I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4638 

To establish a National Commission on Fibrotic Diseases. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 13, 2017 

Mr. KING of New York (for himself, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. NORTON, Mrs. COMSTOCK, Mrs. WAGNER, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. DELANEY, Ms. 

PINGREE, Mr. MCGOVERN, and Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy 

and Commerce 

A BILL 

To establish a National Commission on Fibrotic Diseases. 

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 ‘‘National Commission 

5 on Scleroderma and Fibrotic Diseases Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. NATIONAL COMMISSION ON FIBROTIC DISEASES 

7 RESEARCH. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established, 

9 within the National Institutes of Health (in this section 

10 referred to as ‘‘NIH’’), a National Commission on Fibrotic 


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1 Diseases (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’) 

2 to evaluate and make recommendations regarding im3 provements to the coordination and advancement of NIH4 supported research activities related to fibrosis and fi5 brotic diseases, which may include scleroderma as a 

6 prototypical condition that can cause fibrosis in various 

7 organs. 

8 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall be 

10 composed of the following voting members: 

11 (A) The Director of NIH, or the designee 

12 of such director. 

13 (B) The Directors of the following Insti14 tutes, or the designees of such directors: 

15 (i) National Institute of Arthritis and 

16 Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. 

17 (ii) National Heart, Lung, and Blood 

18 Institute. 

19 (iii) National Institute of Diabetes 

20 and Digestive, and Kidney Diseases. 

21 (iv) National Human Genome Re22 search Institute. 

23 (v) Any other Institutes or Centers 

24 with an active fibrotic disease research 

25 portfolio. 


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1 (vi) Twelve additional voting members 

2 appointed under paragraph (2). 

3 (2) ADDITIONAL MEMBERS.—The Commission 

4 shall include additional voting members, as may be 

5 appointed by the Director of NIH, with expertise in 

6 the prevention, care, and epidemiology of any of the 

7 diseases and complications described in subsection 

8 (a), including one or more such members from each 

9 of the following categories: 

10 (A) Leading scientists or physicians with 

11 research expertise in the conditions described in 

12 subsection (a). 

13 (B) Patient and advocates with a perspec14 tive on the conditions described in subsection 

15 (a). 

16 (3) CHAIRPERSON.—The members of the Com17 mission shall select a chairperson from the members 

18 appointed under paragraph (2). 

19 (4) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at 

20 least three times a year, with the first meeting oc21 curring not later than April 1, 2019. 

22 (5) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Commission 

23 shall be filled in the same manner as the original ap24 pointments. 


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1 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The duties of the Commis2 sion are the following: 

3 (1) To study the incidence, duration, and mor4 tality rates of fibrotic diseases as described in sub5 section (a). 

6 (2) To evaluate facilities and resources for the 

7 diagnosis, prevision, and treatment of fibrotic dis8 eases described in subsection (a). 

9 (3) To develop a long-range plan for the use 

10 and organization of national resources to effectively 

11 advance research and effectively deal with fibrotic 

12 diseases as described in subsection (a), including— 

13 (A) a comprehensive research plan, which 

14 prioritizes fibrosis opportunities that have 

15 cross-cutting value and require coordination 

16 across multiple Institutes and Centers; 

17 (B) topic-specific research recommenda18 tions for each organ or system as impacted by 

19 fibrotic diseases described in subsection (a); and 

20 (C) an overview of common themes and 

21 specific steps for implementation. 

22 (4) To make recommendations, as appropriate, 

23 to the Director of NIH and Congress with respect 

24 to the study, evaluation, and long-range plan deVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:10 Dec 15, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4638.IH H4638

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1 scribed in the preceding paragraphs of this sub2 section. 

3 (d) OPERATING PLAN.—Not later than 90 days after 

4 its first meeting, the Commission shall submit to the Di5 rector of NIH and the Congress an operating plan for car6 rying out the duties of the Commission as described in 

7 subsection (c). Such operating plan may include— 

8 (1) a list of specific activities that the Commis9 sion plans to conduct for purposes of carrying out 

10 the duties described in each of the paragraphs in 

11 subsection (c); 

12 (2) a plan for completing the activities; 

13 (3) a list of members of the Commission and 

14 other individuals who are not members of the Com15 mission who will need to be involved to conduct such 

16 activities; 

17 (4) an explanation of NIH Institute and Center 

18 involvement and coordination needed to conduct 

19 such activities; 

20 (5) a budget for conducting such activities; and 

21 (6) other information that the Commission 

22 deems appropriate. 

23 (e) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

24 date of the Commission’s first meeting, the Commission 

25 shall submit to the Director of NIH and the Congress a 


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1 final report containing all of the findings and rec2 ommendation required by subsection (c). 

3 (f) SUNSET.—The Commission shall terminate 60 

4 days after submitting its final report, but not later than 

5 September 30, 2022. 

Æ 


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