[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2421 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2421

 To amend the Public Health Service Act to increase accountability at 
                   the National Institutes of Health.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 19, 2015

  Mr. Barton introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Public Health Service Act to increase accountability at 
                   the National Institutes of Health.

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

SECTION 1. INCREASING ACCOUNTABILITY AT THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF 
              HEALTH.

    (a) Appointment and Terms of Directors of National Research 
Institutes and National Centers.--Subsection (a) of section 405 of the 
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 284) is amended to read as 
follows:
    ``(a) Appointment; Terms.--
            ``(1) Appointment.--The Director of the National Cancer 
        Institute shall be appointed by the President and the directors 
        of the other national research institutes, as well as the 
        directors of the national centers, shall be appointed by the 
        Director of NIH. The directors of the national research 
        institutes, as well as national centers, shall report directly 
        to the Director of NIH.
            ``(2) Terms.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term of office of a director 
                of a national research institute or national center 
                shall be 5 years.
                    ``(B) Removal.--The director of a national research 
                institute or national center may be removed from office 
                by the Director of NIH prior to the expiration of such 
                director's 5-year term.
                    ``(C) Reappointment.--At the end of the term of a 
                director of a national research institute or national 
                center, the director may be reappointed. There is no 
                limit on the number of terms a director may serve.
                    ``(D) Vacancies.--If the office of a director of a 
                national research institute or national center becomes 
                vacant before the end of such director's term, the 
                director appointed to fill the vacancy shall be 
                appointed for a 5-year term starting on the date of 
                such appointment.
                    ``(E) Transitional provision.--Each director of a 
                national research institute or national center serving 
                on the date of enactment of the 21st Century Cures Act 
                is deemed to be appointed for a 5-year term under this 
                subsection starting on such date of enactment.''.
    (b) Compensation to Consultants or Individual Scientists.--Section 
202 of the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and 
Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1993 (Public Law 
102-394; 42 U.S.C. 238f note) is amended by striking ``portable 
structures;'' and all that follows and inserting ``portable 
structures.''.
    (c) Review of Certain Awards by Directors.--Section 405(b) of the 
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 284(b)) is amended by adding at 
the end the following:
    ``(3) Before an award is made by a national research institute or 
by a national center for a grant for a research program or project 
(commonly referred to as an `R-series grant'), other than an award 
constituting a noncompeting renewal of such grant, or a noncompeting 
administrative supplement to such grant, the director of such national 
research institute or national center--
            ``(A) shall review and approve the award; and
            ``(B) shall take into consideration--
                    ``(i) the mission of the national research 
                institute or national center and the scientific 
                priorities identified in the strategic plan under 
                section 402(m); and
                    ``(ii) whether other agencies are funding programs 
                or projects to accomplish the same goal.''.
    (d) IOM Study on Duplication in Federal Biomedical Research.--The 
Secretary of Health and Human Services shall enter into an arrangement 
with the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies (or, if the 
Institute declines, another appropriate entity) under which the 
Institute (or other appropriate entity) not later than 2 years after 
the date of enactment of this Act will--
            (1) complete a study on the extent to which biomedical 
        research conducted or supported by Federal agencies is 
        duplicative; and
            (2) submit a report to the Congress on the results of such 
        study, including recommendations on how to prevent such 
        duplication.
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