[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2923 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2923

 To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the development 
     and operation of centers to conduct research with respect to 
            infertility prevention, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 11, 2002

Mr. Torricelli 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 provide for the development 
     and operation of centers to conduct research with respect to 
            infertility prevention, 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 ``Infertility Research Centers Act of 
2002''.

SEC. 2. GRANTS AND CONTRACTS FOR RESEARCH CENTERS WITH RESPECT TO 
              INFERTILITY PREVENTION.

    Subpart 7 of part C of title IV of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 285g et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following 
new section:

``SEC. 452H. RESEARCH CENTERS WITH RESPECT TO INFERTILITY PREVENTION.

    ``(a) In General.--The Director of the Institute, after 
consultation with the advisory council for the Institute, shall make 
grants to, or enter into contracts with, public or nonprofit private 
entities for the development and operation of centers to conduct 
activities for the purpose of improving methods of preventing 
infertility.
    ``(b) Number of Centers.--In carrying out subsection (a), the 
Director of the Institute shall, subject to the extent of amounts made 
available in appropriations Acts, provide for the establishment of two 
centers with respect to infertility prevention.
    ``(c) Use of Funds.--
            ``(1) In general.--Each center assisted under this section 
        shall, in carrying out the purpose of the center involved--
                    ``(A) conduct clinical and other applied research, 
                including clinical trials of new or improved drugs and 
                devices for the diagnosis and treatment of infertility 
                in males and females;
                    ``(B) develop protocols for training physicians, 
                scientists, nurses, and other health and allied health 
                professionals;
                    ``(C) conduct training programs for such 
                individuals;
                    ``(D) develop model continuing education programs 
                for such professionals; and
                    ``(E) disseminate information to such professionals 
                and the public.
            ``(2) Stipends.--A center may use funds provided under 
        subsection (a) to provide stipends for health and allied health 
        professionals enrolled in programs described in subparagraph 
        (C) of paragraph (1), and to provide fees to individuals 
        serving as subjects in clinical trials conducted under such 
        paragraph.
    ``(d) Coordination.--The Director of the Institute shall, as 
appropriate, provide for the coordination of information among the 
centers assisted under this section.
    ``(e) Facilities.--Each center assisted under subsection (a) shall 
use the facilities of a single institution, or be formed from a 
consortium of cooperating institutions, meeting such requirements as 
may be prescribed by the Director of the Institute.
    ``(f) Period of Support.--Support of a center under subsection (a) 
may be for a period not exceeding 5 years. Such period may be extended 
for one or more additional periods not exceeding 5 years if the 
operations of such center have been reviewed by an appropriate 
technical and scientific peer review group established by the Director 
and if such group has recommended to the Director that such period 
should be extended.
    ``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--For the purpose of carrying 
out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $30,000,000 
for fiscal year 2003, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 
fiscal years 2004 and 2005.''.

SEC. 3. LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM FOR RESEARCH WITH RESPECT TO INFERTILITY 
              PREVENTION.

    Part F of title IV of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 287d 
et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating the second section 487F (relating to 
        the pediatric research loan repayment program) as section 487G; 
        and
            (2) by inserting after section 487G (as so redesignated) 
        the following section:

``SEC. 487H. LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM FOR RESEARCH WITH RESPECT TO 
              INFERTILITY PREVENTION.

    ``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary, in consultation with the 
Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human 
Development, shall establish a program of entering into agreements with 
qualified health professionals (including graduate students) under 
which such health professionals agree to conduct research with respect 
to infertility prevention, in consideration of the Federal Government 
agreeing to repay, for each year of such service, not more than $20,000 
of the principal and interest of the educational loans of such health 
professionals.
    ``(b) Application of Provisions.--The provisions of sections 338B, 
338C, and 338E shall apply to the program established in subsection (a) 
to the same extent and in the same manner as such provisions apply to 
the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program established in 
subpart III of part D of title III.
    ``(c) Funding.--Amounts appropriated for carrying out this section 
shall remain available until the expiration of the second fiscal year 
beginning after the fiscal year for which the amounts were 
appropriated.''.
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