[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2818 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2818

To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the establishment 
of Epilepsy Centers of Excellence in the Veterans Health Administration 
                 of the Department of Veterans Affairs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 21, 2007

Mr. Perlmutter (for himself, Mr. Filner, Mr. Michaud, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. 
 Salazar, Mr. Wexler, and Mr. Lamborn) introduced the following bill; 
        which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the establishment 
of Epilepsy Centers of Excellence in the Veterans Health Administration 
                 of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

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

SECTION 1. EPILEPSY CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE.

    (a) Requirement for Establishment of Epilepsy Centers of 
Excellence.--Subchapter II of chapter 73 of title 38, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 7330A. Epilepsy centers of excellence
    ``(a) Establishment of Centers.--(1) Not later than 120 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, upon the 
recommendation of the Under Secretary for Health, shall designate not 
less than six Department health-care facilities as the locations for 
epilepsy centers of excellence.
    ``(2) Subject to the availability of appropriations for such 
purpose, the Secretary shall establish and operate epilepsy centers of 
excellence at the locations designated pursuant to paragraph (1).
    ``(b) Designation of Facilities.--(1) The Secretary may not 
designate a Department health-care facility as a location for an 
epilepsy center of excellence under subsection (a)(1) unless the peer 
review panel established under subsection (c) has determined under that 
subsection that the proposal submitted by such facility seeking 
designation as a location for an epilepsy center of excellence is among 
those proposals that meet the highest competitive standards of 
scientific and clinical merit.
    ``(2) In choosing from among the facilities meeting the 
requirements of paragraph (1), the Secretary shall also consider 
appropriate geographic distribution when designating the epilepsy 
centers of excellence under subsection (a)(1).
    ``(c) Peer Review Panel.--(1) The Under Secretary for Health shall 
establish a peer review panel to assess the scientific and clinical 
merit of proposals that are submitted to the Secretary for the 
designation of epilepsy centers of excellence under this section.
    ``(2)(A) The membership of the peer review panel shall consist of 
experts on epilepsy, including post-traumatic epilepsy.
    ``(B) Members of the peer review panel shall serve for a period of 
no longer than two years, except as specified in subparagraph (C).
    ``(C) Of the members first appointed to the panel, one half shall 
be appointed for a period of three years and one half shall be 
appointed for a period of two years, as designated by the Under 
Secretary at the time of appointment.
    ``(3) The peer review panel shall review each proposal submitted to 
the panel by the Under Secretary for Health and shall submit its views 
on the relative scientific and clinical merit of each such proposal to 
the Under Secretary.
    ``(4) The peer review panel shall not be subject to the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act.
    ``(d) Priority of Funding.--The Secretary shall ensure that each 
Department health-care facility that, as of January 1, 2007, was 
operating a nationally designated VA Center of Excellence for Epilepsy 
Monitoring and is designated as an epilepsy center of excellence under 
subsection (a)(1) shall receive adequate funding to enable those 
centers to function effectively in the areas of epilepsy research, 
education, and clinical care activities before providing funds to 
facilities designated under subsection (a)(1) that were not operating a 
nationally designated VA Center of Excellence for Epilepsy Monitoring 
as of January 1, 2007.
    ``(e) Epilepsy Center of Excellence Defined.--The term `epilepsy 
center of excellence' means a Department health-care facility that has 
(or in the foreseeable future can develop) the necessary capacity to 
function as a center of excellence in research, education, and clinical 
care activities in the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy and has (or 
may reasonably be anticipated to develop) each of the following:
            ``(1) An affiliation with an accredited medical school that 
        provides education and training in neurology, including an 
        arrangement with such school under which medical residents 
        receive education and training in the diagnosis and treatment 
        of epilepsy (including neurosurgery).
            ``(2) The ability to attract the participation of 
        scientists who are capable of ingenuity and creativity in 
        health-care research efforts.
            ``(3) An advisory committee composed of veterans 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 the center during the period of 
        the operation of such center.
            ``(4) The capability to conduct effectively evaluations of 
        the activities of such center.
            ``(5) The capability to coordinate (as part of an 
        integrated national system) education, clinical care, and 
        research activities within all facilities with such centers.
            ``(6) The capability to develop jointly a national 
        consortium of providers with interest in treating epilepsy at 
        Department health-care facilities lacking such centers in order 
        to ensure better access to state-of-the-art diagnosis, 
        research, clinical care, and education for traumatic brain 
        injury and epilepsy throughout the health-care system of the 
        Department. Such consortium should include a designated 
        epilepsy referral clinic in each Veterans Integrated Service 
        Network.
            ``(7) The capability to assist in the expansion of the 
        Department's use of information systems and databases to 
        improve the quality and delivery of care for veterans enrolled 
        within the Department's health care system.
            ``(8) The capability to assist in the expansion of the 
        Department telehealth program to develop, transmit, monitor, 
        and review neurological diagnostic tests.
            ``(9) The ability to perform epilepsy research, education, 
        and clinical care activities in collaboration with Department 
        medical facilities that have centers for research, education, 
        and clinical care activities on complex multi-trauma associated 
        with combat injuries established under section 7327.
    ``(f) Administration.--(1) In order to assist the Secretary and 
Under Secretary for Health in carrying out this section, a national 
coordinator for epilepsy programs shall report to the official 
responsible for neurology at the Veterans Health Administration and 
shall--
            ``(A) supervise the operation of the centers established 
        pursuant to this section;
            ``(B) coordinate and support the national consortium of 
        providers with interest in treating epilepsy at Department 
        health-care facilities lacking such centers in order to ensure 
        better access to state-of-the-art diagnosis, research, clinical 
        care, and education for traumatic brain injury and epilepsy 
        throughout the health-care system of the Department; and
            ``(C) conduct regular evaluations of the epilepsy centers 
        of excellence to ensure compliance  with the requirements of 
        this section.
    ``(2) In addition to amounts authorized under subsection (g), there 
are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to fund 
such national coordinator.
    ``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--(1) There are authorized to 
be appropriated $6 million for each fiscal year from fiscal year 2008 
through fiscal year 2012 for the support of the clinical care, 
research, and education activities of the epilepsy centers of 
excellence established and operated pursuant to subsection (a)(2).
    ``(2) There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary after fiscal year 2012 for the support of the clinical care, 
research, and education activities of the epilepsy centers of 
excellence established and operated pursuant to subsection (a)(2).
    ``(3) The Secretary shall ensure that funds for such centers are 
designated for the first three years of operation as a special purpose 
program for which funds are not allocated through the Veterans 
Equitable Resource Allocation system.
    ``(4) In addition to amounts authorized to be appropriated under 
paragraph (1) for a fiscal year, 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.''.
    (b) 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 7330 the following new item:

``7330A. Epilepsy centers of excellence.''.
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