[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 11 (Monday, February 7, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1054-S1055]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. Gregg, Mr. Enzi, Mr. Frist, and 
        Mr. Bingaman):
  S. 302. 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's a privilege to join Senator Frist, 
Senator Enzi, Senator Gregg, and Senator Bingaman in introducing the 
Foundation for the National Institutes of Health Improvement Act.
  Our bill makes several improvements in the 1990 law that established 
the Foundation. Most significant, it assures the Foundation at least 
$500,000 annually from the NIH to support its administrative and 
operating expenses. These funds will enable the Foundation to use its 
own resources for the actual support of projects to strengthen NIH 
programs, rather than raise money for its own expenses. As the bill 
makes clear, 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. For every dollar the Foundation received from 
the NIH in 2003, it raised $426 in private funds. Since its creation, 
the Foundation has raised $270 million, or $68 in private support for 
every dollar from the NIH.
  The Foundation is currently managing 37 programs supported by $270 
million generated from private contributions. For example, the Edmond 
J. Safra Family Lodge on the NIH campus gives families of patients 
receiving in-patient treatment at the NIH Clinical Center 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 biochemical signs of 
osteoarthritis and Alzheimer's Disease, 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. In 2003, Bill 
Gates announced a gift to the Foundation of $200 million over the next 
10 years to support research on global health priorities. Clearly, the 
Foundation's partnership 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. 302

       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''.

[[Page S1055]]

     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 not less than $500,000 to the 
     Foundation.''.
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