I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2421 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to increase accountability at the 

National Institutes of Health. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 19, 2015 

Mr. BARTON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to increase 

accountability at the National Institutes of Health. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. INCREASING ACCOUNTABILITY AT THE NA4 TIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH. 

5 (a) APPOINTMENT AND TERMS OF DIRECTORS OF

6 NATIONAL RESEARCH INSTITUTES AND NATIONAL CEN7 TERS.—Subsection (a) of section 405 of the Public Health 

8 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 284) is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(a) APPOINTMENT; TERMS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) APPOINTMENT.—The Director of the Na2 tional Cancer Institute shall be appointed by the 

3 President and the directors of the other national re4 search institutes, as well as the directors of the na5 tional centers, shall be appointed by the Director of 

6 NIH. The directors of the national research insti7 tutes, as well as national centers, shall report di8 rectly to the Director of NIH. 

9 ‘‘(2) TERMS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term of office of 

11 a director of a national research institute or na12 tional center shall be 5 years. 

13 ‘‘(B) REMOVAL.—The director of a na14 tional research institute or national center may 

15 be removed from office by the Director of NIH 

16 prior to the expiration of such director’s 5-year 

17 term. 

18 ‘‘(C) REAPPOINTMENT.—At the end of the 

19 term of a director of a national research insti20 tute or national center, the director may be re21 appointed. There is no limit on the number of 

22 terms a director may serve. 

23 ‘‘(D) VACANCIES.—If the office of a direc24 tor of a national research institute or national 

25 center becomes vacant before the end of such 


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1 director’s term, the director appointed to fill the 

2 vacancy shall be appointed for a 5-year term 

3 starting on the date of such appointment. 

4 ‘‘(E) TRANSITIONAL PROVISION.—Each di5 rector of a national research institute or na6 tional center serving on the date of enactment 

7 of the 21st Century Cures Act is deemed to be 

8 appointed for a 5-year term under this sub9 section starting on such date of enactment.’’. 

10 (b) COMPENSATION TO CONSULTANTS OR INDI11 VIDUAL SCIENTISTS.—Section 202 of the Departments of 

12 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and 

13 Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1993 (Public Law 

14 102–394; 42 U.S.C. 238f note) is amended by striking 

15 ‘‘portable structures;’’ and all that follows and inserting 

16 ‘‘portable structures.’’. 

17 (c) REVIEW OF CERTAIN AWARDS BY DIRECTORS.— 

18 Section 405(b) of the Public Health Service Act (42 

19 U.S.C. 284(b)) is amended by adding at the end the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(3) Before an award is made by a national research 

22 institute or by a national center for a grant for a research 

23 program or project (commonly referred to as an ‘R-series 

24 grant’), other than an award constituting a noncompeting 

25 renewal of such grant, or a noncompeting administrative 


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1 supplement to such grant, the director of such national 

2 research institute or national center— 

3 ‘‘(A) shall review and approve the award; and 

4 ‘‘(B) shall take into consideration— 

5 ‘‘(i) the mission of the national research 

6 institute or national center and the scientific 

7 priorities identified in the strategic plan under 

8 section 402(m); and 

9 ‘‘(ii) whether other agencies are funding 

10 programs or projects to accomplish the same 

11 goal.’’. 

12 (d) IOM STUDY ON DUPLICATION IN FEDERAL BIO13 MEDICAL RESEARCH.—The Secretary of Health and 

14 Human Services shall enter into an arrangement with the 

15 Institute of Medicine of the National Academies (or, if the 

16 Institute declines, another appropriate entity) under which 

17 the Institute (or other appropriate entity) not later than 

18 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act will— 

19 (1) complete a study on the extent to which bio20 medical research conducted or supported by Federal 

21 agencies is duplicative; and 

22 (2) submit a report to the Congress on the re23 sults of such study, including recommendations on 

24 how to prevent such duplication. 

Æ 


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