I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3520 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish an interagency 

coordinating committee on pulmonary hypertension, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 16, 2015 

Mr. BRADY of Texas (for himself and Mrs. CAPPS) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish an 

interagency coordinating committee on pulmonary hypertension, 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 ‘‘Pulmonary Hyper5 tension Research and Diagnosis Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. INTERAGENCY PULMONARY HYPERTENSION CO7 ORDINATING COMMITTEE ESTABLISHED. 

8 Part P of title III of the Public Health Service Act 

9 (42 U.S.C. 280g et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

10 the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 399V–6. INTERAGENCY PULMONARY HYPERTENSION 

2 COORDINATING COMMITTEE. 

3 ‘‘(a) COMMITTEE ESTABLISHED.—The Secretary 

4 shall establish a committee, to be known as the Inter5 agency Pulmonary Hypertension Coordinating Committee 

6 (in this section referred to as the ‘Committee’), to coordi7 nate all efforts within the Department of Health and 

8 Human Services concerning pulmonary hypertension. 

9 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Committee shall— 

10 ‘‘(1) develop and annually update a summary of 

11 the advances made in research on, and treatment 

12 and diagnosis of, pulmonary hypertension; 

13 ‘‘(2) develop and annually update a summary of 

14 the advances made in access to care for individuals 

15 with a diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension; 

16 ‘‘(3) monitor pulmonary hypertension research, 

17 services, and support activities across the Federal 

18 Government, including coordination of Federal ac19 tivities and programs with respect to pulmonary hy20 pertension; 

21 ‘‘(4) develop and annually update a comprehen22 sive strategic plan under subsection (c) to improve 

23 health outcomes for individuals with a diagnosis of 

24 pulmonary hypertension; and 


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1 ‘‘(5) develop and annually update the progress 

2 made in implementing such comprehensive strategic 

3 plan. 

4 ‘‘(c) STRATEGY.—Not later than one year after the 

5 date of the enactment of the Pulmonary Hypertension Re6 search and Diagnosis Act of 2015 and annually thereafter, 

7 the Committee shall submit to Congress and the Secretary 

8 a strategy to improve health outcomes for individuals with 

9 a diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension. Such strategy 

10 shall include the following: 

11 ‘‘(1) Recommendations to advance research on 

12 pulmonary hypertension. 

13 ‘‘(2) Recommendations to improve the trans14 plantation criteria and process concerning lung and 

15 heart-lung transplants for individuals with a diag16 nosis of pulmonary hypertension. 

17 ‘‘(3) Recommendations to improve public 

18 awareness and recognition of pulmonary hyper19 tension. 

20 ‘‘(4) Recommendations to improve health care 

21 delivery for individuals with a diagnosis of pul22 monary hypertension. 

23 ‘‘(5) Recommendations to improve the early and 

24 accurate diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension. 


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1 ‘‘(6) Recommendations to systematically ad2 vance the full spectrum of biomedical research on 

3 pulmonary hypertension. 

4 ‘‘(d) MEMBERSHIP.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall be 

6 composed of— 

7 ‘‘(A) a representative from each of the en8 tities listed in paragraph (2); and 

9 ‘‘(B) the non-Federal members appointed 

10 under paragraph (3). 

11 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL MEMBERS.—The entities listed 

12 in this paragraph are the following: 

13 ‘‘(A) The Department of Defense. 

14 ‘‘(B) The Food and Drug Administration. 

15 ‘‘(C) The National Institutes of Health. 

16 ‘‘(D) The Agency for Healthcare Research 

17 and Quality. 

18 ‘‘(E) The Administration for Children and 

19 Families. 

20 ‘‘(F) The Centers for Disease Control and 

21 Prevention. 

22 ‘‘(G) The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

23 Services. 

24 ‘‘(H) The Health Resources and Services 

25 Administration. 


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1 ‘‘(3) NON-FEDERAL MEMBERS.—Not fewer 

2 than six members of the Committee or one-third of 

3 the total membership of the Committee, whichever is 

4 greater, shall be composed of non-Federal members 

5 to be appointed by the Secretary, of which— 

6 ‘‘(A) at least two shall be individuals with 

7 a diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension; 

8 ‘‘(B) at least one shall be the parent or 

9 guardian of an individual with a diagnosis of 

10 pulmonary hypertension; 

11 ‘‘(C) at least one shall be a representative 

12 of a pharmaceutical company that manufac13 tures a drug or device for detecting, preventing, 

14 or treating pulmonary hypertension; and 

15 ‘‘(D) at least one shall be a representative 

16 of a leading research, advocacy, or support or17 ganization primarily serving individuals with a 

18 diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension. 

19 ‘‘(e) MEETINGS.—The Committee shall meet not 

20 fewer than two times each year. All meetings shall be open 

21 to the public. 

22 ‘‘(f) TERMINATION DATE.—The Committee shall ter23 minate on the date that is five years after the date of the 

24 enactment of the Pulmonary Hypertension Research and 

25 Diagnosis Act of 2015.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

2 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than two years 

3 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

4 of Health and Human Services, in coordination with the 

5 Interagency Pulmonary Hypertension Coordinating Com6 mittee, shall prepare and submit to the Committee on 

7 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and 

8 the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House 

9 of Representatives a progress report on activities related 

10 to improving health outcomes for individuals with a diag11 nosis of pulmonary hypertension. 

12 (b) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The report submitted 

13 under subsection (a) shall contain— 

14 (1) information on the incidence of pulmonary 

15 hypertension, including such incidence since the date 

16 of the enactment of this Act; 

17 (2) information on the prevalence of pulmonary 

18 hypertension in children and adults; 

19 (3) information on the average time between 

20 the initial screening and the accurate diagnosis of 

21 pulmonary hypertension; 

22 (4) information on the average stage of pul23 monary hypertension when appropriate intervention 

24 begins; 


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1 (5) information on the effectiveness and out2 comes of interventions for individuals with a diag3 nosis of pulmonary hypertension, including— 

4 (A) mortality rate; and 

5 (B) the frequency of drastic treatment op6 tions such as lung and heart-lung transplants; 

7 (6) information on new developments in re8 search activities; 

9 (7) information on innovative treatment options 

10 and diagnostic tools; and 

11 (8) information on services and supports avail12 able to individuals with a diagnosis of pulmonary hy13 pertension. 

14 (c) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary of Health and 

15 Human Services shall make the report submitted under 

16 subsection (a) available on the public website of the De17 partment of Health and Human Services. 

Æ 


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