II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 521 

To require the Secretary of Defense to award grants to fund research on 

orthotics and prosthetics. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 11, 2013 

Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, and Mr. HARKIN) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Defense to award grants to 

fund research on orthotics and prosthetics. 

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 ‘‘Wounded Warrior Re5 search Enhancement Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ORTHOTIC AND PROSTHETIC RESEARCH. 

7 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the grants described 

8 in this section is to advance orthotic and prosthetic clinical 

9 care for members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and civil10 ians who have undergone amputation, traumatic brain inVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:20 Mar 13, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S521.IS S521

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1 jury, and other serious physical injury as a result of com2 bat or military experience. 

3 (b) GRANTS FOR RESEARCH ON PATIENT OUT4 COMES.—The Secretary of Defense shall award grants to 

5 persons to carry out research on the following: 

6 (1) The actions that can be taken to prevent 

7 amputation of limbs. 

8 (2) The point in the course of patient treatment 

9 during which orthotic and prosthetic intervention is 

10 most effective. 

11 (3) The orthotic interventions that are most ef12 fective in treating the physical effects of traumatic 

13 brain injury. 

14 (4) The patients that benefit most from par15 ticular orthotic and prosthetic technologies. 

16 (5) The orthotic and prosthetic services that 

17 best facilitate the return to active duty of members 

18 of the Armed Forces. 

19 (6) The effect of the aging process on the use 

20 of prosthetics, including— 

21 (A) increased skin breakdown; 

22 (B) loss of balance; 

23 (C) falls; and 

24 (D) other issues that arise during the 

25 aging process. 


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1 (c) GRANTS ON MATERIALS RESEARCH.—The Sec2 retary shall award grants to persons to carry out research 

3 on the following: 

4 (1) The improvement of existing materials used 

5 in orthotics and prosthetics for the purpose of im6 proving quality of life and health outcomes for indi7 viduals with limb loss. 

8 (2) The development of new materials used in 

9 orthotics and prosthetics for the purpose of improv10 ing quality of life and health outcomes for individ11 uals with limb loss. 

12 (d) GRANTS ON TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH.—The Sec13 retary shall award grants to persons to carry out research 

14 on the following: 

15 (1) The improvement of existing orthotic and 

16 prosthetic technology and devices for the purpose of 

17 improving quality of life and health outcomes for in18 dividuals with limb loss. 

19 (2) The development of new orthotic and pros20 thetic technology and devices for the purpose of im21 proving quality of life and health outcomes for indi22 viduals with limb loss. 

23 (e) REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS.—A person seeking 

24 the award of a grant under this section shall submit to 

25 the Secretary an application therefore in the form and acVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:20 Mar 13, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S521.IS S521

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1 companied by such information as the Secretary shall re2 quire. 

3 (f) AWARD REQUIREMENTS.— 

4 (1) PEER-REVIEWED PROPOSALS.—Grants 

5 under this section may be awarded only for research 

6 that is peer-reviewed. 

7 (2) COMPETITIVE PROCEDURES.—Grants under 

8 this section shall be awarded through competitive 

9 procedures. 

10 (g) GRANT USE.—A person awarded a grant under 

11 subsection (b), (c), or (d) shall use the grant amount to 

12 carry out the research described in the applicable sub13 section. 

14 (h) REPORTS.—Not later than 180 days after the 

15 date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 

16 the Secretary of Defense shall, in consultation with the 

17 Secretary of Veterans Affairs, veterans, community-based 

18 clinicians, and expert researchers in the field of orthotics 

19 and prosthetics, submit to Congress a report setting forth 

20 the following: 

21 (1) An agenda for orthotic and prosthetic re22 search that identifies and prioritizes the most sig23 nificant unanswered orthotic and prosthetic research 

24 questions pertinent to the provision of evidenceVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:20 Mar 13, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S521.IS S521

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1 based clinical care to members of the Armed Forces, 

2 veterans, and civilians. 

3 (2) For each report after the initial report 

4 under this subsection— 

5 (A) a summary of how the grants awarded 

6 under subsection (b) are addressing the most 

7 significant orthotic and prosthetic needs; and 

8 (B) the progress made towards resolving 

9 orthotic and prosthetic challenges facing mem10 bers of the Armed Forces and veterans. 

11 (i) VETERAN DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

12 ‘‘veteran’’ has the meaning given that term in section 101 

13 of title 38, United States Code. 

14 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

15 authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2014 for the 

16 Department of Defense for the Defense Health Program, 

17 $30,000,000 to carry out this section. 

Æ 


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