I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4734

To establish a National Center for Military Deployment Health Research

to provide an independent means for the conduct and coordination of

research into issues relating to the deployment of members of the Armed

Forces overseas, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 23, 2000

Ms. BALDWIN (for herself and Mr. PASCRELL) introduced the following bill;

which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition

to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, for a period to be subsequently

determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To establish a National Center for Military Deployment

Health Research to provide an independent means for

the conduct and coordination of research into issues relating to the deployment of members of the Armed

Forces overseas, and for other purposes.

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 ‘‘Military Deployment

5 Health Research Act of 2000’’.
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1 TITLE I—NATIONAL CENTER

2 FOR MILITARY DEPLOYMENT

3 HEALTH RESEARCH.

4 SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL CENTER.

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the ex6 ecutive branch of the Government an agency to be known

7 as the National Center for Military Deployment Health

8 Research (hereinafter in this title referred to as the ‘‘Cen9 ter’’). The Center shall, in accordance with this title, co10 ordinate and conduct private and public research on de11 ployment-related health issues of members of the Armed

12 Forces, veterans, and their families.

13 (b) REPORTING.—(1) The Center shall be under the

14 auspices of, and shall report to, the Military and Veterans

15 Health Coordinating Board established on November 11,

16 1998, by Presidential Review Directive 5.

17 (2) The provisions of that directive as in effect on

18 the date of the enactment of this Act shall remain in effect

19 unless changed by law.

20 (3) The Research Working Group of that Board, as

21 in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act, shall

22 be disestablished, and the functions of that group shall

23 be assumed by the Center.
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1 SEC. 102. GOVERNING BOARD.

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF GOVERNING BOARD.—The

3 Center shall be under the direction of a Governing Board.

4 The Governing Board shall consist of 21 members, ap5 pointed as follows:

6 (1) Twelve members appointed by the Presi7 dent, of whom—

8 (A) six shall be appointed from persons

9 who, by reason of training, experience, and edu10 cation, have qualifications in the fields of re11 search to be considered by the Board; and

12 (B) six shall be appointed from the general

13 population, including persons representing the

14 interests of veterans and their families and the

15 general public.

16 (2) Three members appointed by the Secretary

17 of Veterans Affairs from officers and employees of

18 the Department of Veterans Affairs.

19 (3) Three members appointed by the Secretary

20 of Defense from officers and employees of the De21 partment of Defense and members of the Armed

22 Forces.

23 (4) Three members appointed by the Secretary

24 of Health and Human Services from officers and

25 employees of the Department of Health and Human

26 Services.
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1 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS BY INDEPENDENT SCI2 ENTIFIC ENTITY.—The President shall designate an inde3 pendent scientific entity to make recommendations for ap4 pointments under paragraph (1) of subsection (a). When

5 making such recommendations, the entity shall rec6 ommend twice the number of candidates as there are posi7 tions available.

8 (c) TERMS.—Persons appointed to the Governing

9 Board under paragraph (1) of subsection (a) shall serve

10 for a term of three years, except that, of the persons ini11 tially appointed—

12 (1) pursuant to subsection (a)(1)(A), two shall

13 be appointed for a term of one year, and two shall

14 be appointed for a term of two years;

15 (2) pursuant to subsection (a)(1)(B), two shall

16 be appointed for a term of one year, and two shall

17 be appointed for a term of two years;

18 (3) pursuant to subsection (a)(2), one shall be

19 appointed for a term of one year, and one shall be

20 appointed for a term of two years;

21 (4) pursuant to subsection (a)(3), one shall be

22 appointed for a term of one year, and one shall be

23 appointed for a term of two years; and
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1 (5) pursuant to subsection (a)(4), one shall be

2 appointed for a term of one year, and one shall be

3 appointed for a term of two years.

4 (d) PAY.—Persons appointed to the Governing Board

5 under paragraph (1) of subsection (a) shall receive pay

6 at the rate of basic pay payable for level IV of the Execu7 tive Schedule. Persons appointed to the Governing Board

8 under paragraph (2), (3), or (4) of subsection (a) shall

9 receive no additional compensation by reason of service on

10 the board.

11 (e) CHAIR OF THE GOVERNING BOARD.—The Presi12 dent shall designate one of the members of the Governing

13 Board to chair the Board.

14 (f) MEETINGS.—The Governing Board shall meet on

15 the call of the chair of the Board or a majority of the

16 members of the Board.

17 (g) FUNCTIONS.—The functions of the Governing

18 Board shall be as follows:

19 (1) Development of a coordinated research

20 agenda.

21 (2) Commissioning of new research.

22 (3) Creation of policies for the conduct and dis23 semination of research by the Center, other Federal

24 entities, and non-Federal entities in matters relating

25 to deployment-related health issues of members of
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1 the Armed Forces, veterans, and their families, in2 cluding policies to minimize research duplication.

3 (4) Evaluation of the results of research de4 scribed in paragraph (3).

5 (5) Development of policy recommendations

6 that emerge from that research.

7 (6) Communication of the results of the re8 search described in paragraph (3) to the medical

9 community and patients with deployment-related

10 health issues.

11 (h) DIRECTOR.—The Governing Board shall select a

12 Director for the Center, who shall receive pay at the rate

13 of basic pay payable for level III of the Executive Sched14 ule.

15 SEC. 103. RESEARCH NETWORK.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Center shall coordinate and

17 conduct research activities relating to deployment-related

18 health issues of members of the Armed Forces, veterans,

19 and their families. The Center’s research activities shall

20 include (1) activities with respect to Federal research pro21 grams, and (2) Center-initiated research.

22 (b) FEDERAL RESEARCH PROGRAMS.—(1) The Cen23 ter shall conduct and maintain an inventory of research

24 programs relating to deployment-related health issues car25 ried out by the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Vet-
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1 erans Affairs, the Secretary of Health and Human Serv2 ices, and other Federal officials.

3 (2) The Center shall consult with, and seek the advice

4 of, other federally sponsored researchers (both intramural

5 and extramural) in developing the Center’s research agen6 da.

7 (c) CENTER-INITIATED RESEARCH.—(1) The Center

8 shall conduct a broad-based research program into deploy9 ment-related health issues. As part of that program, the

10 Center may, from funds appropriated for that purpose,

11 make grants for research into deployment-related health

12 issues. Any such grant shall be made based upon issuance

13 of a Request for Applications or a Request for Proposals.

14 Applications and proposals shall be assessed through a

15 peer-review process, which shall, to the extent possible, be

16 carried out by the National Institutes of Health.

17 (2) In conducting such research, the Center shall so18 licit proposals from other Federal agencies, from univer19 sities, and from other research sites.

20 (3) In awarding contracts for research, the Center

21 shall seek to establish a network of research sites at aca22 demic medical centers, university-wide research facilities,

23 and other appropriate sources.
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1 (d) CORE RESEARCH PRINCIPLES.—Center-initiated

2 research shall be conducted using the following core set

3 of principles:

4 (1) Use of a scientific peer-review process for

5 all research.

6 (2) Dissemination of research results to the sci7 entific community through conventional venues of

8 scientific communication.

9 (3) Encouragement of interagency, interdepart10 mental, and Federal-academic collaboration.

11 SEC. 104. CORE FUNCTIONS.

12 The Center shall carry out the following core func13 tions:

14 (1) Research coordination and setting of prior15 ities.

16 (2) Synthesis of research for the purpose of de17 veloping policy recommendations.

18 (3) Review and analysis of longitudinal moni19 toring of deployment-related health of veterans.

20 (4) Facilitating the use of national data re21 sources for research activities relating to deploy22 ment-related health issues.

23 (5) Communication of the results of such re24 search activities to the medical community and pa25 tients with deployment-related health issues.
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1 SEC. 105. ANNUAL REPORT; BUDGET.

2 (a) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Governing Board for the

3 Center shall submit to Congress an annual report on the

4 activities of the Center. The report shall include—

5 (1) a description of the activities of the Center

6 during the preceding year; and

7 (2) a detailed description of the proposed budg8 et for the Center for the next fiscal year.

9 (b) BUDGET.—Funds shall be provided for the Cen10 ter for each fiscal year in a discrete appropriation.

11 Amounts appropriated for the Center for the core func12 tions of the Center and for Center-initiated research shall

13 be set forth separately.

14 SEC. 106. DEPLOYMENT-RELATED HEALTH ISSUES DE15 FINED.

16 For purposes of this title, the term ‘‘deployment-re17 lated health issues’’ includes the following:

18 (1) Issues relating to injuries and illnesses to

19 members of the Armed Forces during deployment

20 resulting from combat, training, infectious diseases,

21 and environmental exposures.

22 (2) Conditions that emerge during or following

23 deployment, including—

24 (A) diagnosable conditions;

25 (B) medically unexplained symptoms (both

26 physical and mental);
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1 (C) effects on health-related quality of life;

2 (D) family impacts; and

3 (E) sequelae of combat injuries.

4 (3) Conditions arising from inoculations before

5 deployment that are intended to provide protection

6 from conditions that could be encountered during

7 deployment.

8 TITLE II—CENTERS FOR RE9 SEARCH ON POST-DEPLOY10 MENT ILLNESSES IN DEPART11 MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

12 SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT OF CENTERS

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Chapter 73 of title 38, United

14 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol15 lowing new section:

16 ‘‘§ 7323. Centers for research on post-deployment ill17 nesses

18 ‘‘(a) The Secretary shall establish and operate cen19 ters for research, education, and clinical activities related

20 to post-deployment illnesses. Such centers shall be known

21 as ‘National Centers for Military Post-Deployment Illness

22 Research’. Such centers shall be established and operated

23 by collaborating Department facilities as provided in sub24 section (c)(1).
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1 ‘‘(2) For purposes of this section and section 7324

2 of this title, the term ‘post-deployment illness’ means any

3 health condition being currently studied or that will be

4 studied that has (or that may have) an association to or

5 relation to a military deployment mission, including a

6 peacekeeping mission.

7 ‘‘(3) Each such center shall function as a center for—

8 ‘‘(A) research on post-deployment illnesses;

9 ‘‘(B) the use by the Department of specific models

10 for furnishing services to treat post-deployment ill11 nesses;

12 ‘‘(C) education and training of health-care profes13 sionals of the Department; and

14 ‘‘(D) the development and implementation of in15 novative clinical activities and systems of care with

16 respect to the delivery of such services by the De17 partment.

18 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall provide for the research con19 ducted by such centers to be compiled and transmitted to

20 a centrally located coordinating center.

21 ‘‘(b)(1) The Secretary shall, upon the recommendation

22 of the Under Secretary for Health, the Secretary of De23 fense, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services,

24 designate not more than 25 centers under this section. In

25 making such designations, the Secretary shall ensure that
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1 the centers designated are located in various geographic

2 regions of the United States.

3 (2) The authority of the Secretary to establish and oper4 ate centers under this section is subject to the appropria5 tion of funds for that purpose.

6 ‘‘(c) The Secretary may not designate a health-care

7 facility as a location for a center under subsection (a) un8 less the peer review panel established under subsection (d)

9 has determined under that subsection that the proposal

10 submitted by such facility as a location for a new center

11 under subsection (a) is among those proposals which have

12 met the highest competitive standards of scientific and

13 clinical merit, and the Secretary (upon the recommenda14 tion of the Under Secretary for Health) determines that

15 the facility has (or may reasonably be anticipated to de16 velop) each of the following:

17 ‘‘(1) An arrangement with an accredited med18 ical school which provides education and training in

19 post-deployment illnesses and with which such facil20 ity is affiliated under which residents receive edu21 cation and training in post-deployment illnesses.

22 ‘‘(2) An arrangement under which nursing or

23 allied health personnel receive training and edu24 cation in post-deployment illnesses.
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1 ‘‘(3) The ability to attract the participation of

2 scientists who are capable of ingenuity and creativity

3 in health-care research efforts.

4 ‘‘(4) A policymaking advisory committee com5 posed of appropriate health-care and research rep6 resentatives of the facility and of the affiliated

7 school or schools to advise the directors of such fa8 cility and such center on policy matters pertaining to

9 the activities of such center during the period of the

10 operation of such center.

11 ‘‘(5) The capability to conduct effectively eval12 uations of the activities of such center.

13 ‘‘(d)(1) In order to provide advice to assist the Sec14 retary and the Under Secretary for Health in carrying out

15 their responsibilities under this section, the Under Sec16 retary shall establish a panel to assess the scientific and

17 clinical merit of proposals that are submitted to the Sec18 retary for the establishment of new centers under this sec19 tion.

20 ‘‘(2) The membership of the panel shall consist of ex21 perts in the fields of post-deployment illnesses research,

22 education, and clinical care. Members of the panel shall

23 serve as consultants to the Department for a period of

24 no longer than six months.
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1 ‘‘(3) The panel shall review each proposal submitted

2 to the panel by the Under Secretary and shall submit its

3 views on the relative scientific and clinical merit of each

4 such proposal to the Under Secretary.

5 ‘‘(4) The panel shall not be subject to the Federal

6 Advisory Committee Act.

7 ‘‘(e) There are authorized to be appropriated such

8 sums as may be necessary for the support of the research,

9 treatment, and education activities of the centers estab10 lished pursuant to subsection (a). The Under Secretary

11 for Health shall allocate to such centers from other funds

12 appropriated generally for the Department medical care

13 account and medical and prosthetics research account, as

14 appropriate, such amounts as the Under Secretary for

15 Health determines appropriate.

16 ‘‘(f) Activities of clinical and scientific investigation

17 at each center established under subsection (a) shall be

18 eligible to compete for the award of funding from funds

19 appropriated for the Department medical and prosthetics

20 research account and shall receive priority in the award

21 of funding from such account insofar as funds are award22 ed to projects for research in post-deployment illnesses.’’.
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1 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such

2 chapter is amended by adding at the end the following

3 new item:

‘‘7323. Centers for research on post-deployment illnesses.’’.

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