a Nov. 16 letter to House and Senate Appropriations Committee leaders (also attached) urging passage of at least $840 million for the VA Medical and Prosthetic Research program in FY 2021, as included in the House-passed MilCon-VA spending bill. Please forward this letter to your Hill contacts urging appropriators to increase the VA research budget during this critical time for medical research.

Bicameral appropriations leaders are working to negotiate topline spending levels for all 12 FY 2021 spending bills in hopes of finalizing an omnibus appropriations package by the end of the calendar year. The current continuing resolution is set to expire on December 11.

VA COVID-19 Research Activities. The VA Office of Research and Development publishes regular communications about its COVID-19 research efforts. The ORD webpage “VA Research During the COVID-19 Pandemic” is updated regularly, and the recent Research Currents edition focused on COVID-19 efforts at VA.

Clinical Repurposing Funding Opportunity. The global nonprofit Cures Within Reach recently launched the Clinical Repurposing for Veterans Initiative.  The program’s goal is to identify new medical treatments for already approved medications and devices to impact high-priority health concerns for veterans and active military. Cures Within Reach is launching its Clinical Repurposing for Veterans Initiative with a Request for Proposals (RFP) specifically for repurposing research in any disease area that will benefit veterans. Investigator-initiated proposals can come from any US-based institution, and at least one project will be selected to receive a $50,000 grant from Cures Within Reach and its funding partner, the Kahlert Foundation for a clinical repurposing trial. Additional details are in the attached press release or at cureswithinreach.org.