62 OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT 11.2 Explanation of Changes Shown on Schedule C1 for Division B Health, Life Sciences, and the Environment Division A. MANDATORY PAY AND RELATED COSTS 1. Excess Day, from 261 to 260 work days in FY 1995 2. FTE reduction of 1 temporary staff to meet the 4% reduction in Sec. 307 of PL 103-69 3. January 1995 2.6% Cost-of-Living Adjustment 4. Merit increases and promotions averaging 3% agency-wide 5. Annualization of January 1994 4% plus estimated January 1995 7.5% health benefit increases B. PRICE LEVEL CHANGES 1. Travel inflation rate of 10% applied to base 2. Printing and publications inflation rate of 3% applied to base 3. Other services inflation rate of 2.7% applied to base 4. Supplies and materials inflation rate of 2.7% applied to base 5. Equipment inflation rate of 2.7% applied non ADP equipment base C. PROGRAM TYPE CHANGES 1. Legislation 2. Workload 3. Equipment, Alterations, Maintenance, Repairs, Etc. OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT 63 11.3 Role of the Health, Life Sciences, and the Environment Division The Health, Life Sciences, and the Environment Division comprises four programs: the Biological and Behavioral Sciences Program, the Food and Renewable Resources Program, the Health Program, and the Oceans and Environment Program. The Biological and Behavioral Sciences Program (BBS) assesses state-of-the-art technologies arising from progress in a wide range of scientific and technical disciplines. Typical studies explore actual and potential applications of results and techniques from biological and behavioral sciences, usually with an emphasis on ethical, legal, economic, and regulatory issues. Currently, the program's activities center on 1) biotechnology and applications and implications of human molecular genetics, 2) neurological and behavioral sciences, and 3) Federal regulatory programs that involve use and understanding of biological tests and knowledge. The scope of the Food and Renewable Resources Program (F&RR) includes all agriculture-related technologies used to provide society with food, fiber, and chemicals, and technologies that enhance or jeopardize the ability to sustain in perpetuity the renewable resource bases that make such production possible. Agriculture itself is defined in the broad sense, including all crop and livestock production and forestry. Attention also is given to the impact that technology has had and is likely to have on how the agricultural system is organized, who controls it, and where it is heading. Further, the Program covers renewable resources that presently may not be considered or produced as crops, but that support agricultural production and are fundamental to human needs generally. Relevant international analyses on renewable resources and agriculture are included in certain program studies. The Health Program's (HLTH) charter is reflected in two primary types of efforts: 1) assessments of specific clinical and general health care technologies, and 2) studies of broader issues of health policy related to or with implications for technology. In addition, it has certain statutory, methodology oversight responsibilities regarding Vietnam veterans health studies, and provides the staff work for the OTA Director's mandated responsibility to select and appoint members of the Prospective Payment Assessment Commission, the Physician Payment Review Commission, and the Advisory Panel on Alzheimer's Disease. The Oceans and Environment Program (O&E) has responsibility for all ocean-related questions, including ocean resources and maritime policy, and for large-scale environmental issues, such as climate modification and air, water, and land pollution. As a result of changing congressional interest, the Program has developed capability for analyzing the difficult questions in which the overriding concern lies with the environmental effects of decisions. The work of the Program usually falls under several categories: Federal services related to oceans and the environment, 64 OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT 11.4 Accomplishments of the Health and Life Sciences Division In FY 1993, the Health, Life Sciences, and the Environment Division published 10 assessment reports: ■ Pharmaceutical R&D: Costs, Risks, and Rewards ■ Drug Labeling in Developing Countries ■ An Inconsistent Picture: A Compilation of Analyses of Economic Impacts of Competing Approaches to Health Care Reform by Experts and Stakeholders ☐ Water for Walker Lake ■ Alternative Coca Reduction Strategies in the Andean Region ■ Dismantling the Bomb and Managing the Nuclear Materials ■ Benefit Design in Health Care Reform: Clinical Preventive Services ■ Harmful Non-Indigenous Species in the United States ■The Continuing Challenge of Tuberculosis ■ OTA Assessment: The Department of Veterans Affairs Persian Gulf Veterans' Health Registry The Division also published 13 background papers: ■ Science and Technology Issues in Coastal Ecotourism ■ Federal and Private Roles in the Development and Provision of Alglucerase Therapy for Gaucher Disease ■ Genetic Counseling and Cystic Fibrosis Carrier Screening: Results of a Survey ■ Genetic Tests and Health Insurance: Results of a Survey ■ Coverage of Preventive Services: Provision of Selected Current Health Care Reform Proposals ■ Hazards Ahead: Managing Cleanup Worker Health and Safety at the Nuclear Weapons Complex Health Insurance: The Hawaii Experience ■Compilation of Abbreviations and Terms ■ Hip Fracture Outcomes in People Age 50 and Over: Mortality, Service Use, Expenditures, and Long-Term Functional Impairment ■ Biomedical Ethics in U.S. Public Policy ■ Biological Components of Substance Abuse and Addiction ■ Impact of Legal Reforms on Medical Malpractice Costs ■ Benefit Design in Health Care Reform: Patient Cost-Sharing In addition, the Division testified 9 times. Listed below are several examples of direct legislative use of the Division's work: Biological and Behavioral Sciences 1. As in the 101st and 102d Congresses, information from Genetic Witness: Forensic Uses of DNA Tests influenced the scope and approach in several pieces of legislation designed to set quality assurance standards for forensic DNA facilities and to provide guidelines for forensic DNA databanks. That legislation included: H.R. 829, “DNA Identification Act of 1993 (passed House 374-4 on March 29, 1993); H.R. 2459, "Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Appropriations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1993"; S. 497, “DNA Identification Act of 1993"; and various |