[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 5, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1993-S1994]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. Gregg, Mr. Frist, and Mr. 
        Bingaman):
  S. 314. A bill to make improvements in the Foundation for the 
National Institutes of Health; to the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, it is a privilege to join Senator Gregg, 
Senator Frist, and Senator Bingaman in introducing legislation to 
improve the role of the Foundation for the National Institutes of 
Health.
  The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health Improvement Act 
that we introduce today makes several improvements in the 1990 law that 
established the Foundation. Most significantly, the bill assures that 
the Foundation will receive $500,000 from the NIH to support its 
administrative and operating expenses. These funds will enable the 
Foundation to use its resources for the actual support of projects to 
strengthen NIH programs, rather than raise money for its own expenses. 
In addition, the bill makes clear that the NIH Director and the 
Commissioner of Food and Drugs are ex officio members of the 
Foundation's board of directors.
  Congress established the Foundation to raise private funds to support 
the research of the NIH. Since its incorporation as a private, 
nonprofit organization in Maryland 7 years ago, for every $1 that the 
Foundation has received in support from the NIH, it has raised $13 in 
private funds to support the work of NIH.
  By last fall, the Foundation was managing 20 programs with multi-year 
revenue and funding goals of over $45 million. For example, the Edmond 
J. Safra Family Lodge on the NIH campus will be completed in the summer 
of 2004 using private funds donated through the Foundation, with 
services and land donated by the NIH. Families of patients receiving 
in-patient cancer treatment at the NIH Clinical Center will have the 
Lodge as a place to stay, at no cost to them.
  In addition, the Foundation has formed partnerships with the NIH to 
develop new cancer treatments, to identify biomarkers for 
osteoarthritis, and to build on the promise of genomics. Through a 
public-private partnership, the Foundation helped accelerate the 
sequencing of the mouse genome. The Foundation is also collecting 
private funds to study drugs in children. On January 26, 2003, Bill 
Gates announced a gift to the NIH through the Foundation of $200 
million

[[Page S1994]]

over the next 10 years to support research on global health priorities. 
Clearly, the Foundation's role with the NIH will grow productively in 
the coming years.
  I urge my colleagues in the Senate to support this legislation, so 
that the Foundation can continue its effective support of the work and 
mission of the NIH. I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill 
be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 314

       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 ``Foundation for the National 
     Institutes of Health Improvement Act''.

     SEC. 2. NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH ESTABLISHMENT AND 
                   DUTIES.

       Section 499 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
     290b) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (d)--
       (A) in paragraph (1)--
       (i) by amending subparagraph (D)(ii) to read as follows:
       ``(ii) Upon the appointment of the appointed members of the 
     Board under clause (i)(II), the terms of service as members 
     of the Board of the ex officio members of the Board described 
     in clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (B) shall terminate. 
     The ex officio members of the Board described in clauses 
     (iii) and (iv) of subparagraph (B) shall continue to serve as 
     ex officio members of the Board.''; and
       (ii) in subparagraph (G), by inserting ``appointed'' after 
     ``that the number of'';
       (B) by amending paragraph (3)(B) to read as follows:
       ``(B) Any vacancy in the membership of the appointed 
     members of the Board shall be filled in accordance with the 
     bylaws of the Foundation established in accordance with 
     paragraph (6), and shall not affect the power of the 
     remaining appointed members to execute the duties of the 
     Board.''; and
       (C) in paragraph (5), by inserting ``appointed'' after 
     ``majority of the'';
       (2) in subsection (j)--
       (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ``(d)(2)(B)(i)(II)'' and 
     inserting ``(d)(6)''; and
       (B) in paragraph (10), by striking ``of Health.'' and 
     inserting ``of Health and the National Institutes of Health 
     may accept transfers of funds from the Foundation.''; and
       (3) by striking subsection (l) and inserting the following:
       ``(l) Funding.--From amounts appropriated to the National 
     Institutes of Health, for each fiscal year, the Director of 
     NIH shall transfer $500,000 to the Foundation.''.
                                 ______