YES to Cures Act of 2014

Summary: YES to Cures Act of 2014 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to allocate for research by emerging scientists funds that otherwise would be used to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of National Institutes of Health (NIH) programs. Requires NIH to explain why there has been an increase in the average age of grant recipients over the past 30 years and describe the steps taken to address this trend.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``YES to Cures Act of 2014''.

SEC. 2. FUNDING RESEARCH BY EMERGING SCIENTISTS THROUGH COMMON FUND.

    (a) Use of Funds.--Section 402(b)(7)(B) of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 282) is amended--
            (1) in clause (i), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) by redesignating clause (ii) as clause (iii); and
            (3) by inserting after clause (i) the following:
            ``(ii) shall, with respect to funds reserved under section 
        402A(c)(1)(C) for the Common Fund, allocate such funds to the 
        national research institutes and national centers for 
        conducting and supporting research that is identified under 
        subparagraph (A) and is carried out by one or more emerging 
        scientists (as defined in section 402A(c)(1)(C)(iv)); and''.
    (b) Reservation of Funds.--Section 402A(c)(1) of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 282a(c)(1)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as 
        subparagraphs (D) and (E), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following:
                    ``(C) Additional reservation for research by 
                emerging scientists.--
                            ``(i) Inapplicability of tap for evaluation 
                        activities.--Beginning with fiscal year 2015, 
                        funds appropriated to the National Institutes 
                        of Health shall not be subject to section 241.
                            ``(ii) Reservation.--In addition to the 
                        amounts reserved for the Common Fund under 
                        subparagraph (B) and amounts appropriated to 
                        the Common Fund under subsection (a)(2), the 
                        Director of NIH shall reserve an amount for the 
                        Common Fund for fiscal year 2015 and each 
                        subsequent fiscal year that is equal to the 
                        amount that, but for clause (i), would be made 
                        available under section 241 for evaluation 
                        activities for such fiscal year.
                            ``(iii) Purpose of reservation.--Amounts 
                        reserved under clause (ii) shall be used for 
                        the purpose of carrying out section 
                        402(b)(7)(B)(ii) (relating to the conduct and 
                        support of research that is identified under 
                        section 402A(b)(7)(A) and is carried out by one 
                        or more emerging scientists).
                            ``(iv) Definition.--In this subparagraph, 
                        the term `emerging scientist' means an 
                        investigator who--
                                    ``(I) will be the principal 
                                investigator or the program director of 
                                the proposed research;
                                    ``(II) has never been awarded, or 
                                has been awarded only once, a 
                                substantial, competing grant by the 
                                National Institutes of Health for 
                                independent research; and
                                    ``(III) is within 15 years of 
                                having completed--
                                            ``(aa) the investigator's 
                                        terminal degree; or
                                            ``(bb) a medical residency 
                                        (or the equivalent).''.
    (c) Supplement, Not Supplant; Prohibition Against Transfer.--Funds 
reserved pursuant to section 402A(c)(1)(C) of the Public Health Service 
Act, as added by subsection (b)--
            (1) shall be used to supplement, not supplant, the funds 
        otherwise allocated by the National Institutes of Health for 
        young investigators; and
            (2) notwithstanding any transfer authority in any 
        appropriation Act, shall not be used for any purpose other than 
        allocating funds as described in section 402(b)(7)(B)(ii) of 
        the Public Health Service Act, as added by subsection (a).
    (d) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Section 241(a) of the Public Health Service Act (42 
        U.S.C. 238j(a)) is amended by striking ``Such portion'' and 
        inserting ``Subject to section 402A(c)(1)(C)(i), such 
        portion''.
            (2) Section 402A(a)(2) of the Public Health Service Act is 
        amended--
                    (A) by striking ``402(b)(7)(B)(ii)'' and inserting 
                ``402(b)(7)(B)(iii)''; and
                    (B) by striking ``reserved under subsection 
                (c)(1)(B)(i)'' and inserting ``reserved under 
                subparagraph (B)(i) or (C)(ii) of subsection (c)(1)''.
            (3) Section 3(c)(2) of the Gabriella Miller Kids First 
        Research Act (Public Law 113-94) is amended by striking 
        ``402(b)(7)(B)(ii) of the Public Health Service Act, as added 
        by subsection (a)'' and inserting ``402(b)(7)(B)(iii) of the 
        Public Health Service Act, as added by subsection (a) and 
        redesignated by section 2(a) of the YES to Cures Act of 2014''.
    (e) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act (and the amendments 
made by this Act) is intended to affect the amount of funds authorized 
to be appropriated to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

SEC. 3. REPORT ON TRENDS IN AGE OF RECIPIENTS OF NIH-FUNDED MAJOR 
              RESEARCH GRANTS.

    Not later than six months after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Director of the National Institutes of Health shall submit a report 
to the Congress--
            (1) explaining why, over the 30-year period preceding the 
        enactment of this Act--
                    (A) there has been a substantial increase in the 
                age of investigators receiving their first major 
                research grant from the National Institutes of Health;
                    (B) there has been a substantial increase in the 
                average age of all recipients of major research grants 
                from the National Institutes of Health; and
                    (C) there has been a dramatic drop in the number of 
                investigators under 40 years of age receiving major 
                research grants from the National Institutes of Health; 
                and
            (2) describing--
                    (A) the steps taken by the National Institutes of 
                Health in recent years to address the trends identified 
                in paragraph (1); and
                    (B) the impact of taking such steps.