[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3756 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3756

       To establish a National Commission on Digestive Diseases.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 3, 2004

  Mr. Blunt (for himself and Mr. Rush) introduced the following bill; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
       To establish a National Commission on Digestive Diseases.

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

SECTION 1. NATIONAL COMMISSION ON DIGESTIVE DISEASES.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services (in 
this section referred to as the ``Secretary''), after consultation with 
the Director of the National Institutes of Health, shall, within sixty 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, establish a National 
Commission on Digestive Diseases (in this section referred to as the 
``Commission'').
            (b) Duties.--
            (1) In general.--The Commission shall--
                    (A) conduct a comprehensive study of the present 
                state of knowledge of the incidence, duration, and 
                morbidity of, and mortality rates resulting from, 
                digestive diseases and of the social and economic 
                impact of such diseases;
                    (B) evaluate the public and private facilities and 
                resources (including trained personnel and research 
                activities) for the diagnosis, prevention, and 
                treatment of, and research in, such diseases; and
                    (C) identify programs (including biological, 
                behavioral, nutritional, environmental, and social 
                programs) in which, and the means by which, improvement 
                in the management of digestive diseases can be 
                accomplished.
            (2) Long-range plan.--Based on the study, evaluation, and 
        identification made pursuant to paragraph (1), the Commission 
        shall develop and recommend a long-range plan for the use and 
        organization of national resources to effectively deal with 
        digestive diseases. The plan shall provide for--
                    (A) research studies into the basic biological 
                processes and mechanisms related to digestive diseases;
                    (B) investigations into the epidemiology, etiology, 
                diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and control of 
                digestive diseases;
                    (C) development of preventive measures (including 
                education programs, programs for the elimination of 
                environmental hazards related to digestive diseases, 
                and clinical programs) to be taken against digestive 
                diseases;
                    (D) detection of digestive diseases in the 
                presymptomatic stages and development and evaluation of 
                new, and improved methods of screening for digestive 
                diseases, taking into account recent technological 
                changes in diagnostic imaging modalities;
                    (E) development of criteria for the diagnosis and 
                the clinical management and control of digestive 
                diseases;
                    (F) development of approaches to advance digestive 
                diseases research by incorporating insights obtained 
                from genomic and proteomic research;
                    (G) development of coordinated health care systems 
                for dealing with digestive diseases;
                    (H) education and training (including continuing 
                education programs) of scientists, clinicians, 
                educators, and allied health professionals in the 
                fields and specialties requisite to the conduct of 
                programs related to digestive diseases with special 
                emphasis on training for careers in research, teaching, 
                and all aspects of patient care;
                    (I) the conduct and subject matter of trials in 
                clinical and translational research in digestive 
                diseases; and
                    (J) establishment of a system of periodic 
                surveillance of the research potential and research 
                needs in digestive diseases.
        The long-range plan formulated under this paragraph shall also 
        include within its scope related nutritional disorders and 
        basic biological processes and mechanisms in nutrition which 
        are related to digestive diseases.
            (3) Recommendations for individual national research 
        institutes.--The Commission shall recommend for each of the 
        Institutes of the National Institutes of Health whose 
        activities are to be affected by the long-range plan estimates 
        of the expenditures needed to carry out each Institute's part 
        of the overall program. Such estimates shall be prepared for 
        the fiscal year beginning immediately after completion of the 
        Commission's plan and for each of the next five fiscal years.
    (c) Composition.--
            (1) In general.--The Commission shall be composed of 16 
        members appointed in accordance with paragraph (2) and the ex 
        officio members designated under paragraph (3). The appointed 
        members shall be voting members, and the ex officio members 
        shall be nonvoting members, except that the ex officio member 
        designated under paragraph (3)(A) shall be a voting member.
            (2) Appointed members.--The voting members of the 
        Commission shall be appointed by the Secretary, and shall be 
        appointed from among individuals who are not officers or 
        employees of the Federal Government. Of such members--
                    (A) 10 shall be appointed from among scientists, 
                physicians, and other health professionals, of whom--
                            (i) two shall be practicing clinical 
                        gastroenterologists;
                            (ii) two shall be gastroenterologists 
                        involved primarily in research on digestive 
                        diseases;
                            (iii) one shall be a surgeon;
                            (iv) one shall be an expert in liver 
                        disease;
                            (v) one shall be an epidemiologist;
                            (vi) one shall be an allied health 
                        professional; and
                            (vii) two shall be basic biomedical 
                        scientists (such as biochemists, physiologists, 
                        microbiologists, nutritionists, 
                        pharmacologists, or immunologists); and
                    (B) six shall be appointed from among the general 
                public, of whom at least three shall have personal or 
                close family experience with digestive diseases.
            (3) Ex officio members.--
                    (A) National institute of diabetes and digestive 
                and kidney diseases.--From among officers or employees 
                of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and 
                Kidney Diseases whose primary interest is in the field 
                of digestive diseases, the Secretary shall designate an 
                individual to serve as an ex officio member of the 
                Commission.
                    (B) Additional members.--The following officials 
                (or the designees of the officials) shall serve as ex 
                officio members of the Commission: The Director of the 
                National Institutes of Health; the Director of the 
                National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney 
                Diseases; the Director of the National Institute of 
                Allergy and Infectious Diseases; the Director of the 
                National Cancer Institute; the Director of the National 
                Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering; the 
                Director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse; the 
                Director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and 
                Alcoholism; the Director of the National Human Genome 
                Research Institute; the Director for the Division of 
                Digestive Diseases and Nutrition within the National 
                Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Diseases; 
                the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 
                Prevention; the Chief Medical Director of the 
                Department of Veterans Affairs; and the Secretary of 
                Defense.
    (d) Chair.--From among the appointed members of the Commission, the 
members of the Commission shall select an individual to serve as the 
Chair of the Commission.
    (e) Terms.--The term of a member of the Commission is the life of 
the Commission.
    (f) Vacancies.--
            (1) Authority of commission.--A vacancy in the membership 
        of the Commission does not affect the power of the remaining 
        members to carry out the duties of the Commission.
            (2) Appointment of successor.--A vacancy in the membership 
        of the Commission shall be filled in the manner in which the 
        original appointment was made.
            (3) Incomplete term.--If a member of the Commission does 
        not serve the full term of the member, the individual appointed 
        to fill the resulting vacancy shall be appointed for the 
        remainder of the term of the predecessor of the individual.
    (g) Meetings.--The Commission shall first meet as directed by the 
Secretary, not later than sixty days after the Commission is 
established, and thereafter shall meet at the call of the Chair of the 
Commission, but not less often than three times during the life of the 
Commission.
    (h) Compensation; Reimbursement of Expenses.--
            (1) Appointed members.--Members of the Commission appointed 
        from among individuals who are not officers or employees of the 
        Federal Government shall receive compensation for each day 
        (including travel time) engaged in carrying out the duties of 
        the Commission. Such compensation may not be in an amount in 
        excess of the daily equivalent of the annual maximum rate of 
        basic pay payable under section 5108 of title 5, United States 
        Code, for positions above GS-15.
            (2) Ex officio members.--Members of the Commission 
        appointed from among individuals who are officers or employees 
        of the Federal Government may not receive compensation for 
        service on the Commission in addition to the compensation 
        otherwise received for duties carried out as Federal officers 
        or employees.
            (3) Reimbursement.--Members of the Commission, while 
        serving away from their homes or regular places of business in 
        the performance of services for the Commission, shall be 
        allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 
        subsistence, in the same manner as such expenses are authorized 
        by section 5703 of title 5, United States Code, for persons in 
        Government service employed intermittently.
    (i) Staff.--
            (1) Executive director.--The Commission may appoint and fix 
        the pay of an executive director to effectively carry out its 
        functions. The executive director shall be appointed subject to 
        the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing 
        appointments in the competitive service, and shall be paid in 
        accordance with the provisions of chapter 51 and sub-chapter 
        III of chapter 53 of such title related to classification and 
        General Schedule pay rates.
            (2) Additional staff.--The Secretary shall provide the 
        Commission with such additional professional and clerical 
        staff, such information, and the services of such consultants 
        as the Secretary determines to be necessary for the Commission 
        to carry out effectively its functions.
    (j) Powers.--The Commission may hold such hearings, take such 
testimony, and sit and act at such time and places as the Commission 
deems advisable.
    (k) Report.--Within 18 months following its initial meetings (as 
prescribed by subsection (g)), the Commission shall publish and 
transmit directly to the Congress a final report respecting its 
activities under this section. The report shall contain--
            (1) the long-range plan required by subsection (b)(2);
            (2) the expenditure estimates required by subsection 
        (b)(3); and
            (3) any recommendations of the Commission for legislation 
        that would facilitate the implementation of the long-range 
        plan.
In developing recommendations under paragraph (3), the Commission shall 
evaluate the effectiveness of the Interagency Coordinating Committee 
for Digestive Diseases and assess its ability to monitor and promote 
adherence to the long-range plan. The Commission may also make 
recommendations regarding organizational changes within the National 
Institutes of Health or the establishment of new entities that would 
facilitate implementation of the long-range plan and otherwise 
coordinate the Federal digestive diseases research effort.
    (l) Termination.--The Commission terminates 30 days after the date 
on which the final report under subsection (k) is submitted to the 
Congress.
    (m) Authorization of Appropriations.--For the purpose of carrying 
out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated $4,000,000 in 
the aggregate for fiscal years 2005 and 2006.
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