II 

Calendar No. 628 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 579 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Director of the 

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to make grants 

for the development and operation of research centers regarding environmental factors that may be related to the etiology of breast cancer. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2007 

Mr. REID (for himself, Mr. HATCH, Mrs. CLINTON, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. 

SANDERS, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. WARNER, Mr. FEINGOLD, Mr. BIDEN, Mr. 

MENENDEZ, Mr. REED, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. NELSON of 

Florida, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. BAYH, Mr. SUNUNU, 

Mr. VOINOVICH, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. KOHL, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. HAGEL, 

Mr. SALAZAR, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. LUGAR, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. KERRY, 

Mrs. DOLE, Ms. COLLINS, Mrs. HUTCHISON, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. DODD, 

Mr. SPECTER, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. BENNETT, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. CARDIN, Mrs. MCCASKILL, Mr. 

MCCAIN, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. COLEMAN, Mr. KYL, Mr. BROWN, Mr. 

LIEBERMAN, Mr. CASEY, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. PRYOR, 

Mr. VITTER, Mr. DOMENICI, Mr. BAUCUS, Mr. CARPER, Mr. DORGAN, 

Mr. LEVIN, Mr. SMITH, Mr. OBAMA, Mr. TESTER, Mr. WEBB, Mr. 

CONRAD, Mrs. LINCOLN, Mr. CORNYN, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. WYDEN, and 

Ms. LANDRIEU) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

APRIL 3, 2008 

Reported by Mr. KENNEDY, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize the 


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Director of the National Institute of Environmental 

Health Sciences to make grants for the development 

and operation of research centers regarding environmental factors that may be related to the etiology of 

breast cancer. 

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 ‘‘Breast Cancer and 

5 Environmental Research Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH; AWARDS FOR 

7 DEVELOPMENT AND OPERATION OF RE8 SEARCH CENTERS REGARDING ENVIRON9 MENTAL FACTORS RELATED TO BREAST CAN10 CER. 

11 Part A of title IV of the Public Health Service Act 

12 (42 U.S.C. 281 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

13 the following: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 404H. RESEARCH CENTERS REGARDING ENVIRON15 MENTAL FACTORS RELATED TO BREAST CAN16 CER. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 

18 the Director of NIH, based on recommendations from the 

19 Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Panel estab20 lished under subsection (b) (referred to in this section as 

21 the ‘Panel’), shall make grants to public or nonprofit priVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:42 Apr 04, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S579.RS S579

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1 vate entities for the development and operation of collabo2 rative, multi-institutional centers for the purpose of con3 ducting multidisciplinary and multi-institutional research 

4 on environmental factors that may be related to the eti5 ology of breast cancer. Each such center shall be known 

6 as a Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Center 

7 of Excellence. 

8 ‘‘(b) BREAST CANCER AND ENVIRONMENTAL RE9 SEARCH PANEL.— 

10 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es11 tablish within the National Institutes of Health a 

12 Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Panel. 

13 ‘‘(2) COMPOSITION.—The Panel shall be com14 posed of— 

15 ‘‘(A) 9 members to be appointed by the 

16 Secretary, of which— 

17 ‘‘(i) six members shall be appointed 

18 from among physicians and other health 

19 professionals, who— 

20 ‘‘(I) are not officers or employees 

21 of the United States; 

22 ‘‘(II) represent multiple dis23 ciplines, including clinical, basic, and 

24 public health sciences; 


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1 ‘‘(III) represent different geo2 graphical regions of the United 

3 States; 

4 ‘‘(IV) are from practice settings, 

5 academia, or other research settings; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(V) are experienced in peer re8 view; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) three members shall be appointed 

10 from the general public who are represent11 atives of individuals who have had breast 

12 cancer and who represent a constituency; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(B) such nonvoting, ex officio members as 

15 the Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

16 ‘‘(3) CHAIRPERSON.—The members of the 

17 Panel appointed under paragraph (2)(A) shall select 

18 a chairperson from among such members. 

19 ‘‘(4) MEETINGS.—The Panel shall meet at the 

20 call of the chairperson or upon the request of the 

21 Director of NIH, but in no case less often than once 

22 each year. 

23 ‘‘(5) DUTIES.—The Panel shall— 

24 ‘‘(A) develop a comprehensive strategy con25 cerning collaborative centers that would— 


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1 ‘‘(i) result in innovative approaches to 

2 study unexplored or underexplored areas of 

3 the environment and breast cancer; 

4 ‘‘(ii) outline key research questions, 

5 methodologies, and knowledge gaps con6 cerning environmental factors that may be 

7 related to the etiology of breast cancer; 

8 ‘‘(iii) outline key issues concerning en9 vironmental factors that may be related to 

10 the etiology of breast cancer; and 

11 ‘‘(iv) result in an overall strategy to 

12 address environmental factors related to 

13 breast cancer; 

14 ‘‘(B) make recommendations to the Sec15 retary with respect to the mechanisms, peer re16 view criteria, and allocations under this section; 

17 ‘‘(C) assist in the overall program evalua18 tion; and 

19 ‘‘(D) make recommendations for the dis20 semination of information on program process. 

21 ‘‘(c) COLLABORATION WITH COMMUNITY.—Each 

22 center under subsection (a) shall include community orga23 nizations in the geographic area served by the center, in24 cluding those that represent women with breast cancer, 


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1 as integral collaborators involved at all levels of the deci2 sion-making and research in such center. 

3 ‘‘(d) COORDINATION OF CENTERS; REPORTS.—The 

4 Director of NIH shall, as appropriate, provide for the co5 ordination of information among centers under subsection 

6 (a) and ensure regular communication between such cen7 ters, and may require the periodic preparation of reports 

8 on the activities of the centers and the submission of the 

9 reports to the Director. 

10 ‘‘(e) REQUIRED CONSORTIUM.—Each center under 

11 subsection (a) shall be formed from a consortium of co12 operating institutions and community groups, meeting 

13 such requirements as may be prescribed by the Director 

14 of NIH. Each center shall require collaboration among 

15 highly accomplished scientists, other health professionals 

16 and advocates of diverse backgrounds from various areas 

17 of expertise. 

18 ‘‘(f) DURATION OF SUPPORT.—Support of a center 

19 under subsection (a) may be for a period not exceeding 

20 5 years. Such period may be extended for one or more 

21 additional periods not exceeding 5 years if the operations 

22 of such center have been reviewed by an appropriate tech23 nical and scientific peer review group established by the 

24 Director of NIH and if such group has recommended to 

25 the Director that such period be extended. 


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1 ‘‘(g) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF CENTERS.— 

2 The Director of NIH shall, to the extent practicable, pro3 vide for an equitable geographical distribution of centers 

4 under this section. 

5 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the 

6 purpose of carrying out this section, there is authorized 

7 to be appropriated $40,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 

8 2008 through 2012. Such authorization is in addition to 

9 any other authorization of appropriations that is available 

10 for such purpose.’’. 

11 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

12 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Breast Cancer and En13 vironmental Research Act of 2007’’. 

14 SEC. 2. NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH; AWARDS FOR 

15 COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH REGARDING EN16 VIRONMENTAL FACTORS RELATED TO 

17 BREAST CANCER. 

18 Part A of title IV of the Public Health Service Act 

19 (42 U.S.C. 281 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 404I. RESEARCH REGARDING ENVIRONMENTAL FAC22 TORS RELATED TO BREAST CANCER. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the 

24 Director of NIH, taking into account recommendations 

25 from the Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Panel 


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1 established under subsection (b) (referred to in this section 

2 as the ‘Panel’), shall make grants to public or nonprofit 

3 private entities that meet the requirements of this section 

4 for the purpose of conducting collaborative multidisci5 plinary and multi-institutional research on environmental 

6 factors that may be related to the etiology of breast cancer. 

7 ‘‘(b) BREAST CANCER AND ENVIRONMENTAL RE8 SEARCH PANEL.— 

9 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es10 tablish within the National Institutes of Health a 

11 Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Panel. 

12 ‘‘(2) COMPOSITION.—The Panel shall be com13 posed of— 

14 ‘‘(A) 9 members to be appointed by the Sec15 retary, of which— 

16 ‘‘(i) six members shall be appointed 

17 from among physicians and other health 

18 professionals, who— 

19 ‘‘(I) are not officers or employees 

20 of the United States; 

21 ‘‘(II) represent multiple dis22 ciplines, including clinical, basic, and 

23 public health sciences; 

24 ‘‘(III) represent different geo25 graphical regions of the United States; 


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1 ‘‘(IV) are from practice settings, 

2 academia, or other research settings; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(V) are experienced in peer re5 view; 

6 ‘‘(ii) three members shall be appointed 

7 from the general public who are representa8 tives of individuals who have had breast 

9 cancer and who represent a constituency; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(iii) a designee of the National Insti12 tutes of Health; and 

13 ‘‘(B) such nonvoting, ex officio members as 

14 the Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

15 ‘‘(3) CHAIRPERSON.—The members of the Panel 

16 appointed under paragraph (2)(A) shall select a 

17 chairperson from among such members. The selection 

18 of such a member as chairperson shall be subject to 

19 the approval of the Director of NIH. 

20 ‘‘(4) MEETINGS.—The Panel shall meet at the 

21 call of the chairperson or upon the request of the Di22 rector of NIH, but in no case less often than once each 

23 year. 

24 ‘‘(5) DUTIES.—The Panel shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) develop a comprehensive strategy to so2 licit proposals for collaborative research that 

3 would— 

4 ‘‘(i) result in innovative approaches to 

5 study unexplored or underexplored areas of 

6 the environment and breast cancer; 

7 ‘‘(ii) outline key research questions, 

8 methodologies, and knowledge gaps con9 cerning environmental factors that may be 

10 related to the etiology of breast cancer; 

11 ‘‘(iii) outline key issues concerning en12 vironmental factors that may be related to 

13 the etiology of breast cancer; and 

14 ‘‘(iv) result in an overall strategy to 

15 address environmental factors related to 

16 breast cancer; 

17 ‘‘(B) make recommendations to the Sec18 retary with respect to the mechanisms, peer re19 view criteria, and allocations under this section; 

20 ‘‘(C) assist in the overall program evalua21 tion; and 

22 ‘‘(D) make recommendations for the dis23 semination of information on program process. 

24 ‘‘(c) COLLABORATION WITH COMMUNITY.—Each 

25 grantee under subsection (a) shall include community orgaVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:42 Apr 04, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S579.RS S579

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1 nizations (including those that represent women with breast 

2 cancer), representing a broad geographical area, as integral 

3 collaborators involved at all levels of the decision-making. 

4 ‘‘(d) COORDINATION OF GRANTEES; REPORTS.—The 

5 Director of NIH shall, as appropriate, provide for the co6 ordination of information among grantees under subsection 

7 (a) and ensure regular communication between such grant8 ees, and may require the periodic preparation of reports 

9 on the activities of the grantees and the submission of the 

10 reports to the Director. 

11 ‘‘(e) REQUIRED CONSORTIUM.—Each grantee under 

12 subsection (a) shall be a consortium of cooperating institu13 tions and community groups, meeting such requirements as 

14 may be recommended by the Panel. Each consortium shall 

15 require collaboration among highly accomplished scientists, 

16 other health professionals and advocates of diverse back17 grounds from various areas of expertise. 

18 ‘‘(f) DURATION OF SUPPORT.—Support of a grantee 

19 under subsection (a) may be for a period not exceeding 5 

20 years. Such period may be extended for one or more addi21 tional periods not exceeding 5 years if the operations of such 

22 grantee have been reviewed by an appropriate technical and 

23 scientific peer review group established by the Director of 

24 NIH and if such group has recommended to the Director 

25 that such period be extended. 


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1 ‘‘(g) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF GRANTEES.—The 

2 Director of NIH shall, to the extent practicable, provide for 

3 an equitable geographical distribution of grantees under 

4 this section. 

5 ‘‘(h) PEER REVIEW.—Nothing in this section shall be 

6 construed to interfere with the technical and scientific peer7 review process at the National Institutes of Health. 

8 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the 

9 purpose of carrying out this section, there is authorized to 

10 be appropriated $40,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 

11 2008 through 2012. Such authorization is in addition to 

12 any other authorization of appropriations that is available 

13 for such purpose.’’. 


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Calendar No. 628 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 579 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorrelated to the etiology of breast cancer. ters regarding environmental factors that may be the development and operation of research cen- vironmental Health Sciences to make grants for ize the Director of the National Institute of EnAPRIL 3, 2008 

Reported with an amendment 


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