II

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1030

To amend title IV of the Public Health Service Act to establish a National

Center for Bioengineering Research.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JULY 17, 1997

Mr. FRIST (for himself and Mr. WELLSTONE) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Labor and

Human Resources

A BILL

To amend title IV of the Public Health Service Act to

establish a National Center for Bioengineering Research.

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 Center for

5 Bioengineering Research Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress makes the following findings:

8 (1) Bioengineering is an interdisciplinary field

9 that applies physical, chemical, and mathematical

10 sciences and engineering principles to the study of
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1 biology, medicine, behavior, and health. It advances

2 knowledge from the molecular to the organ systems

3 level, and develops new and novel biologics, mate4 rials, processes, implants, devices, and informatics

5 approaches for the prevention, diagnosis, and treat6 ment of disease, for patient rehabilitation, and for

7 improving health.

8 (2) Efforts to reduce Federal budget deficits re9 quire that resources be managed in ways to maxi10 mize productivity.

11 (3) As part of the NIH Revitalization Act of

12 1993, Congress asked for a report on the state of

13 bioengineering research at the National Institutes of

14 Health.

15 (4) In 1994, as requested by the Congress, an

16 External Consultants Committee submitted a report

17 to the Director of the National Institutes of Health

18 on support for bioengineering research.

19 (5) In 1995, the Director of the National Insti20 tutes of Health submitted a report to Congress on

21 Support for Bioengineering Research, that included

22 recommendations for greater coordination of bio23 engineering research.

24 (6) In 1996, an amendment to the National In25 stitutes of Health Revitalization Act of 1996 di-
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1 rected the Secretary of Health and Human Services,

2 acting through the Director of the National Insti3 tutes of Health, to ‘‘prepare and submit to the Com4 mittee on Labor and Human Resources of the Sen5 ate and the Committee on Commerce of the House

6 of Representatives, a report containing specific plans

7 and timeframes on how the Director will implement

8 the findings and recommendations of the Report to

9 Congress entitled Support for Bioengineering Re10 search submitted to Congress in August 1995 in

11 compliance with Public Law 103–43, the National

12 Institutes of Health (NIH) Revitalization Act of

13 1993, Section 1912’’. This legislation passed the

14 Senate but was not acted upon by the House.

15 (7) In the spring of 1997, the National Insti16 tutes of Health established the Bioengineering Con17 sortium, with representation from each of the insti18 tutes, to advance bioengineering and its mission

19 within the National Institutes of Health.

20 (8) Legislation is needed to support and further

21 the efforts already begun by the National Institutes

22 of Health in order to maximize the health benefits

23 for the American people.
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1 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL CENTER FOR BIO2 ENGINEERING RESEARCH.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart 2 of part C of title IV

4 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 285 et seq.)

5 is amended by adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘SEC. 425A. NATIONAL CENTER FOR BIOENGINEERING RE7 SEARCH.

8 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director of the Na9 tional Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute shall establish,

10 within the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, a

11 National Center for Bioengineering Research (in this sec12 tion referred to as the ‘Center’). The Center shall be head13 ed by a director, who shall be appointed by the Director

14 of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

15 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Center is to—

16 ‘‘(1) promote basic research in bioengineering;

17 and

18 ‘‘(2) establish an office to enhance the state of

19 and improve coordination of bioengineering research

20 conducted within the National Institutes of Health

21 and throughout the Federal Government.

22 ‘‘(c) DUTIES.—The Center shall—

23 ‘‘(1) enhance bioengineering research at the

24 National Institutes of Health by—

25 ‘‘(A) increasing the proportion of National

26 Institutes of Health funds that are devoted to
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1 basic rather than applied bioengineering re2 search;

3 ‘‘(B) improving the review of bioengineer4 ing grant applications; and

5 ‘‘(C) increasing intramural research in bio6 engineering;

7 ‘‘(2) convene a conference of bioengineering ex8 perts representing relevant Federal agencies, aca9 demia, and private sector entities to make rec10 ommendations to the Director of the Center regard11 ing—

12 ‘‘(A) setting the agenda of the Center; and

13 ‘‘(B) identifying promising research direc14 tions and emerging needs and opportunities in

15 bioengineering research;

16 ‘‘(3) promote joint funding of collaborative bio17 engineering research projects conducted by the na18 tional research institutes and other agencies of the

19 National Institutes of Health or conducted by any

20 such institute and another Federal entity;

21 ‘‘(4) enhance communication among bio22 engineering investigators within Federal agencies

23 and with private sector entities;

24 ‘‘(5) educate members of Congress and the pub25 lic on the critical importance of bioengineering in en-
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1 hancing the diagnosis and treatment of disease and

2 strengthening the economy;

3 ‘‘(6) annually convene a group of bioengineering

4 experts from Federal agencies and private sector en5 tities to advise the Director of the Center; and

6 ‘‘(7) prepare and submit to Congress, through

7 the Director of the National Institutes of Health, an

8 annual report.

9 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION.—The Center may not use amounts

10 provided under this section to award grants.

11 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

12 ‘‘(1) FOR THE CENTER.—There is authorized to

13 be appropriated $750,000 for each fiscal year for

14 the general operation of the Center.

15 ‘‘(2) FOR GENERAL BIOENGINEERING ACTIVI16 TIES.—There is authorized to be appropriated

17 $20,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1998

18 through 2007, to be allocated at the discretion of the

19 Director of NIH among the bioengineering activities

20 being carried out by the national research institutes

21 and other agencies of the National Institutes of

22 Health.’’.

23 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 401(b)(2)

24 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 281(b)(2))

25 is amended by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(F) The National Center for Bioengineering

2 Research.’’.

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