AASM staff has recently made progress in developing relationships with leading lawmakers, and several influential labor unions and federal agencies, after several productive trips to Washington, D.C. In order to continue this momentum in Washington, the AASM has reintroduced the AASM Political Action Committee (AASMPAC). The AASMPAC is a bi-partisan political action committee which assists in supporting sleep medicine-friendly legislators in their Congressional elections. This support opens doors for expressing the AASM's viewpoints and the need for and value of sleep care services for patients, sleep care research and sleep-related public health implications. An investment in the AASMPAC is an investment in your profession and livelihood; by contributing to the AASMPAC, you will help shape the outlook of sleep medicine. Donate online today by visiting www.aasmpac.org.

The 2013 budget request President Obama sent to Congress requests $30.9 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the same level as 2012. NIH estimates it will support a total of 35,888 research project grants, including 9,415 new and competing awards. The $30.9 billion request will be used to invest in basic research on the fundamental causes and mechanisms of disease, accelerating discovery through new technologies, advancing translational sciences, and encouraging new investigators and new ideas.

The conference committee tasked with developing an extension of the payroll tax cut and delaying scheduled reimbursement cuts to Medicare physicians met for the fourth time to discuss potential offsets.

On Feb. 6, the Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee (MCSAC) and Medical Review Board (MRB) conducted a hearing to address regulatory guidance for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) for motor carriers and commercial vehicle drivers.

A proposal to use savings from ending the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to fund a "doc fix" might not be an option, according to the chair of the conference committee tasked with extending the payroll tax cut and delaying scheduled cuts to Medicare physician reimbursement rates.

Last week, a bicameral, bipartisan conference committee met to discuss extending a payroll tax cut and delaying the scheduled cuts to Medicare physician reimbursement rates. Lawmakers are discussing a yearlong extension of the initiatives, which must be passed before the short-term agreement expires at the end of February. Committee members from both parties were optimistic that they could reach an agreement, but Democrats and Republicans still disagree on how to offset the $160 billion cost of extending the tax cut and doc fix. Democrats want to increase taxes for high-income U.S. residents, while some House Republicans argue for a two-year delay of the cuts, which would be paid for in part with billions of reductions in federal health reform law spending.

Scheduling conflicts and policy disagreement are expected to delay the start of negotiations on a Medicare "doc fix." House aides predict that the bipartisan, bicameral conference committee charged with developing the fix will not convene until next week. The current plan that extends the payroll tax cut and delays scheduled reimbursement cuts to Medicare physicians expires at the end of February.

The AASM was in Washington, D.C. last week and met with several federal lawmakers and agencies to discuss the importance of sleep. AASM representatives met with legislative aides for Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), Senator Kay Hagan (D-NC), Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Senator John Kerry (D-MA), Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Senator Patty Murray, (D-WA). Discussions focused on supporting the AASM’s proposal for an integrated care delivery model to the CMS Innovation Center, repealing the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR), funding for NIH and sleep research and the possible effects of Health Care Reform. The AASM also met with several Federal Agencies including the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to strengthen ties, communicate the importance of effective sleep and the role of the AASM as sleep experts.

Representatives for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine were recently in Washington to meet with federal agencies and lawmakers to forge relationships based on promoting the importance of sleep. AASM President Nancy Collop, MD, said the timing couldn’t be better. Late last month, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced new rules for the maximum hours of work per shift and mandatory rest periods for passenger airline pilots and truck drivers. Sleep researchers and sleep scientists have been instrumental in assisting with the new transportation rules.