[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1897 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1897

   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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            November 9, 1999

   Mr. Biden introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 1999''.

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 404D the following section:

                         ``autoimmune diseases

    ``Sec. 404E. (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, in 
        consultation with the coordinating committee established under 
        subsection (c), 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 and 
                education activities 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 appropriate 
                allocation of the resources of the National Institutes 
                of Health for conducting and supporting research on 
                autoimmune diseases.
                    ``(D) The Director shall annually prepare a report 
                that describes the research and education activities 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, the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, and 
        other relevant agencies.
    ``(c) Coordinating Committee.--The Director of NIH shall ensure 
that there is in operation a committee to assist the Director of the 
Office in carrying out subsection (b), 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) Report.--Not later than October 1, 2001, the Comptroller 
General shall prepare and submit to the appropriate committees of 
Congress a report concerning the effectiveness of the Office in 
promoting advancements in research, diagnosis, treatment, and 
prevention related to autoimmune diseases.
    ``(e) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term 
`autoimmune diseases' includes diseases or disorders in which 
autoimmunity is thought to play a significant pathogenetic role, as 
determined by the Secretary.
    ``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--For the purpose of carrying 
out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $950,000 for 
fiscal year 2000, and such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal 
years 2001 and 2002.''.
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