[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7779 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7779
To amend the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of
Health and Human Services to establish a program for the conduct and
support of research, training, and health information dissemination
with respect to environmental risk factors of neurodegenerative
diseases, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 3, 2026
Mr. Subramanyam (for himself and Mr. Bilirakis) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of
Health and Human Services to establish a program for the conduct and
support of research, training, and health information dissemination
with respect to environmental risk factors of neurodegenerative
diseases, and for other purposes.
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 ``Harmonizing Environmental Analyses
and Launching Therapeutic Hubs to Yield Bolstered Research And
Innovation in Neurological Science Act of 2026'' or the ``HEALTHY
BRAINS Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. RESEARCH INTO ENVIRONMENTAL RISK FACTORS THAT MAY CONTRIBUTE TO
NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASE.
Part B of title IV of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 284
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 409K. NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish a program for the
conduct and support of research, training, and health information
dissemination with respect to environmental risk factors (including
environmental toxicant exposures) of neurodegenerative diseases.
``(b) Scope of Research.--Research conducted or supported under
this section shall--
``(1) be focused on--
``(A) potential environmental toxicants, including
environmental stressors such as volatile organic
compounds, particulate matter, per- and polyfluorinated
substances, and heavy metals in environmental media
such as air, water, food, and soil;
``(B) the mechanistic interactions of such
toxicants with neurodegenerative disease outcomes;
``(C) the presymptomatic markers of
neurodegenerative disease; and
``(D) advancing development of environmental health
strategies to prevent, manage, treat, or slow the
progression of neurodegenerative disease; and
``(2) may include research--
``(A) examining environmental exposures, including
occupational risk factors, sociobehavioral factors, and
social determinants of health;
``(B) using fundamental approaches to identify
historical, existing, and emerging environmental risks
and factors that affect disease progression;
``(C) examining multifactorial causation from
chemical and nonchemical exposures;
``(D) examining prevalence of the disease in
relation to the distribution of exposures across
communities and populations;
``(E) examining the expression of disease traits
that result from the interplay of genes and
environment; and
``(F) exploring physiological mechanisms driving
neurodegeneration from toxicant exposures.
``(c) Coordination Within HHS.--
``(1) In general.--In carrying out the program under
subsection (a), the Secretary shall--
``(A) provide for coordination across the programs
and activities of the Department of Health and Human
Services to avoid duplication; and
``(B) expand the funding of environmental health
research by leading an ongoing, coordinated, and
focused effort to fund new and existing centers for the
study and evaluation of environmental risk factors
(including environmental toxicants) of
neurodegenerative diseases.
``(2) Biennial report.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the
Secretary shall--
``(A) submit a biennial report detailing the
findings and conclusions of research under this section
to--
``(i) the Committees on Appropriations of
the House of Representatives and the Senate;
``(ii) the Committee on Energy and Commerce
of the House of Representatives; and
``(iii) the Committee on Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions of the Senate;
``(B) post each report under subparagraph (A) on
the public website of the Department of Health and
Human Services; and
``(C) include the information reported pursuant to
subparagraph (A) in the triennial report under section
403.
``(d) Collaborative Centers for Neurodegenerative Disease
Environmental Research.--
``(1) In general.--In carrying out the program under
subsection (a), the Secretary shall provide for the
establishment of research centers, to be known as Collaborative
Centers for Neurodegenerative Disease Environmental Research
(in this section each referred to as a `Collaborative Center')
at institutions of higher education, medical centers, and other
appropriate entities.
``(2) Requirements.--With respect to neurodegenerative
disease, each Collaborative Center shall--
``(A) conduct and support basic, applied, and
clinical research on the effects of environmental risk
factors (including environmental toxicants), including
with respect to disease progression;
``(B) use the facilities of a single institution or
a consortium of cooperating institutions to administer
the Collaborative Centers and meet such qualifications
as may be prescribed by the Secretary;
``(C) be anchored in population-based,
environmental health research;
``(D) conduct interdisciplinary and collaborative
research that spans basic, applies, population-based,
or clinical research;
``(E) coordinate with existing intramural and
extramural efforts of the Department of Health and
Human Services; and
``(F) collaborate with relevant partners and
stakeholders, including researchers, health
professionals, nonprofit organizations, patients, and
caregivers, to understand the effects of environmental
risk factors (including environmental toxicants) of
neurodegenerative disease and progression thereof.
``(3) Discretionary activities.--With respect to
neurodegenerative diseases, each Collaborative Center may--
``(A) provide career enhancement and training
opportunities for scientists, researchers,
environmental professionals, and health professionals,
including through the provision of stipends;
``(B) conduct programs to provide information and
continuing education to health professionals, including
through the provision of stipends;
``(C) conduct programs for the dissemination of
information to the public regarding research findings
and proposed prevention strategies when appropriate;
``(D) separately or in collaboration with other
Collaborative Centers or governmental agencies,
establish a nationwide data system that--
``(i) includes data derived from
comprehensive and representative patient
populations with neurodegenerative diseases;
and
``(ii) where possible, compares relevant
data involving general populations;
``(E) separately or in collaboration with other
Collaborative Centers, establish a clearinghouse, to be
known as the Environmental Contributions to
Neurodegenerative Disease Information Clearinghouse, to
facilitate and enhance knowledge and understanding of
environmental risk factors of neurodegenerative
diseases; and
``(F) separately or in collaboration with other
Collaborative Centers, establish a national education
program that fosters a national focus on environmental
risk factors of neurodegenerative diseases.
``(4) Duration of support.--The period of support for a
Collaborative Center under this section shall not exceed 5
years, except that such period may be extended by the Secretary
for one or more additional periods of not more than 5 years
if--
``(A) the operations of such Collaborative Center
have been reviewed by an appropriate technical and
scientific peer review group established by the
Secretary; and
``(B) such group has recommended to the Secretary
that such period should be extended.
``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section,
there is authorized to be appropriated $50,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2027 through 2031.''.
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