[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2115 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2115

 To amend the Public Health Service Act to improve provisions relating 
                    to Parkinson's disease research.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 15, 2005

Ms. Stabenow (for herself, Mr. Smith, Mr. Lautenberg, Mrs. Murray, Mr. 
  McCain, Mr. Coleman, and Mr. Dayton) 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 improve provisions relating 
                    to Parkinson's disease research.

    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 ``Morris K. Udall Parkinson's Disease 
Research Act Amendments of 2005''.

SEC. 2. MORRIS K. UDALL PARKINSON'S DISEASE RESEARCH ACT OF 1997.

    (a) Findings.--Subsection (b) of section 603 of the Morris K. Udall 
Parkinson's Disease Research Act of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 284f note) is 
amended by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
            ``(1) Finding.--Congress finds that, to take full advantage 
        of the tremendous potential for finding a cure or effective 
        treatment, the Federal investment in Parkinson's must be 
        expanded, as well as the coordination strengthened among the 
        National Institutes of Health research institutes.''.
    (b) Public Health Service Act.--Section 409B of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 284f) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b), by striking paragraph (2) and 
        inserting the following:
            ``(2) Conference.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Director of NIH shall 
                convene a coordinating and planning conference every 2 
                years with relevant institutes and non-governmental 
                organizations to conduct a thorough investigation of 
                all Parkinson's research that is funded in whole or in 
                part by the National Institutes of Health and to 
                identify shortcomings and opportunities for more 
                effective treatments and a cure for Parkinson's 
                disease. The Director shall report to Congress on the 
                coordination among the institutes in carrying out such 
                research.
                    ``(B) Research investment plan.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The results of each 
                        conference convened under subparagraph (A) 
                        shall be included in a research investment plan 
                        that provides for measurable results with the 
                        goals of better treatments and a cure for 
                        Parkinson's disease being the determining 
                        factors in the allocation of Parkinson's 
                        disease research dollars. The plan shall 
                        include an outline of the manner in which to 
                        fully utilize the Udall Center program to 
                        ensure the continuation of a particular focus 
                        on translational research, including a clinical 
                        component.
                            ``(ii) Budget and implementation 
                        strategy.--The plan submitted under clause (i) 
                        shall include a budget (that includes both 
                        programmatic and dollar line items) and 
                        implementation strategy (that incorporates the 
                        use of special initiatives such as Requests for 
                        Applications, Program Announcements with set-
                        asides or similar directed research mechanisms) 
                        together with results to be reported back to 
                        Congress.
                    ``(C) Submissions to congress.--The plan under 
                subparagraph (B) (including the budget and 
                implementation strategy) and the expected results of 
                plan implementation shall be submitted to Congress not 
                later than 3 months after the conference is convened 
                under subparagraph (A). Reports on the outcomes of the 
                plan, including actual spending and actual results, 
                shall be submitted to Congress on an annual basis.
                    ``(D) Funding.--The Secretary shall ensure that 
                adequate funding is available under this section to 
                carry out the activities described in the investment 
                plan under subparagraph (B).'';
            (2) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) by striking ``not more than 10''; and
                            (ii) by adding at the end the following: 
                        ``The Director shall ensure that an additional 
                        center shall be funded under this paragraph to 
                        serve as the coordinating center to coordinate 
                        the activities conducted by each of the centers 
                        funded under this paragraph to further focus 
                        and manage the interdisciplinary efforts of 
                        such centers.'';
                    (B) in paragraph (2)(A)(ii), by striking ``conduct 
                basic and clinical research'' and inserting ``in 
                carrying out research, ensure that a significant 
                clinical component is provided for in addition to 
                ongoing basic research''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) Review process.--The Director of NIH shall establish 
        a review process with respect to applications received for 
        grants under paragraph (1). Such process shall provide for the 
        evaluation of applicants in a manner that recognizes the unique 
        aspects of the clinical, coordination, and multidisciplinary 
        components of the applicants.'';
            (3) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) by striking ``is authorized to establish a 
                grant program'' and inserting ``shall award grants''; 
                and
                    (B) by inserting before the period at the end the 
                following: ``and shall be awarded in a manner 
                consistent with the research investment plan under 
                subsection (b)(2)(B)''; and
            (4) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the following:
    ``(e) Report.--The Director of NIH, in consultation with the 
Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall 
conduct an investigation, and prepare and submit to the appropriate 
committees of Congress a report, on the incidence of Parkinson's 
disease, including age, occupation, and geographic population clusters, 
and related environmental factors relating to such disease.
    ``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--For the purposes of 
carrying out this section, section 301, and this title with respect to 
research focused on Parkinson's disease, there are authorized to be 
appropriated not to exceed such sums as may be necessary for each of 
fiscal years 2007 through 2012.''.
                                 <all>