II 110th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 2773 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 13, 2008 Mr. Brown (for himself and Mr. Bond) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To amend title IV of the Public Health Service Act to provide for the establishment of pediatric research consortia.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Pediatric Research Consortia Establishment Act.

2.

National pediatric research consortia

Subpart 7 of part C of title IV of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 285g et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

452H.

National pediatric research consortia

(a)

In general

The Director of the National Institutes of Health, acting through the Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and in collaboration with all other Institutes of the National Institutes of Health that support pediatric research, shall award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to public or nonprofit private entities to pay all or part of the cost of planning, establishing, and providing basic operating support for up to 20 national pediatric research consortia. (b)

Research

Each consortium established under subsection (a) shall supplement, but not replace, the establishment of a comprehensive pediatric research portfolio. Such consortium shall conduct basic, clinical, behavioral, social, and translational research, as well as training and demonstration of advanced diagnostic and treatment methods relating to pediatrics. (c)

Coordination of consortia reports

The Director of NIH shall— (1)as appropriate, provide for the coordination of information among consortia under subsection (a) and ensure regular communication between such consortia; and (2)require the periodic preparation of reports on the activities of the consortia and the submission of the reports to the Director. (d)

Organization of consortium

Each consortium established under subsection (a) shall be formed from a collaboration of cooperating institutions with a lead institution, meeting such requirements as may be prescribed by the Director of NIH, including participation in a network of such consortium. (e)

Limitation

Payments under subsection (a) shall not exceed $2,500,000 per year for each consortium in the first 5 year cycle. (f)

Duration of support

Support for a consortium established under subsection (a) may be provided under this section for a period of 5 years and may be extended for additional periods of 5 years each, with enhanced funding opportunities based on a review of the operations by an appropriate scientific review group established by the Director.

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