In September 2003, the Bush Administration allowed the charter of the National Human Research Protections Advisory Committee (NHRPAC) to expire. APSA and other scientific societies wrote to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tommy Thompson urging the reinstatement of NHRPAC which had been ably advising HHS on ways to improve the protections of human participants in scientific research, including social science research. The Bush Administration did not reinstate NHRPAC and is in the process of establishing a new committee. Neither the timing nor composition of the committee are certain.