II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1268

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide support for the modernization and construction of biomedical and behavioral research facilities

and laboratory instrumentation.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 23, 1999

Mr. HARKIN (for himself, Mr. FRIST, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. CHAFEE, Mr. REED,

Mr. MACK, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. CLELAND, Mr. HELMS,

Mr. WARNER, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. MOYNIHAN, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. ROBERTS, and Mr. REID) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

A BILL

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide support

for the modernization and construction of biomedical and

behavioral research facilities and laboratory instrumentation.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Twenty-First Century

5 Research Laboratories Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress finds that—

3 (1) the National Institutes of Health is the

4 principal source of Federal funding for medical re5 search at universities and other research institutions

6 in the United States;

7 (2) the National Institutes of Health has re8 ceived a substantial increase in research funding

9 from Congress for the purpose of expanding the na10 tional investment of the United States in behavioral

11 and biomedical research;

12 (3) the infrastructure of our research institu13 tions is central to the continued leadership of the

14 United States in medical research;

15 (4) as Congress increases the investment in cut16 ting-edge basic and clinical research, it is critical

17 that Congress also examine the current quality of

18 the laboratories and buildings where research is

19 being conducted, as well as the quality of laboratory

20 equipment used in research;

21 (5) many of the research facilities and labora22 tories in the United States are outdated and inad23 equate;

24 (6) the National Science Foundation found, in

25 a 1998 report on the status of biomedical research

26 facilities, that over 60 percent of research-per-
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1 forming institutions indicated that they had an inad2 equate amount of medical research space;

3 (7) the National Science Foundation reports

4 that academic institutions have deferred nearly

5 $11,000,000,000 in renovation and construction

6 projects because of a lack of funds; and

7 (8) future increases in Federal funding for the

8 National Institutes of Health must include increased

9 support for the renovation and construction of extra10 mural research facilities in the United States and

11 the purchase of state-of-the-art laboratory instru12 mentation.

13 SEC. 3. BIOMEDICAL AND BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH FACILI14 TIES.

15 Section 481A of the Public Health Service Act (42

16 U.S.C. 287a–2 et seq.) is amended to read as follows:

17 ‘‘SEC. 481A. BIOMEDICAL AND BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH FA18 CILITIES.

19 ‘‘(a) MODERNIZATION AND CONSTRUCTION OF FA20 CILITIES.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of NIH, act22 ing through the Director of the Center, may make

23 grants or contracts to public and nonprofit private

24 entities to expand, remodel, renovate, or alter exist-
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1 ing research facilities or construct new research fa2 cilities, subject to the provisions of this section.

3 ‘‘(2) CONSTRUCTION AND COST OF CONSTRUC4 TION.—For purposes of this section, the terms ‘con5 struction’ and ‘cost of construction’ include the con6 struction of new buildings and the expansion, ren7 ovation, remodeling, and alteration of existing build8 ings, including architects’ fees, but do not include

9 the cost of acquisition of land or off-site improve10 ments.

11 ‘‘(b) SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARDS

12 FOR MERIT-BASED REVIEW OF PROPOSALS.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL: APPROVAL AS PRECONDITION

14 TO GRANTS.—

15 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab16 lished within the Center a Scientific and Tech17 nical Review Board on Biomedical and Behav18 ioral Research Facilities (referred to in this sec19 tion as the ‘Board’).

20 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT.—The Director of the

21 Center may approve an application for a grant

22 under subsection (a) only if the Board has

23 under paragraph (2) recommended the applica24 tion for approval.

25 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—
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1 ‘‘(A) ADVICE.—The Board shall provide

2 advice to the Director of the Center and the ad3 visory council established under section 480 (in

4 this section referred to as the ‘Advisory Coun5 cil’) in carrying out this section.

6 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION OF MERIT.—In car7 rying out subparagraph (A), the Board shall

8 make a determination of the merit of each ap9 plication submitted for a grant under sub10 section (a), after consideration of the require11 ments established in subsection (c), and shall

12 report the results of the determination to the

13 Director of the Center and the Advisory Coun14 cil. Such determinations shall be conducted in a

15 manner consistent with procedures established

16 under section 492.

17 ‘‘(C) AMOUNT.—In carrying out subpara18 graph (A), the Board shall, in the case of appli19 cations recommended for approval, make rec20 ommendations to the Director and the Advisory

21 Council on the amount that should be provided

22 under the grant.

23 ‘‘(D) ANNUAL REPORT.—In carrying out

24 subparagraph (A), the Board shall prepare an

25 annual report for the Director of the Center
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1 and the Advisory Council describing the activi2 ties of the Board in the fiscal year for which

3 the report is made. Each such report shall be

4 available to the public, and shall—

5 ‘‘(i) summarize and analyze expendi6 tures made under this section;

7 ‘‘(ii) provide a summary of the types,

8 numbers, and amounts of applications that

9 were recommended for grants under sub10 section (a) but that were not approved by

11 the Director of the Center; and

12 ‘‘(iii) contain the recommendations of

13 the Board for any changes in the adminis14 tration of this section.

15 ‘‘(3) MEMBERSHIP.—

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara17 graph (B), the Board shall be composed of 15

18 members to be appointed by the Director of the

19 Center, and such ad-hoc or temporary members

20 as the Director of the Center determines to be

21 appropriate. All members of the Board, includ22 ing temporary and ad-hoc members, shall be

23 voting members.

24 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—Not more than 3 indi25 viduals who are officers or employees of the
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1 Federal Government may serve as members of

2 the Board.

3 ‘‘(4) CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS REGARDING

4 MEMBERSHIP.—In selecting individuals for member5 ship on the Board, the Director of the Center shall

6 ensure that the members are individuals who, by vir7 tue of their training or experience, are eminently

8 qualified to perform peer review functions. In select9 ing such individuals for such membership, the Direc10 tor of the Center shall ensure that the members of

11 the Board collectively—

12 ‘‘(A) are experienced in the planning, con13 struction, financing, and administration of enti14 ties that conduct biomedical or behavioral re15 search sciences;

16 ‘‘(B) are knowledgeable in making deter17 minations of the need of entities for biomedical

18 or behavioral research facilities, including such

19 facilities for the dentistry, nursing, pharmacy,

20 and allied health professions;

21 ‘‘(C) are knowledgeable in evaluating the

22 relative priorities for applications for grants

23 under subsection (a) in view of the overall re24 search needs of the United States; and
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1 ‘‘(D) are experienced with emerging cen2 ters of excellence, as described in subsection

3 (c)(2).

4 ‘‘(5) CERTAIN AUTHORITIES.—

5 ‘‘(A) WORKSHOPS AND CONFERENCES.—In

6 carrying out paragraph (2), the Board may con7 vene workshops and conferences, and collect

8 data as the Board considers appropriate.

9 ‘‘(B) SUBCOMMITTEES.—In carrying out

10 paragraph (2), the Board may establish sub11 committees within the Board. Such subcommit12 tees may hold meetings as determined necessary

13 to enable the subcommittee to carry out its du14 ties.

15 ‘‘(6) TERMS.—

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

17 subparagraph (B), each appointed member of

18 the Board shall hold office for a term of 4

19 years. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy

20 occurring prior to the expiration of the term for

21 which such member’s predecessor was ap22 pointed shall be appointed for the remainder of

23 the term of the predecessor.

24 ‘‘(B) STAGGERED TERMS.—Members ap25 pointed to the Board shall serve staggered
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1 terms as specified by the Director of the Center

2 when making the appointments.

3 ‘‘(C) REAPPOINTMENT.—No member of

4 the Board shall be eligible for reappointment to

5 the Board until 1 year has elapsed after the

6 end of the most recent term of the member.

7 ‘‘(7) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Board

8 who are not officers or employees of the United

9 States shall receive for each day the members are

10 engaged in the performance of the functions of the

11 Board compensation at the same rate received by

12 members of other national advisory councils estab13 lished under this title.

14 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANTS.—

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Center

16 may make a grant under subsection (a) only if the

17 applicant for the grant meets the following condi18 tions:

19 ‘‘(A) The applicant is determined by such

20 Director to be competent to engage in the type

21 of research for which the proposed facility is to

22 be constructed.

23 ‘‘(B) The applicant provides assurances

24 satisfactory to the Director that—
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1 ‘‘(i) for not less than 20 years after

2 completion of the construction involved, the

3 facility will be used for the purposes of the

4 research for which it is to be constructed;

5 ‘‘(ii) sufficient funds will be available

6 to meet the non-Federal share of the cost

7 of constructing the facility;

8 ‘‘(iii) sufficient funds will be available,

9 when construction is completed, for the ef10 fective use of the facility for the research

11 for which it is being constructed; and

12 ‘‘(iv) the proposed construction will

13 expand the applicant’s capacity for re14 search, or is necessary to improve or main15 tain the quality of the applicant’s research.

16 ‘‘(C) The applicant meets reasonable quali17 fications established by the Director with re18 spect to—

19 ‘‘(i) the relative scientific and tech20 nical merit of the applications, and the rel21 ative effectiveness of the proposed facili22 ties, in expanding the capacity for bio23 medical or behavioral research and in im24 proving the quality of such research;
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1 ‘‘(ii) the quality of the research or

2 training, or both, to be carried out in the

3 facilities involved;

4 ‘‘(iii) the congruence of the research

5 activities to be carried out within the facil6 ity with the research and investigator man7 power needs of the United States; and

8 ‘‘(iv) the age and condition of existing

9 research facilities.

10 ‘‘(D) The applicant has demonstrated a

11 commitment to enhancing and expanding the

12 research productivity of the applicant.

13 ‘‘(2) INSTITUTIONS OF EMERGING EXCEL14 LENCE.—From the amount appropriated under sub15 section (i) for a fiscal year up to $50,000,000, the

16 Director of the Center shall make available 25 per17 cent of such amount, and from the amount appro18 priated under such subsection for a fiscal year that

19 is over $50,000,000, the Director of the Center shall

20 make available up to 25 percent of such amount, for

21 grants under subsection (a) to applicants that in ad22 dition to meeting the requirements established in

23 paragraph (1), have demonstrated emerging excel24 lence in biomedical or behavioral research, as fol25 lows:
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1 ‘‘(A) The applicant has a plan for research

2 or training advancement and possesses the abil3 ity to carry out the plan.

4 ‘‘(B) The applicant carries out research

5 and research training programs that have a

6 special relevance to a problem, concern, or

7 unmet health need of the United States.

8 ‘‘(C) The applicant has been productive in

9 research or research development and training.

10 ‘‘(D) The applicant—

11 ‘‘(i) has been designated as a center

12 of excellence under section 739;

13 ‘‘(ii) is located in a geographic area

14 whose population includes a significant

15 number of individuals with health status

16 deficit, and the applicant provides health

17 services to such individuals; or

18 ‘‘(iii) is located in a geographic area

19 in which a deficit in health care tech20 nology, services, or research resources may

21 adversely affect the health status of the

22 population of the area in the future, and

23 the applicant is carrying out activities with

24 respect to protecting the health status of

25 such population.
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1 ‘‘(d) REQUIREMENT OF APPLICATION.—The Director

2 of the Center may make a grant under subsection (a) only

3 if an application for the grant is submitted to the Director

4 and the application is in such form, is made in such man5 ner, and contains such agreements, assurances, and infor6 mation as the Director determines to be necessary to carry

7 out this section.

8 ‘‘(e) AMOUNT OF GRANT; PAYMENTS.—

9 ‘‘(1) AMOUNT.—The amount of any grant

10 awarded under subsection (a) shall be determined by

11 the Director of the Center, except that such amount

12 shall not exceed—

13 ‘‘(A) 50 percent of the necessary cost of

14 the construction of a proposed facility as deter15 mined by the Director; or

16 ‘‘(B) in the case of a multipurpose facility,

17 40 percent of that part of the necessary cost of

18 construction that the Director determines to be

19 proportionate to the contemplated use of the fa20 cility.

21 ‘‘(2) RESERVATION OF AMOUNTS.—On the ap22 proval of any application for a grant under sub23 section (a), the Director of the Center shall reserve,

24 from any appropriation available for such grants,

25 the amount of such grant, and shall pay such
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1 amount, in advance or by way of reimbursement,

2 and in such installments consistent with the con3 struction progress, as the Director may determine

4 appropriate. The reservation of any amount by the

5 Director under this paragraph may be amended by

6 the Director, either on the approval of an amend7 ment of the application or on the revision of the esti8 mated cost of construction of the facility.

9 ‘‘(3) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN COSTS.—In deter10 mining the amount of any grant under subsection

11 (a), there shall be excluded from the cost of con12 struction an amount equal to the sum of—

13 ‘‘(A) the amount of any other Federal

14 grant that the applicant has obtained, or is as15 sured of obtaining, with respect to construction

16 that is to be financed in part by a grant author17 ized under this section; and

18 ‘‘(B) the amount of any non-Federal funds

19 required to be expended as a condition of such

20 other Federal grant.

21 ‘‘(4) WAIVER OF LIMITATIONS.—The limita22 tions imposed under paragraph (1) may be waived at

23 the discretion of the Director for applicants meeting

24 the conditions described in subsection (c).
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1 ‘‘(f) RECAPTURE OF PAYMENTS.—If, not later than

2 20 years after the completion of construction for which

3 a grant has been awarded under subsection (a)—

4 ‘‘(1) the applicant or other owner of the facility

5 shall cease to be a public or non profit private enti6 ty; or

7 ‘‘(2) the facility shall cease to be used for the

8 research purposes for which it was constructed (un9 less the Director determines, in accordance with reg10 ulations, that there is good cause for releasing the

11 applicant or other owner from obligation to do so);

12 the United States shall be entitled to recover from the ap13 plicant or other owner of the facility the amount bearing

14 the same ratio to the current value (as determined by an

15 agreement between the parties or by action brought in the

16 United States District Court for the district in which such

17 facility is situated) of the facility as the amount of the

18 Federal participation bore to the cost of the construction

19 of such facility.

20 ‘‘(g) GUIDELINES.—Not later than 6 months after

21 the date of the enactment of this section, the Director of

22 the Center, after consultation with the Advisory Council,

23 shall issue guidelines with respect to grants under sub24 section (a).
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1 ‘‘(h) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Director of the

2 Center shall prepare and submit to the appropriate com3 mittees of Congress a biennial report concerning the sta4 tus of the biomedical and behavioral research facilities and

5 the availability and condition of technologically sophisti6 cated laboratory equipment in the United States. Such re7 ports shall be developed in concert with the report pre8 pared by the National Science Foundation on the needs

9 of research facilities of universities as required under sec10 tion 108 of the National Science Foundation Authoriza11 tion Act for Fiscal Year 1986 (42 U.S.C. 1886).

12 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the

13 purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized

14 to be appropriated $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2000,

15 $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2001, and such sums as may

16 be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2002 and 2003.’’.

17 SEC. 4. CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM FOR NATIONAL PRI18 MATE RESEARCH CENTERS.

19 Section 481B(a) of the Public Health Service Act (42

20 U.S.C. 287a–3(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘1994’’ and all

21 that follows through ‘‘$5,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘2000

22 through 2002, reserve from the amounts appropriated

23 under section 481A(i) such sums as necessary’’.
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1 SEC. 5. SHARED INSTRUMENTATION GRANT PROGRAM.

2 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

3 authorized to be appropriated $100,000,000 for fiscal year

4 2000, and such sums as may be necessary for each subse5 quent fiscal year, to enable the Secretary of Health and

6 Human Services, acting through the Director of the Na7 tional Center for Research Resources, to provide for the

8 continued operation of the Shared Instrumentation Grant

9 Program (initiated in fiscal year 1992 under the authority

10 of section 479 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.

11 287 et seq.)).

12 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANTS.—In determining

13 whether to award a grant to an applicant under the pro14 gram described in subsection (a), the Director of the Na15 tional Center for Research Resources shall consider—

16 (1) the extent to which an award for the spe17 cific instrument involved would meet the scientific

18 needs and enhance the planned research endeavors

19 of the major users by providing an instrument that

20 is unavailable or to which availability is highly lim21 ited;

22 (2) with respect to the instrument involved, the

23 availability and commitment of the appropriate tech24 nical expertise within the major user group or the

25 applicant institution for use of the instrumentation;
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1 (3) the adequacy of the organizational plan for

2 the use of the instrument involved and the internal

3 advisory committee for oversight of the applicant, in4 cluding sharing arrangements if any;

5 (4) the applicant’s commitment for continued

6 support of the utilization and maintenance of the in7 strument; and

8 (5) the extent to which the specified instrument

9 will be shared and the benefit of the proposed in10 strument to the overall research community to be

11 served.

12 (c) PEER REVIEW.—In awarding grants under the

13 program described in subsection (a) Director of the Na14 tional Center for Research Resources shall comply with

15 the peer review requirements in section 492 of the Public

16 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 289a).

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