[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 222 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 222

    To establish the National Prostate Cancer Council for improved 
  screening, early detection, assessment, and monitoring of prostate 
cancer, and to direct the development and implementation of a national 
  strategic plan to expedite advancement of diagnostic tools and the 
                  transfer of such tools to patients.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 21, 2015

  Mrs. Boxer (for herself and Mr. Sessions) introduced the following 
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To establish the National Prostate Cancer Council for improved 
  screening, early detection, assessment, and monitoring of prostate 
cancer, and to direct the development and implementation of a national 
  strategic plan to expedite advancement of diagnostic tools and the 
                  transfer of such tools to patients.

    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 ``National Prostate Cancer Plan Act''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL PROSTATE CANCER COUNCIL.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established in the Office of the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services (referred to in this section as 
the ``Secretary'') the National Prostate Cancer Council on Screening, 
Early Detection, Assessment, and Monitoring of Prostate Cancer 
(referred to in this Act as the ``Council'').
    (b) Purpose of the Council.--The Council shall--
            (1) develop and implement a national strategic plan for the 
        accelerated creation, advancement, and testing of diagnostic 
        tools to improve screening, early detection, assessment, and 
        monitoring of prostate cancer, including--
                    (A) early detection of aggressive prostate cancer 
                to save lives;
                    (B) monitoring of tumor response to treatment, 
                including recurrence and progression; and
                    (C) accurate assessment and surveillance of 
                indolent disease to reduce unnecessary biopsies and 
                treatment;
            (2) provide information and coordination of prostate cancer 
        research and services across all Federal agencies;
            (3) review diagnostic tools and their overall effectiveness 
        at screening, detecting, assessing, and monitoring of prostate 
        cancer;
            (4) evaluate all programs in prostate cancer that are in 
        existence on the date of enactment of this Act, including 
        Federal budget requests and approvals and public-private 
        partnerships;
            (5) submit an annual report to the Secretary and Congress 
        on the creation and implementation of the national strategic 
        plan under paragraph (1); and
            (6) ensure the inclusion of men at high-risk for prostate 
        cancer, including men from ethnic and racial populations and 
        men who are least likely to receive care, in clinical, 
        research, and service efforts, with the purpose of decreasing 
        health disparities.
    (c) Membership.--
            (1) Federal members.--The Council shall be led by the 
        Secretary or designee and comprised of the following experts:
                    (A) Two representatives of the National Institutes 
                of Health, including 1 representative of the National 
                Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering and 
                1 representative of the National Cancer Institute.
                    (B) A representative of the Centers for Disease 
                Control and Prevention.
                    (C) A representative of the Centers for Medicare 
                and Medicaid Services.
                    (D) A designee of the Director of the Department of 
                Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research 
                Program.
                    (E) A designee of the Director of the Office of 
                Minority Health.
                    (F) A representative of the Food and Drug 
                Administration.
                    (G) A representative of the Agency for Healthcare 
                Research and Quality.
            (2) Non-federal members.--In addition to the members 
        described in paragraph (1), the Council shall include 14 expert 
        members from outside the Federal Government, which shall 
        include--
                    (A) 6 prostate cancer patient advocates, 
                including--
                            (i) 2 patient-survivors;
                            (ii) 2 caregivers of prostate cancer 
                        patients; and
                            (iii) 2 representatives from national 
                        prostate cancer disease organizations that fund 
                        research or have demonstrated experience in 
                        providing assistance to patients, families, and 
                        medical professionals, including information on 
                        health care options, education, and referral; 
                        and
                    (B) 8 health care stakeholders with specific 
                expertise in prostate cancer research in the critical 
                areas of clinical expertise, including medical 
                oncology, radiology, radiation oncology, urology, and 
                pathology.
    (d) Meetings.--The Council shall meet quarterly and meetings shall 
be open to the public.
    (e) Advice.--The Council shall advise the Secretary, or the 
Secretary's designee.
    (f) Annual Report.--The Council shall submit annual reports, 
beginning not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
Act, to the Secretary or the Secretary's designee and to Congress. The 
annual report shall include--
            (1) in the first year--
                    (A) an evaluation of all federally funded efforts 
                in prostate cancer research and gaps relating to the 
                development and validation of diagnostic tools for 
                prostate cancer; and
                    (B) recommendations for priority actions to expand, 
                eliminate, coordinate, or condense programs based on 
                the performance, mission, and purpose of the programs; 
                and
            (2) annually thereafter for 5 years--
                    (A) an outline for the development and 
                implementation of a national research plan for creation 
                and validation of accurate diagnostic tools to improve 
                prostate cancer care in accordance with subsection (a);
                    (B) roles for the National Cancer Institute, 
                National Institute on Minority Health and Health 
                Disparities, and the Office on Minority Health of the 
                Department of Health and Human Services;
                    (C) an analysis of the disparities in the incidence 
                and mortality rates of prostate cancer in men at high 
                risk of the disease, including individuals with family 
                history, increasing age, or African-American heritage; 
                and
                    (D) a review of the progress towards the 
                realization of the proposed strategic plan.
    (g) Termination.--The Council shall terminate on December 31, 2020.
    (h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $2,000,000 for the period of 
fiscal years 2016 through 2020.
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