Water Update
Level 2 includes many mandatory water restrictions. In addition, all voluntary Level 1 conservation practices become mandatory.
The new restrictions will affect the average San Diegan in a variety of ways but are intended to help us all become aware of what we can do to save water. Some of the restrictions include limitations on the number of days and length of time yards and gardens can be watered, vehicle washing is permitted only in the hours between 6 p.m. and 10 a.m. with a hand-held container or a hand-held hose with a positive shut-off nozzle for quick rinses, many water features are now banned, a requirement to fix leaks more quickly than before and mandates to end water waste all with the potential for citations and fines if the new restrictions are violated. For a complete list of restrictions please visit the City of San Diego’s website: http://www.sandiego.gov/water/conservation/drought/droughtlevels2.shtml
Not all water agencies and cities in the San Diego region will implement cut backs on June 1st. For a listing of how the different water agencies address cut backs, visit the San Diego County Water Authority’s web site: http://www.sdcwa.org/manage/droughtordinance_agencies.phtml
Healthcare Reform
Unless you’ve been in a cave, you’ve probably heard that Congress and the Administration are attempting to formulate health care reform that will leave most or all Americans with health care coverage. Currently, it is estimated that 15-18% of the US population is without health insurance.
The President has said he wants health care reform passed by both houses by their August recess, although many independent observers have expressed doubts that it can happen this quickly. But the Senate has begun substantive work towards crafting at least two alternative plans, and the House will soon begin its work. Some of the most contentious points will be the extent to which a “public option,” or government run plan, will be involved; whether employers will be required to provide health care; and how the plan, estimated to cost upwards of one trillion dollars, will be paid for.
To have the most impact at this point in the process, it is important that one contacts the Members of Congress who are on the “committees of jurisdiction,” the committees charged with writing the legislation. In the House of Representatives, the duties will be shared by the Ways and Means Committee, the Energy and Commerce Committee, and the Education and Workforce Committee. In the Senate, work has begun in both the Senate Finance Committee and the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Members of these committees are available in the Public Policy section of the BIOCOM website.
Many eyes are fixed on the debate in the Senate, as Finance Chair Baucus and HELP Chair Kennedy have sharply divergent views on what health reform should look like, with Senator Baucus favoring a broadening of the private model while Senator Kennedy appears to support a greatly expanded public program.
Stay tuned to the BIOCOMMUNIQUE for updates on this process and how YOU can be involved.
Improving America’s Health V— a survey of the working relationship between the life sciences industry and the FDA
BIOCOM and PricewaterhouseCoopers (“PwC”) are pleased to announce that they are moving forward with conducting a 2009 FDA Survey, entitled “Improving America’s Health V—a survey of the working relationship between the life sciences industry and the FDA.”
As you may recall, our survey results over the past decade show an evolution of valuable insight into the relationship between life sciences companies and the FDA. The report that results from our 2009 survey are expected to provide an in-depth understanding of the interaction and communication between the FDA and the life sciences industry, as well as provide recommendations that can be implemented for improvements around the working relationship between the Agency and the industry.
We believe your participation in this survey will be highly valuable, to your organization, the FDA and to the life sciences community as a whole. BIOCOM urges you to get involved. Please send an email to PricewaterhouseCoopers.and.BIOCOM@us.pwc.com with “Life Sciences FDA Survey” in the subject line to obtain more information on how to participate. Thank you
Legislative Roundtables
BIOCOM Legislative Roundtables – MAY
This May, BIOCOM had the pleasure of hosting two members of Congress during a Congressional district work period for BIOCOM's ongoing Legislative Roundtable series.
Congressman Brian Bilbray
On May 26, Congressman Brian Bilbray visited with BIOCOM Members to discuss issues facing the life sciences industry.
Congressmember Brian Bilbray, who represents a substantial portion of the San Diego life science cluster, is a Co-Chair of the bipartisan Congressional Biomedical Research Caucus (CBRC) and has assisted the life science community with issues related to patent reform, stem cell research, and biomedical research by leading a bipartisan group of Representatives in signing a letter (click here to view a copy of the letter) which calls for "an increase for NIH of at least 7%, with some of us believing that the appropriate funding increase would be as much as 10%."
Bilbray spoke to BIOCOM members about patent reform and stated he believed that "health should trump cell phone innovation." He also spoke of his tragic personal experience of losing an infant child, which led him to become a staunch advocate for biomedical research and work to ensure no family ever has to live through that kind of tragedy and loss. Congressman Bilbray said he was "committed to helping the industry get the resources they need to create the miracles that save lives, and we should be celebrating these miracles together."
The Congressmember also touched on the need for increased funding to the NIH. When adjusted for inflation, funding for medical research conducted and supported by the NIH has declined thirteen percent since 2003. Bilbray stated "we need to stop the peak and valley pattern of funding NIH. We must find a way to put more resources into medical research."
Congressman Ken Calvert
On May 29, BIOCOM had the pleasure of hosting Congressman Ken Calvert at BIOCOM's continuing Legislative Roundtable series.
Congressmember Calvert started out by speaking with members about becoming familiar with the biotechnology industry through his monitoring of the Human Genome Project while sitting on the House Science Committee and joked, "a lot has happened since then!"
Calvert is a member of the House Appropriations Committee. The Appropriations Committee reviews all funding bills and is one of the most influential committees of the House because approximately 40% of all federal spending is appropriated through the House and Senate Appropriations Committees.
Calvert listened to members speak of the difficulties caused by the recession, an absence of investors, lack of access to capital and the frustration that the life sciences industry was largely left out of the economic stimulus package. Calvert offered to help the industry find a way to close the gap and offered advice, "there is a ton of money out there but people are not investing, we need to use tax incentives to get risk capital back in line. Tax credits appropriated through Ways and Means are 100% risk free and the biotechnology industry should be working with other industries and put together a tax policy that works for small businesses." He also discussed the capital potentially available if laws regarding multi-national companies repatriating overseas funds were changed. During the meeting, the Congressmember also touched on Health Care Reform, saying "every one of us has a stake in Healthcare Reform. Let's fix what we have instead of destroy what we've got." He also shared his thoughts on where the process may lead.
BIOCOM Legislative Roundtables are regular events which bring together our members and their elected officials in a casual environment to discuss the relevant political and policy issues of the day. We would like to thank Congressmembers Bilbray and Calvert for their insight and taking the time to meet with our members. For more information on Legislative Roundtables, please contact Faith Picking.