[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4873 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4873

   To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish an Office of 
Autoimmune Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 20, 1998

  Mr. Waxman introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish an Office of 
Autoimmune Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``NIH Office of Autoimmune Diseases 
Act of 1998''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES AT NATIONAL 
              INSTITUTES OF HEALTH.

    Title IV of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 281 et seq.) 
is amended by inserting after section 404E the following section:

                         ``autoimmune diseases

    ``Sec. 404F. (a) Establishment.--There is established within the 
Office of the Director of NIH an office to be known as the Office of 
Autoimmune Diseases (in this section referred to as the `Office'), 
which shall be headed by a Director appointed by the Director of NIH.
    ``(b) Duties.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Director of the Office shall carry 
        out the following:
                    ``(A) The Director shall recommend an agenda for 
                conducting and supporting research on autoimmune 
                diseases through the national research institutes. The 
                agenda shall provide for a broad range of research 
                relating to biomedical, psychosocial, and 
                rehabilitative issues, including studies of the 
                disproportionate impact of such diseases on women.
                    ``(B) The Director shall with respect to autoimmune 
                diseases promote coordination and cooperation among the 
                national research institutes and entities whose 
                research is supported by such institutes.
                    ``(C) The Director shall promote the sufficient 
                allocation of the resources of the National Institutes 
                of Health for conducting and supporting research on 
                autoimmune diseases.
                    ``(D) The Director shall biennially prepare a 
                report that describes the projects of research on 
                autoimmune diseases being conducted or supported 
                through the national research institutes, and that 
                identifies particular projects or types of projects 
                that should in the future be conducted or supported by 
                the national research institutes or other entities in 
                the field of research on autoimmune diseases.
            ``(2) Principal advisor regarding autoimmune diseases.--
        With respect to autoimmune diseases, the Director of the Office 
        shall serve as the principal advisor to the Secretary, the 
        Assistant Secretary for Health, and the Director of NIH, and 
        shall provide advice to the Director of the Centers for Disease 
        Control and Prevention and the Commissioner of Food and Drugs.
    ``(c) Coordinating Committee.--The Director of NIH shall ensure 
that there is in operation a committee to coordinate the activities of 
the National Institutes of Health with respect to autoimmune diseases, 
that the committee is designated as the Autoimmune Diseases 
Coordinating Committee, and that, to the extent possible, such 
Coordinating Committee includes liaison members from other Federal 
health agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration.
    ``(d) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term 
`autoimmune diseases' includes rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus 
erthematosus, multiple sclerosis, juvenile-onset diabetes, Sjogren's 
syndrome, scleroderma, and other diseases or disorders as determined by 
the Secretary.
    ``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--For the purpose of carrying 
out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $750,000 for 
fiscal year 1999, and such sums as may be necessary for each subsequent 
fiscal year.''.
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