“The House of Representatives June 25 approved a five-bill spending package (H.R. 3055) including the Military Construction, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies (MilCon-VA) Appropriations bill for fiscal year (FY) 2020. One Democrat joined all Republicans in voting against the measure with a final vote of 227-194.”
“The House June 21 concluded debate on amendments to the MilCon-VA spending bill [see Washington Highlights, May 10], with no topline funding changes in comparison to the subcommittee-approved bill [see Washington Highlights, May 3]. The amendments did not alter the committee-approved funding levels for the VA Medical and Prosthetic Research program; however, several amendments to the Medical Services accounts increased funding for FY 2020 to address veteran suicide, homelessness, women-specific health care, and post-traumatic stress disorder…”
“In her opening statement, Subcommittee Chair Julia Brownley (D-Calif.) highlighted the rich databases and comprehensive medical records of veterans as “an increasingly attractive option” for private industry investment, and that the lack of federal funding for research is a reason why VA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) should continue to compete for private funding and “retain access to the technology and research infrastructure” these partners can provide…”
“ORD hopes to increase its capacity for researchers to investigate the collected genomic data through a partnership with the University of Chicago and the Open Commons Consortium to pilot a VA Data Commons. Because MVP does not distribute data for analysis but rather hosts researchers to conduct their studies in a secure computing environment, the collaboration aims to increase computational infrastructure so that at least 100 independent projects can be hosted to analyze data simultaneously by the end of FY 2021.” Read the full article here.
Source: House Passes FY 2020 Package with Funding for VA Health and Research – June 28, 2019. Association of American Medical Colleges.
