[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 16934-16935]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             PEDIATRIC RESEARCH CONSORTIA ESTABLISHMENT ACT

  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 758) to amend title IV of the Public Health Service Act to 
provide for the establishment of pediatric research consortia, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 758

       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 ``Pediatric Research Consortia 
     Establishment Act''.

     SEC. 2. NATIONAL PEDIATRIC RESEARCH CONSORTIA.

       Subpart 7 of part C of title IV of the Public Health 
     Service Act (42 U.S.C. 285g et seq.) is amended by adding at 
     the end the following:

     ``SEC. 452H. NATIONAL PEDIATRIC RESEARCH CONSORTIA.

       ``(a) In General.--The Director of NIH, acting through the 
     Director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of 
     Child Health and Human Development and in collaboration with 
     all other Institutes of the National Institutes of Health 
     that support pediatric research, may, subject to the 
     availability of funds, award grants, contracts, or 
     cooperative agreements to public or nonprofit private 
     entities to pay all or part of the cost of planning, 
     establishing, and providing basic operating support for up to 
     20 national pediatric research consortia. The Director of NIH 
     shall take unmet research needs into account when making 
     awards under this section.
       ``(b) Research.--Research conducted under this section 
     shall supplement, but not replace, research that is otherwise 
     conducted or supported as part of the comprehensive pediatric 
     research portfolio of entities receiving awards under 
     subsection (a). Consortia established under subsection (a) 
     shall, in the aggregate, conduct basic, clinical, behavioral, 
     social, or translational research to meet unmet research 
     needs, as well as training in and demonstration of advanced 
     diagnostic and treatment methods relating to pediatrics, as 
     appropriate.
       ``(c) Coordination of Consortia Reports.--The Director of 
     NIH shall--
       ``(1) as appropriate, provide for the coordination of 
     information among consortia established under subsection (a) 
     and ensure regular communication between such consortia; and
       ``(2) require the periodic preparation of reports on the 
     activities of the consortia and the submission of the reports 
     to the Director.
       ``(d) Organization of Consortium.--Each consortium 
     established under subsection (a) shall be formed from a 
     collaboration of cooperating institutions with a lead 
     institution, meeting such requirements as may be prescribed 
     by the Director of NIH, including participation in a network 
     of such consortia.
       ``(e) Limitation.--Payments under subsection (a) shall not 
     exceed $2,500,000 per year for each consortium in the first 
     5-year cycle.
       ``(f) Duration of Payments.--Payments under subsection (a) 
     for a consortium may be provided under this section for a 
     period of 5 years and may be extended for additional periods 
     of 5 years each, with enhanced funding opportunities based on 
     a review of the operations by an appropriate scientific 
     review.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Pallone) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.


                             General Leave

  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material in the Record.

[[Page 16935]]

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 758, the Pediatric Research 
Consortia Establishment Act. The goal of H.R. 758 is to enhance the 
Nation's research program into pediatric conditions by creating a 
strong research infrastructure. I urge my colleagues to support this 
bill.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 758, the Pediatric Research Consortia 
Establishment Act, would allow the National Institutes of Health to 
support up to 20 national pediatric research consortia that would 
conduct vital pediatric research. Specifically, the Pediatric Research 
Consortia Establishment Act would allow but not require the National 
Institutes of Health award grants to public or nonprofit private 
entities to pay for the cost of planning, establishing, and providing a 
basic operating support for up to 20 national pediatric research 
consortia. These consortia would conduct basic clinical, behavioral, 
social, and translational research. They could also provide training on 
advanced diagnostic and treatment methods relating to pediatrics. The 
consortia will foster efficiency and collaboration at all levels of 
pediatric research, and they will provide patients with greater access 
to vital research.
  I urge my colleagues to support the bill.
  Mr. KING of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 
758, the Pediatric Research Consortia Establishment Act.
  This legislation is an important step towards understanding and 
eradicating diseases in children. The consortia will lead to new 
insights to the major disorders that affect children and will empower 
researchers to discover innovative strategies for diagnosis and 
treatment.
  Pediatric research and care is currently underfunded despite the fact 
that children comprise 20 percent of our nation's population. Enrolling 
and evaluating a sufficiently large group of children is the most 
effective way of understanding these disorders and to monitor how they 
manifest in adults. By having Pediatric research institutions 
collaborate and share information in a methodical way, we can speed up 
breakthroughs and treatments to fight diseases that affect children.
  This investment in research is an important step in speeding up the 
development of therapies to combat devastating diseases in children. I 
am proud to support this legislation.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I urge support for the bill and yield back 
the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 758, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a 
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not 
present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

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