To expand the research, prevention, and awareness activities of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health with respect to pulmonary fibrosis, and for other purposes.

Summary: Pulmonary Fibrosis Research Enhancement Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to: (1) establish the National Pulmonary Fibrosis Advisory Board, (2) develop a system to collect data on pulmonary fibrosis and other interstitial lung diseases, and (3) establish the National PF Registry.

Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), in developing the Registry, to: (1) expand and coordinate existing data and surveillance systems, surveys, registries, and other federal public health and environmental infrastructure; and (2) provide for research access to pulmonary fibrosis data.

Directs the Secretary to ensure that epidemiological and other types of information are made available to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Requires the Director of CDC to prepare the National Pulmonary Fibrosis Education and Awareness Plan, which shall: (1) focus on strategies to increase public education and awareness of pulmonary fibrosis, (2) address the need for new physician education strategies to improve diagnosis and treatment standards, and (3) assess and monitor the costs of pulmonary fibrosis and its burden on patients and families.

Encourages the Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to expand, intensify, and coordinate Institute pulmonary fibrosis research activities.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Pulmonary Fibrosis Research 
Enhancement Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Pulmonary fibrosis (in this section referred to as 
        ``PF'') is a relentlessly progressive, ultimately fatal disease 
        that affects the lungs, gradually robbing a person of the 
        ability to breathe.
            (2) More than 200,000 individuals may be living with PF in 
        the United States, 48,000 individuals in the United States are 
        diagnosed with PF annually, and as many as 40,000 die annually.
            (3) Prevalence of PF has increased more than 150 percent 
        since 2001, and is expected to continue rising.
            (4) The median survival rate for a person with PF is 2.8 
        years.
            (5) The cause of PF is not well understood, and in most 
        cases is unknown, though there is growing evidence that one 
        cause of PF may be environmental or occupational exposure to 
        pollutants.
            (6) There is no Food and Drug Administration-approved 
        treatment or cure for PF.
            (7) Public awareness of PF remains low compared to rare 
        diseases of lesser prevalence, despite PF's increasing 
        prevalence.
            (8) There has been no federally funded national awareness 
        or educational effort to improve understanding of PF in the 
        public or medical communities, though nonprofit patient 
        education and research groups have begun to increase awareness. 
        The first Federal legislation expressing Congress's support for 
        PF research, H. Con. Res. 182, was agreed to by both Houses of 
        Congress in 2007.

SEC. 3. PULMONARY FIBROSIS ADVISORY BOARD AND REGISTRY.

    Part B of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 243 
et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 317T the following:

``SEC. 317U. PULMONARY FIBROSIS ADVISORY BOARD AND REGISTRY.

    ``(a) Advisory Board.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date 
        of the enactment of this section, the Secretary, acting through 
        the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 
        shall establish a board to be known as the National Pulmonary 
        Fibrosis Advisory Board (in this section referred to as the 
        `Advisory Board'). The Advisory Board shall be composed of at 
        least one member, to be appointed by the Secretary, acting 
        through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention, representing each of the following:
                    ``(A) The National Institutes of Health.
                    ``(B) The National Institute of Environmental 
                Health Sciences.
                    ``(C) The Department of Veterans Affairs.
                    ``(D) The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease 
                Registry.
                    ``(E) The Centers for Disease Control and 
                Prevention.
                    ``(F) Patients with PF or their family members and 
                other individuals with an interest in developing and 
                maintaining the National PF Registry.
                    ``(G) Patient advocates, including organizations 
                representing such advocates.
                    ``(H) Clinicians with expertise on PF and related 
                diseases.
                    ``(I) Epidemiologists with experience working with 
                data registries.
                    ``(J) Geneticists or experts in genetics who have 
                experience with the genetics of PF or other 
                interstitial lung diseases.
            ``(2) Duties.--The Advisory Board shall--
                    ``(A) review information and make recommendations 
                to the Secretary concerning--
                            ``(i) the development and maintenance of 
                        the National PF Registry;
                            ``(ii) the type of information to be 
                        collected and stored in the National PF 
                        Registry;
                            ``(iii) the manner in which such data is to 
                        be collected;
                            ``(iv) the use and availability of such 
                        data, including guidelines for such use; and
                            ``(v) the collection of information about 
                        diseases and disorders that primarily affect 
                        the lungs that are considered essential to 
                        furthering the study and cure of PF; and
                    ``(B) consult with the Director of the Centers for 
                Disease Control and Prevention regarding preparation of 
                the National Pulmonary Fibrosis Education and Awareness 
                Plan under section 4(a) of the Pulmonary Fibrosis 
                Research Enhancement Act.
            ``(3) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this section, the Advisory Board shall submit to 
        the Secretary, the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 
        House of Representatives, and the Health, Education, Labor, and 
        Pensions Committee of the Senate a report on the review 
        conducted under paragraph (2), including the recommendations of 
        the Advisory Board resulting from such review.
    ``(b) Establishment of Registry.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the receipt 
        of the report required by subsection (a)(3), the Secretary, 
        acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control 
        and Prevention and in consultation with patients, patient 
        advocates, and others with expertise in research and care of 
        pulmonary fibrosis (referred to in this section as `PF'), 
        shall--
                    ``(A) develop a system to collect data on PF and 
                other interstitial lung diseases that are related to 
                PF, including information with respect to the incidence 
                and prevalence of the disease in the United States; and
                    ``(B) establish a national registry (in this 
                section referred to as the `National PF Registry') 
                that--
                            ``(i) is used for the collection and 
                        storage of data described in subparagraph (A); 
                        and
                            ``(ii) includes a population-based registry 
                        of cases in the United States of PF and other 
                        interstitial lung diseases that are related to 
                        PF.
            ``(2) Purpose.--The purpose of the National PF Registry 
        shall be to gather available data concerning--
                    ``(A) PF, including the incidence and prevalence of 
                PF in the United States;
                    ``(B) environmental and occupational factors that 
                may be associated with the disease;
                    ``(C) age, race or ethnicity, gender, and family 
                history of individuals who are diagnosed with the 
                disease;
                    ``(D) pathogenesis of PF; and
                    ``(E) other matters as determined appropriate by 
                the Secretary.
    ``(c) Coordination With State, Local, and Federal Registries.--
            ``(1) In general.--In establishing the National PF Registry 
        under subsection (b), the Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) identify, build upon, expand, and coordinate 
                among existing data and surveillance systems, surveys, 
                registries, and other Federal public health and 
                environmental infrastructure wherever possible, 
                including--
                            ``(i) existing systems in place at 
                        universities, medical centers, and government 
                        agencies;
                            ``(ii) State-based PF registries, National 
                        Institutes of Health registries, and Department 
                        of Veterans Affairs registries, as available; 
                        and
                            ``(iii) any other relevant databases that 
                        collect or maintain information on interstitial 
                        lung diseases; and
                    ``(B) provide for research access to PF data in 
                accordance with applicable statutes and regulations, 
                including those protecting personal privacy.
            ``(2) Coordination with nih and department of veterans 
        affairs.--Consistent with applicable privacy statutes and 
        regulations, the Secretary shall ensure that epidemiological 
        and other types of information obtained under subsection (b) is 
        made available to the National Institutes of Health and the 
        Department of Veterans Affairs.''.

SEC. 4. NATIONAL PULMONARY FIBROSIS EDUCATION AND AWARENESS PLAN.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Preparation of plan.--The Director of the Centers for 
        Disease Control and Prevention, in consultation with the 
        National Pulmonary Fibrosis Advisory Board established under 
        section 317U of the Public Health Service Act, as added by 
        section 3 of this Act, shall prepare a comprehensive plan (in 
        this section referred to as the ``National Pulmonary Fibrosis 
        Education and Awareness Plan'').
            (2) Report to congress.--Not later than one year after the 
        date of the enactment of this Act, and at the same time as the 
        report is submitted under section 317U(a)(3) of the Public 
        Health Service Act, the Director of the Centers for Disease 
        Control and Prevention shall submit the National Pulmonary 
        Fibrosis Education and Awareness Plan to the Committee on 
        Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Appropriations of the 
        House of Representatives and to the Committee on Health, 
        Education, Labor, and Pensions and the Committee on 
        Appropriations of the Senate.
    (b) Content.--The National Pulmonary Fibrosis Education and 
Awareness Plan shall--
            (1) focus on strategies to increase public education and 
        awareness of pulmonary fibrosis;
            (2) accelerate patient education strategies, with respect 
        to pulmonary fibrosis, nationwide;
            (3) address the need for new physician education strategies 
        to improve diagnosis and treatment standards with respect to 
        pulmonary fibrosis;
            (4) assess and monitor the costs of pulmonary fibrosis and 
        its burden on patients and families; and
            (5) develop such strategies in partnership with patients, 
        patient advocates, and others with expertise in research and 
        care of pulmonary fibrosis.

SEC. 5. PULMONARY FIBROSIS RESEARCH EXPANSION.

    Subpart 2 of part C of title IV of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 285b et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 424C the 
following:

``SEC. 424D. PULMONARY FIBROSIS RESEARCH EXPANSION.

    ``The Director of the Institute is encouraged to expand, intensify, 
and coordinate the activities of the Institute with respect to research 
on pulmonary fibrosis, as appropriate.''.