🚀 go-pugleaf

FYI; folk from disciplines other than psychology may want to weigh in on
this issue as well. -- Jim

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Jim Cassell                                    CASSELL@UNCVM1.OIT.UNC.EDU
Institute for Research in Social Science       CASSELL@UNCVM1.BITNET
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill       Phone:  919-962-0782
Chapel Hill, NC  27599-3355                    Fax:    919-962-4777
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----------------------------Original message----------------------------
                                             March 27, 1992

ACTION ALERT

TO:       APA MEMBERS INTERESTED IN SEXUAL BEHAVIOR
          RESEARCH AND THE INTEGRITY OF FEDERAL
          RESEARCH EFFORTS

FROM:     Bill Bailey and Brian Wilcox, Ph.D
          Public Policy Office, APA

RE:       SENATE CONTACTS NEEDED FOR UPCOMING VOTE
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         APA, working with other organizations, has successfully
obtained the inclusion of statutory language in the bill (S.2507)
reauthorizing the programs of the National Institutes of Health
(NIH) that should facilitate federal support for sexual behavior
research.  This provision is being targeted for attack during
Senate floor debate on S.2507.  APA members interested in
assuring federal support for sexual behavior research and in
protecting the integrity of the peer review process should
contact their U.S. Senators to urge defeat of any hostile
amendments during Senate
consideration of this measure.

NEED FOR DATA.  The lack of current and accurate national data on
sexual behavior has severely hampered the ability of public
health officials to adequately address the problems of sexually
transmitted disease, unintended pregnancy, sexual abuse and AIDS.

The data currently in use is flawed, fifty year old survey data.
Updated, high quality research is needed to improve public health
efforts to design prevention efforts, to project the incidence
and prevalence of disease and to evaluate the effectiveness of
such
prevention efforts.

BACKGROUND.  Last July, HHS Secretary Louis Sullivan canceled a
grant approved and funded by the NIH that would have surveyed
American youth about factors influencing their avoidance or
adoption of risky activities, including sexual behavior.  This
unprecedented action has endangered the integrity of the
scientific review process at the NIH and threatens the
independence of the federal research enterprise.  The Secretary's
action was reinforced by the U.S. Senate, which adopted an
amendment offered by Sen. Helms (R-NC) transferring funding
intended for sexual behavior research to an abstinence-based teen
pregnancy prevention program.

The combined impact of these actions has had a chilling effect on
sexual behavior research.  Investigators in this field are
beginning to question whether they should continue their research
programs if the federal government has placed this field "off-
limits."  This situation was exacerbated recently when NIH
officials decided not to fund another study of sexual behavior
that had been recommended for funding support by a peer review
panel.  NIH officials acknowledge that their decision to defer
funding of
this grant resulted from the current inhospitable political
climate.

This situation can be reversed.  The most significant reason for
optimism is the House vote of last year in which Rep. Dannemeyer
(R-CA) was defeated by a two to one margin in his effort to
prohibit any federally supported sexual behavior research.

Legislative Strategy.  APA and other organizations approached the
Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee with a request that
the Committee include language addressing this situation in the
legislation reauthorizing the National Institutes of Health-
-legislation then under consideration in the Committee.  The
Committee-passed bill includes language in Section 206 that
directs the HHS Secretary to convene an "ethics advisory board"
for the purpose of assessing whether this research should be
conducted.

The report accompanying this legislation states:

     ...the Committee is concerned that funding for three recent
     studies designed to gather the necessary data has been
     blocked by the Department of Health and Human Services for
     non- scientific reasons, despite merit review and approval
     ...It is the Committee's intent to ensure that the National
     Institutes of Health conduct or support scientifically
     meritorious research on human sexual behavior designed to
     address public health concerns.

The bill containing this provision may be considered by the full
Senate in the next several weeks.  We urgently need you to
contact your U.S. Senators, listed on the attached sheet, urging
their opposition to any amendments limiting or restricting the
conduct of sexual behavior research.

CONTACTS WITH U.S. SENATORS ARE URGENTLY NEEDED !!

THE MESSAGE:  SENATORS SHOULD ACTIVELY OPPOSE ANY
AMENDMENTS OFFERED ON THE SENATE FLOOR THAT WOULD
RESTRICT THE CONDUCT OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR RESEARCH AND
VOTE AGAINST ANY PROPOSAL TO ELIMINATE OR UNDERMINE
THE INTENT OF SECTION 206 OF THE NIH REAUTHORIZATION ACT
(S.2507).

When contacting your Senator you should identify yourself as a
psychologist from the state, explain the nature of your interest
in sexual behavior research, express your concern for the
continued integrity of the federal research enterprise, and
describe the
importance of such information in addressing local problems.


HOW TO HELP:       1) CALL YOUR SENATOR WITH THE ABOVE MESSAGE

2) FOLLOW THIS CONTACT WITH A LETTER OR TELEGRAM.  (YOUR LETTERS
SHOULD BE RECEIVED IN WASHINGTON WITHIN A WEEK OF YOUR RECEIPT OF
THIS ACTION ALERT IN ORDER TO HAVE THE NECESSARY IMPACT).

To contact your Senators:

o    Call the Congressional switchboard at 202/224-3121 and ask
     to speak to your U.S. Senator.  Once connected to the
     Member's office ask to speak to the person who handles
     health/NIH issues.

o    Telegram your Senators by contacting Western Union at
     1-800-325-6000 and ask to send a PUBLIC OPINION MESSAGE.
     The cost is $9.95 for 20 words or less and $3.50 for each
     additional 20 words.

o    Write your Senators by sending mail to: The Honorable
     (Senator's Name), U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510.



SAMPLE LETTER FROM APA MEMBERS TO SENATORS

NOTE:  ALL LETTERS SHOULD BE PERSONALIZED, USING LOCAL
INFORMATION
WHEN CONTACTING YOUR OWN SENATOR.


                                        March 20, 1992
Dear Senator:

     As a psychologist from (name of state), I am writing to
request your support for provisions contained in the
NIH reauthorization bill (S. 2507) intended to facilitate federal
support for sexual behavior research.  Such research is
critically needed in our efforts to prevent unintended
pregnancies, sexually transmitted disease, and AIDS.

     The absence of sound, current national data on sexual
behavior severely limits our ability to address these public
health crises.  Public health officials are now relying on flawed
data that is nearly 50 years old.  New studies designed to
provide up-to-date information are critical to the success of
efforts to project the incidence and prevalence of disease,
design prevention programs, and evaluate the effectiveness of
preventive interventions.

     Actions by the Administration and Congress last year
restricted sexual behavior research and had a chilling effect on
this research field.  Section 206 of the Senate NIH
reauthorization bill would address this situation by requiring
the HHS Secretary to establish a panel to conduct an "ethical
review" of research proposals which have passed peer review
scrutiny but have been held up for political reasons.  This
process is specifically intended to address the problems
constraining sexual behavior research.

     While this provision does not require HHS to support such
research, it will help remove political considerations from the
research funding process.  Depoliticizing the NIH research review
and decision-making process is critically important; failure to
do so could undermine the integrity and credibility of the NIH
and
the federal government's health research programs.

     Please support Section 206 of the NIH reauthorization bill
(S. 2507) and oppose any efforts to weaken this provision or
otherwise restrict the conduct of sexual behavior research.


                                             Sincerely,

      ------------------------------------------------------------
SENATORS WHO SHOULD BE CONTACTED ON SEXUAL BEHAVIOR RESEARCH
(SOME SENATORS HAVE BEEN EXCLUDED FROM THIS LIST)


ALABAMA:       Howell Heflin       NEBRASKA:      Robert Kerrey
               Richard Shelby                     James Exxon

ALASKA:        Ted Stevens         NEVADA:        Harry Reid
               Frank Murkowski                    Richard Bryan

ARIZONA:       Dennis Deconcini    NEW HAMPSHIRE: Warren Rudman

ARKANSAS:      Dale Bumpers        NEW MEXICO:    Jeff Bingaman
               David Pryor                        Pete Domenici

CALIFORNIA:    Alan Cranston       NEW YORK:      Alphonse D'Amato
               John Seymour                       Daniel Moynihan

COLORADO:      Timothy Wirth       NORTH CAROLINA:Terry Sanford
               Hank Brown

CONNECTICUT    Christopher Dodd    NORTH DAKOTA:  Quentin Burdick
               Joseph Lieberman                   Kent Conrad

DELAWARE:      Joseph Biden, Jr.   OHIO:          John Glenn
               William Roth                       Howard Metzenbaum

FLORIDA:       Bob Graham          OKLAHOMA:      David Boren

GEORGIA:       Sam Nunn            OREGON:        Bob Packwood
               Wyche Fowler                       Mark Hatfield

HAWAII:        Daniel Inouye       PENNSYLVANIA:  Harris Wofford
               Daniel Akaka                       Arlen Specter

ILLINOIS:      Paul Simon          RHODE ISLAND:  John Chafee
               Alan Dixon                         Claiborne Pell

IOWA:          Tom Harkin          SOUTH CAROLINA:Ernest Hollings

KANSAS:        Robert Dole         SOUTH DAKOTA:  Larry Pressler
               Nancy Kassebaum                    Thomas Daschle

KENTUCKY:      Wendell Ford        TENNESSEE:     Albert Gore
               Mitch McConnell                    Jim Sasser

LOUISIANA:     Bennett Johnston    TEXAS:         Lloyd Bentsen
               John Breaux

MAINE:         George Mitchell     VERMONT:       Patrick Leahy
               William Cohen                      James Jeffords

MICHIGAN:      Donald Riegle, Jr.  VIRGINIA:      John  Warner
               Carl Levin                         Charles Robb

MINNESOTA:     Dave Durenberger    WASHINGTON:    Brock Adams
               Paul Wellstone                     Slade Gorton

MISSOURI:      John Danforth       WEST VIRGINIA: Robert Byrd
               Christopher Bond                   John Rockefeller

MONTANA:       Max Baucus          WISCONSIN:     Herbert Kohl