[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1559 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

  1st Session
                                S. 1559

To amend the Public Health Service Act with respect to making progress 
  toward the goal of eliminating tuberculosis, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

               August 1 (legislative day, July 21), 2003

Mr. Kennedy (for himself, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. Inouye, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. 
  Bingaman, and Mrs. Murray) 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 with respect to making progress 
  toward the goal of eliminating tuberculosis, 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 ``Comprehensive Tuberculosis 
Elimination Act of 2003''.

                  TITLE I--PREVENTIVE HEALTH SERVICES

SEC. 101. ADVISORY COUNCIL FOR THE ELIMINATION OF TUBERCULOSIS.

    Section 317E(f) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247b-
6(f)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (6); and
            (2) by striking paragraphs (2) through (4), and inserting 
        the following:
            ``(2) Duties.--For the purpose of making progress toward 
        the goal of eliminating tuberculosis from the United States, 
        the Council shall provide to the Secretary and other 
        appropriate Federal officials advice on coordinating the 
        activities of the Public Health Service and other Federal 
        agencies that relate to such disease and on efficiently 
        utilizing the Federal resources involved.
            ``(3) National plan.--In carrying out paragraph (2), the 
        Council, in consultation with appropriate public and private 
        entities, shall make recommendations on the development, 
        revision, and implementation of a national plan to eliminate 
        tuberculosis in the United States. In carrying out this 
        paragraph, the Council shall--
                    ``(A) consider the recommendations of the Institute 
                of Medicine regarding the elimination of tuberculosis;
                    ``(B) address the development and application of 
                new technologies; and
                    ``(C) review the extent to which progress has been 
                made toward eliminating tuberculosis.
            ``(4) Global activities.--In carrying out paragraph (2), 
        the Council, in consultation with appropriate public and 
        private entities, shall make recommendations for the 
        development and implementation of a plan to guide the 
        involvement of the United States in global and cross border 
        tuberculosis-control activities, including recommendations 
        regarding policies, strategies, objectives, and priorities. 
        Such recommendations for the plan shall have a focus on 
        countries where a high incidence of tuberculosis directly 
        affects the United States, such as Mexico, and on access to a 
        comprehensive package of tuberculosis control measures, as 
        defined by the World Health Organization directly observed 
        treatment, short course strategy (commonly known as DOTS).
            ``(5) Composition.--The Council shall be composed of--
                    ``(A) representatives from the Centers for Disease 
                Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of 
                Health, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 
                the Health Resources and Services Administration, the 
                U.S.-Mexico Border Health Commission, and other Federal 
                departments and agencies that carry out significant 
                activities relating to tuberculosis; and
                    ``(B) members appointed from among individuals who 
                are not officers or employees of the Federal 
                Government.''.

          TITLE II--CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION

SEC. 201. NATIONAL PROGRAM FOR TUBERCULOSIS ELIMINATION.

    Section 317E of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247b-6) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking the section heading and inserting the 
        following:

           ``national program for tuberculosis elimination'';

            (2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:
    ``(b) Research, Demonstration Projects, Education, and Training.--
With respect to the prevention, control, and elimination of 
tuberculosis, the Secretary may, directly or through grants to public 
or nonprofit private entities, carry out the following:
            ``(1) Research, with priority given to research 
        concerning--
                    ``(A) diagnosis and treatment of latent infection 
                of tuberculosis;
                    ``(B) strains of tuberculosis resistant to drugs;
                    ``(C) cases of tuberculosis that affect certain 
                high-risk populations; and
                    ``(D) clinical trials, including those conducted 
                through the Tuberculosis Trials Consortium.
            ``(2) Demonstration projects, including for--
                    ``(A) the development of regional capabilities for 
                the prevention, control, and elimination of 
                tuberculosis particularly in low-incidence regions; and
                    ``(B) collaboration with the Immigration and 
                Naturalization Service to identify and treat immigrants 
                with active or latent tuberculosis infection.
            ``(3) Public information and education programs.
            ``(4) Education, training and clinical skills improvement 
        activities for health professionals, including allied health 
        personnel.
            ``(5) Support of model centers to carry out activities 
        under paragraphs (2) through (4).
            ``(6) Collaboration with international organizations and 
        foreign countries, including Mexico, in coordination with the 
        United States Agency for International Development, in carrying 
        out such activities, including coordinating activities through 
        the Advisory Council for the Elimination of Tuberculosis.''; 
        and
            (3) by striking subsection (g) and inserting the following:
    ``(g) Reports.--The Secretary, acting through the Director of the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and in consultation with the 
Advisory Council for the Elimination of Tuberculosis, shall biennially 
prepare and submit to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 
House of Representatives, a report on the activities carried out under 
this section. Each report shall include the opinion of the Council on 
the extent to which its recommendations under section 317E(f)(3) 
regarding tuberculosis have been implemented.
    ``(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--For the purpose of carrying 
out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $235,000,000 
for fiscal year 2004, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 
fiscal years 2005 through 2008.''.

                TITLE III--NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH

SEC. 301. ACTIVITIES OF NATIONAL HEART, LUNG, AND BLOOD INSTITUTE.

    Subpart 2 of part C of title IV of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 285b et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 424B the 
following:

                             ``tuberculosis

    ``Sec. 424C. (a) In General.--The Director of the Institute shall 
expand, intensify, and coordinate research and related activities of 
the Institute with respect to the treatment, diagnosis, and prevention 
of tuberculosis, including--
            ``(1) basic and clinical research on tuberculosis; and
            ``(2) research on the relationship between tuberculosis and 
        the human immunodeficiency virus.
    ``(b) Research Education.--
            ``(1) Tuberculosis academic awards.--The Director of the 
        Institute may award grants to institutions for the development 
        and support of programs of core curricula for training clinical 
        investigators, including medical, nursing, or osteopathic 
        students, in the principles and practices of preventing, 
        managing, and controlling tuberculosis in patients.
            ``(2) Tuberculosis/pulmonary infection awards.--The 
        Director of the Institute may provide awards to support the 
        research of trained professionals into the basic biological 
        processes and mechanisms involved in tuberculosis, as well as 
        research into the development of new diagnostic techniques and 
        treatments.
            ``(3) Authorization of appropriations.--For the purpose of 
        carrying out this subsection, there are authorized to be 
        appropriated $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, and such sums as 
        may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2005 through 
        2008.''.

SEC. 302. ACTIVITIES OF NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS 
              DISEASES.

    Section 447A of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 285f-2) is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c);
            (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
    ``(b) Activities under subsection (a) may include activities to 
develop a tuberculosis vaccine. The recommendations contained within 
the Blueprint for Tuberculosis Vaccine Development, described in the 
report prepared pursuant to the workshop convened in March 1998 by the 
Director of the Institute, shall be taken into consideration.''; and
            (3) in subsection (c) (as so redesignated), in the first 
        sentence--
                    (A) by striking ``and'' after ``1994,''; and
                    (B) by inserting before the period the following: 
                ``, $136,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, $162,000,000 for 
                fiscal year 2005, and such sums as may be necessary for 
                each of the fiscal years 2006 through 2008''.

SEC. 303. JOHN E. FOGARTY INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR ADVANCED STUDY IN 
              THE HEALTH SCIENCES.

    (a) In General.--With respect to tuberculosis, the John E. Fogarty 
International Center for Advanced Study in the Health Sciences shall 
expand, intensify, and coordinate international activities of the 
Center for research and training. In particular, the Center shall 
expand its activities to include support for clinical, operational, and 
health services research and training.
    (b) International Training Program.--In carrying out subsection 
(a), the Center shall carry out an international training program 
regarding tuberculosis. Such program shall be modeled after the 
international training program carried out by the Center with respect 
to the human immunodeficiency virus.
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