Excerpts from Senate Appropriations Reports FY 1999-2008
For nine years, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences has ignored Congressional requests to include basic behavioral research in their portfolio. Many of these requests came in the form of appropriations report language, and cited the public law that required NIGMS to conduct such research.
FY 1999
Behavioral science research and training - The Committee encourages NIGMS to support basic research training as part of its mandate to support basic research training in all areas of health-related research. (S. Rept. 105-300)
FY 2000
Behavioral science research and training - The Committee is concerned that NIGMS does not support behavioral science research or training. As the only national institute specifically mandated to support research not targeted to specific diseases or disorders, there is a range of basic behavioral research and training that NIGMS could be supporting. The Committee urges NIGMS, in consultation with the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences, to behavioral science research community and other national institutes and offices, to identify basic behavioral science research and training priorities and to develop a plan for implementing those priorities. (S. Rept. 106-166)
FY 2001
Behavioral science research and training - The Committee is concerned that NIGMS does not support behavioral science research training. As the only Institute mandated to support research not targeted to specific diseases or disorders, there is a range of basic behavioral research and training that NIGMS could be supporting. The Committee urges NIGMS, in consultation with the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences, to develop a plan for pursuing the most promising research topics in this area. (S. Rept. 106-293)
FY 2002
Behavioral science research and training - The Committee is concerned that NIGMS does not support behavioral science research training. As the only Institute mandated to support research not targeted to specific diseases or disorders, there is a range of basic behavioral research and training that NIGMS could be supporting. The Committee urges NIGMS, in consultation with the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences, to develop a plan for pursuing the most promising research topics in this area. (S. Rept. 107-84)
FY 2003
Behavioral science research and training - As the NIH institute most concerned with basic research, the NIGMS has provided leadership in basic research on physiological and biological structures and functions that may play roles in numerous health conditions. The Committee encourages the NIGMS to develop collaborations with other Institutes, such as the NCI and the NIMH, and the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research to fund basic research to integrate physiological knowledge of pre-disease pathways with behavioral studies. (S. Rept. 107-216)
FY 2004
Behavioral Research - The Committee believes that NIGMS has a scientific mandate to support basic behavioral research because of the clear relevance of fundamental behavioral factors to a variety of diseases and health conditions. The Committee encourages the NIGMS to incorporate basic behavioral research as part of its portfolio, especially in the areas of cognition, behavioral neuroscience, behavioral genetics, psychophysiology, methodology and evaluation, and experimental psychology. (S.Rpt. 108-81)
FY 2005
Basic Behavioral Science - The legislative mandate for NIGMS specifically includes behavioral science research, although NIGMS does not now support behavioral science research or training. Given the wide range of fundamental behavioral topics with relevance to a variety of diseases and health conditions, the Committee encourages NIGMS to incorporate basic behavioral research as part of its portfolio, especially in the areas of cognition, behavioral neuroscience, behavioral genetics, psychophysiology, methodology and evaluation, and experimental psychology (S.Rpt. 108-345)
FY 2006
Basic Behavioral Research - The Committee notes the lack of a positive response to Congressional requests that the NIH establish a basic behavioral research and training program within the National Institute of General Medical Sciences as authorized within the statutory language establishing the Institute. The Committee notes that this recommendation was also made to the Director of NIH by a special task force created by the NIH to review this matter. The Committee believes that this research will support important advances in understanding the wide range of fundamental behavioral topics relevant to a variety of diseases and health conditions. The Committee strongly urges the NIGMS to establish a basic behavioral research and training program as part of its portfolio, especially in the areas of learning, memory, and cognition; behavioral neuroscience; behavioral genetics; the biological basis of behavior; behavior change; stress; psychophysiology; social psychology; methodology and evaluation; and experimental psychology. (S.Rpt. 109-103)
FY 2007
Basic Behavioral Research - OBSSR is congratulated on its tenth anniversary at NIH. The Committee encourages OBSSR to continue working to build alliances among institutes that support and nurture basic behavioral and social sciences research. In particular, the Committee encourages OBSSR to partner with NIGMS and other funders of basic research to enhance support for work on methods, animal models, and the interplay of biological factors, behavioral and social influences underlying phenomena such as stress that influence multiple health conditions. (S.Rpt. 109-287)
FY 2008
Behavioral Research - The Committee continues to be concerned that the NIGMS does not support basic behavioral research. The Institute's statutory mandate includes basic behavioral research and training, and the Committee believes that the NIGMS has a scientific mandate in this area because of the clear relevance of fundamental behavioral factors to a variety of diseases and health conditions. To date, the NIGMS has not responded to this concern despite the recommendation of an NIH working group that called for the establishment of such a program, and similar recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, and others. The Committee expects the NIGMS to support basic behavioral research and training. (S.Rpt. 110-107)
Basic Behavioral Research - The Committee is aware that basic behavioral research focused on such areas as cognition, perception, emotion, social interaction, and learning have led to important advances and improved treatments for depression, bipolar and other affective disorders, diabetes, compliance on behavior change related to diabetes, heart disease, cancer, obesity, and more effective public health announcements and interventions. In view of the fact that 8 out of the 10 leading causes of death have a significant behavioral component and that basic research is the underpinning of advances in behavioral research, the Committee is concerned by the continued lack of focus of scientific leadership at NIH for this important field of science. It is therefore requested that the Director submit a report to the Committee by December 1, 2007, indicating the scientific leadership structure for this field within the appropriate grant-making Institute. (S.Rpt.110-107)