[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1537 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1537

To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the establishment 
 of Parkinson's Disease Research Education and Clinical Centers in the 
 Veterans Health Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs 
             and Multiple Sclerosis Centers of Excellence.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 28, 2005

   Mr. Akaka introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the establishment 
 of Parkinson's Disease Research Education and Clinical Centers in the 
 Veterans Health Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs 
             and Multiple Sclerosis Centers of Excellence.

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

SECTION 1. PARKINSON'S DISEASE RESEARCH, EDUCATION, CLINICAL CENTERS, 
              AND MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE.

    (a) Requirement for Establishment of Centers.--
            (1) In general.--Subchapter II of chapter 73 of title 38, 
        United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
        following:
``Sec. 7329. Parkinson's disease research, education, and clinical 
              centers and multiple sclerosis centers of excellence
    ``(a) Designation.--The Secretary, upon the recommendation of the 
Under Secretary for Health and pursuant to the provisions of this 
section, shall--
            ``(1) designate--
                    ``(A) at least 6 Department health care facilities 
                as the locations for centers of Parkinson's disease 
                research, education, and clinical activities and 
                (subject to the appropriation of sufficient funds for 
                such purpose); and
                    ``(B) at least 2 Department health care facilities 
                as the locations for Multiple Sclerosis Centers of 
                Excellence (subject to the appropriation of sufficient 
                funds for such purpose); and
            ``(2) establish and operate such centers at such locations 
        in accordance with this section.
    ``(b) Existing Facilities; Geographic Distribution.--In designating 
locations for centers under subsection (a), the Secretary, upon the 
recommendation of the Under Secretary for Health, shall--
            ``(1) designate each Department health care facility that, 
        as of January 1, 2005, was operating a Parkinson's Disease 
        Research, Education, and Clinical Center or a Multiple 
        Sclerosis Center of Excellence unless the Secretary, on the 
        recommendation of the Under Secretary for Health, determines 
        that such facility--
                    ``(A) does not meet the requirements of subsection 
                (c);
                    ``(B) has not demonstrated effectiveness in 
                carrying out the established purposes of such center; 
                or
                    ``(C) has not demonstrated the potential to carry 
                out such purposes effectively in the reasonably 
                foreseeable future; and
            ``(2) assure appropriate geographic distribution of such 
        facilities.
    ``(c) Minimum Requirements.--The Secretary may not designate a 
health care facility as a location for a center under subsection (a) 
unless--
            ``(1) the peer review panel established under subsection 
        (d) determines that the proposal submitted by such facility is 
        among those proposals which meet the highest competitive 
        standards of scientific and clinical merit; and
            ``(2) the Secretary, upon the recommendation of the Under 
        Secretary for Health, determines that the facility has (or may 
        reasonably be anticipated to develop)--
                    ``(A) an arrangement with an accredited medical 
                school which provides education and training in 
                neurology and with which such facility is affiliated 
                under which residents receive education and training in 
                innovative diagnosis and treatment of chronic 
                neurodegenerative diseases and movement disorders, 
                including Parkinson's disease, or in the case of 
                Multiple Sclerosis Centers, multiple sclerosis disease;
                    ``(B) the ability to attract the participation of 
                scientists who are capable of ingenuity and creativity 
                in health-care research efforts;
                    ``(C) a policymaking advisory committee composed of 
                consumers and appropriate health care and research 
                representatives of the facility and of the affiliated 
                school or schools to advise the directors of such 
                facility and such center on policy matters pertaining 
                to the activities of such center during the period of 
                the operation of such center;
                    ``(D) the capability to conduct effectively 
                evaluations of the activities of such center;
                    ``(E) the capability to coordinate, as part of an 
                integrated national system, education, clinical, and 
                research activities within all facilities with such 
                centers;
                    ``(F) the capability to jointly develop a 
                consortium of providers with interest in treating 
                neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's 
                disease, and other movement disorders, or multiple 
                sclerosis in the case of Multiple Sclerosis Centers, at 
                facilities without such centers in order to ensure 
                better access to state of the art diagnosis, care, and 
                education for neurodegenerative disorders, or in the 
                case of Multiple Sclerosis Centers, autoimmune disease 
                affecting the central nervous system throughout the 
                health care system; and
                    ``(G) the capability to develop a national 
                repository in the health care system for the collection 
                of data on health services delivered to veterans 
                seeking care for neurodegenerative diseases, including 
                Parkinson's disease, and other movement disorders, or 
                in the case of Multiple Sclerosis Centers, autoimmune 
                disease affecting the central nervous system.
    ``(d) Panel.--(1) The Under Secretary for Health shall establish a 
panel to assess the scientific and clinical merit of proposals that are 
submitted to the Secretary for the establishment of new centers under 
this section.
    ``(2)(A) The membership of the panel shall consist of experts in 
neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's disease and other 
movement disorders, and, in the case of Multiple Sclerosis Centers, 
experts in autoimmune disease affecting the central nervous system.
    ``(B) Members of the panel shall serve as consultants to the 
Department for a period of no longer than 2 years except in the case of 
panelists asked to serve on the initial panel as specified in 
subparagraph (C).
    ``(C) In order to ensure panel continuity, half of the members of 
the first panel shall be appointed for a period of 3 years and half for 
a period of 2 years.
    ``(3) The panel shall review each proposal submitted to the panel 
by the Under Secretary and shall submit its views on the relative 
scientific and clinical merit of each such proposal to the Under 
Secretary.
    ``(4) The panel shall not be subject to the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act.
    ``(e) Adequate Funding.--Before providing funds for the operation 
of any such center at a health care facility other than a health care 
facility designated under subsection (b)(1), the Secretary shall ensure 
that--
            ``(1) the Parkinson's disease center at each facility 
        designated under subsection (b)(1) is receiving adequate 
        funding to enable such center to function effectively in the 
        areas of Parkinson's disease research, education, and clinical 
        activities; and
            ``(2) in the case of a new Multiple Sclerosis Center, that 
        existing centers are receiving adequate funding to enable such 
        centers to function effectively in the areas of multiple 
        sclerosis research, education, and clinical activities.
    ``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--(1) There are authorized to 
be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for the support of the 
research and education activities of the centers established under 
subsection (a).
    ``(2) The Under Secretary for Health shall allocate to such centers 
from other funds appropriated generally for the Department medical 
services account and medical and prosthetics research account, as 
appropriate, such amounts as the Under Secretary for Health determines 
appropriate.
    ``(g) Funding Eligibility and Priority for Parkinson's Disease 
Research.--Activities of clinical and scientific investigation at each 
center established under subsection (a) for Parkinson's disease shall--
            ``(1) be eligible to compete for the award of funding from 
        funds appropriated for the Department medical and prosthetics 
        research account; and
            ``(2) receive priority in the award of funding from such 
        account to the extent funds are awarded to projects for 
        research in Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders.
    ``(h) Funding Eligibility and Priority for Multiple Sclerosis 
Research.--Activities of clinical and scientific investigation at each 
center established under subsection (a) for multiple sclerosis shall--
            ``(1) be eligible to compete for the award of funding from 
        funds appropriated for the Department medical and prosthetics 
        research account; and
            ``(2) receive priority in the award of funding from such 
        account to the extent funds are awarded to projects for 
        research in multiple sclerosis and other movement disorders.''.
            (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the 
        beginning of chapter 73 of title 38, United States Code, is 
        amended by inserting after the item relating to section 7328 
        the following:

``Sec. 7329. Parkinson's disease research, education, and clinical 
                            centers and multiple sclerosis centers of 
                            excellence.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--Section 7329 of title 38, United States Code, 
as added by subsection (a), shall take effect on October 1, 2005.
                                 <all>