II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 178

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the establishment

of a National Center for Social Work Research.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 19, 1999

Mr. INOUYE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

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

A BILL

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for

the establishment of a National Center for Social Work

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 Social Work Research Act’’.

6 SEC. 2 ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL CENTER FOR SO7 CIAL WORK RESEARCH.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 401(b)(2) of the Public

9 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 281(b)(2)) is amended by

10 adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(F) The National Center for Social Work Re2 search.’’.

3 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Part E of title IV of the Pub4 lic Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 287 et seq.) is amended

5 by adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘Subpart 5—National Center for Social Work Research

7 ‘‘SEC. 485G. PURPOSE OF CENTER.

8 ‘‘The general purpose of the National Center for So9 cial Work Research (referred to in this subpart as the

10 ‘Center’) is the conduct and support of, and dissemination

11 of information with respect to basic, clinical, and services

12 social work research, training, and other programs in pa13 tient care, including child and family care.

14 ‘‘SEC. 485H. SPECIFIC AUTHORITIES.

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To carry out the purpose de16 scribed in section 485G, the Director of the Center may

17 provide research training and instruction and establish, in

18 the Center and in other nonprofit institutions, research

19 traineeships and fellowships in the study and investigation

20 of the prevention of disease, health promotion, and the so21 cial work care of persons with and families of individuals

22 with acute and chronic illnesses, including child abuse and

23 neglect and child and family care.

24 ‘‘(b) STIPENDS AND ALLOWANCES.—The Director of

25 the Center may provide individuals receiving training and
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1 instruction or traineeships or fellowships under subsection

2 (a) with such stipends and allowances (including amounts

3 for travel and subsistence and dependency allowances) as

4 the Director determines necessary.

5 ‘‘(c) GRANTS.—The Director of the Center may make

6 grants to nonprofit institutions to provide training and in7 struction and traineeships and fellowships under sub8 section (a).

9 ‘‘SEC. 485I. ADVISORY COUNCIL.

10 ‘‘(a) DUTIES.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab12 lish an advisory council for the Center that shall ad13 vise, assist, consult with, and make recommenda14 tions to the Secretary and the Director of the Center

15 on matters related to the activities carried out by

16 and through the Center and the policies with respect

17 to such activities.

18 ‘‘(2) GIFTS.—The advisory council for the Cen19 ter may recommend to the Secretary the acceptance,

20 in accordance with section 231, of conditional gifts

21 for study, investigations, and research and for the

22 acquisition of grounds or construction, equipment, or

23 maintenance of facilities for the Center.

24 ‘‘(3) OTHER DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS.—The

25 advisory council for the Center—
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1 ‘‘(A)(i) may make recommendations to the

2 Director of the Center with respect to research

3 to be conducted by the Center;

4 ‘‘(ii) may review applications for grants

5 and cooperative agreements for research or

6 training and recommend for approval applica7 tions for projects that demonstrate the prob8 ability of making valuable contributions to

9 human knowledge; and

10 ‘‘(iii) may review any grant, contract, or

11 cooperative agreement proposed to be made or

12 entered into by the Center;

13 ‘‘(B) may collect, by correspondence or by

14 personal investigation, information relating to

15 studies that are being carried out in the United

16 States or any other country as to the diseases,

17 disorders, or other aspects of human health

18 with respect to which the Center is concerned

19 and, with the approval of the Director of the

20 Center, make such information available

21 through appropriate publications for the benefit

22 of public and private health entities and health

23 professions personnel and scientists and for the

24 information of the general public; and
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1 ‘‘(C) may appoint subcommittees and con2 vene workshops and conferences.

3 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The advisory council shall

5 be composed of the ex officio members described in

6 paragraph (2) and not more than 18 individuals to

7 be appointed by the Secretary under paragraph (3).

8 ‘‘(2) EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.—The ex officio

9 members of the advisory council shall include—

10 ‘‘(A) the Secretary, the Director of NIH,

11 the Director of the Center, the Chief Social

12 Work Officer of the Veterans’ Administration,

13 the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health

14 Affairs, the Associate Director of Prevention

15 Research at the National Institute of Mental

16 Health, and the Director of the Division of Epi17 demiology and Services Research (or the des18 ignees of such officers); and

19 ‘‘(B) such additional officers or employees

20 of the United States as the Secretary deter21 mines necessary for the advisory council to ef22 fectively carry out its functions.

23 ‘‘(3) APPOINTED MEMBERS.—The Secretary

24 shall appoint not to exceed 18 individuals to the ad25 visory council, of which—
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1 ‘‘(A) not more than two-thirds of such in2 dividual shall be appointed from among the

3 leading representatives of the health and sci4 entific disciplines (including public health and

5 the behavioral or social sciences) relevant to the

6 activities of the Center, and at least 7 such in7 dividuals shall be professional social workers

8 who are recognized experts in the area of clini9 cal practice, education, or research; and

10 ‘‘(B) not more than one-third of such indi11 viduals shall be appointed from the general

12 public and shall include leaders in fields of pub13 lic policy, law, health policy, economics, and

14 management.

15 The Secretary shall make appointments to the advi16 sory council in such a manner as to ensure that the

17 terms of the members do not all expire in the same

18 year.

19 ‘‘(4) COMPENSATION.—Members of the advi20 sory council who are officers or employees of the

21 United States shall not receive any compensation for

22 service on the advisory council. The remaining mem23 bers shall receive, for each day (including travel

24 time) they are engaged in the performance of the

25 functions of the advisory council, compensation at
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1 rates not to exceed the daily equivalent of the annual

2 rate in effect for an individual at grade GS–18 of

3 the General Schedule.

4 ‘‘(c) TERMS.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term of office of an in6 dividual appointed to the advisory council under sub7 section (b)(3) shall be 4 years, except that any indi8 vidual appointed to fill a vacancy on the advisory

9 council shall serve for the remainder of the unex10 pired term. A member may serve after the expiration

11 of the member’s term until a successor has been ap12 pointed.

13 ‘‘(2) REAPPOINTMENTS.—A member of the ad14 visory council who has been appointed under sub15 section (b)(3) for a term of 4 years may not be re16 appointed to the advisory council prior to the expira17 tion of the 2-year period beginning on the date on

18 which the prior term expired.

19 ‘‘(3) VACANCY.—If a vacancy occurs on the ad20 visory council among the members under subsection

21 (b)(3), the Secretary shall make an appointment to

22 fill that vacancy not later than 90 days after the

23 date on which the vacancy occurs.

24 ‘‘(d) CHAIRPERSON.—The chairperson of the advi25 sory council shall be selected by the Secretary from among
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1 the members appointed under subsection (b)(3), except

2 that the Secretary may select the Director of the Center

3 to be the chairperson of the advisory council. The term

4 of office of the chairperson shall be 2 years.

5 ‘‘(e) MEETINGS.—The advisory council shall meet at

6 the call of the chairperson or upon the request of the Di7 rector of the Center, but not less than 3 times each fiscal

8 year. The location of the meetings of the advisory council

9 shall be subject to the approval of the Director of the Cen10 ter.

11 ‘‘(f) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.—The Director of

12 the Center shall designate a member of the staff of the

13 Center to serve as the executive secretary of the advisory

14 council. The Director of the Center shall make available

15 to the advisory council such staff, information, and other

16 assistance as the council may require to carry out its func17 tions. The Director of the Center shall provide orientation

18 and training for new members of the advisory council to

19 provide such members with such information and training

20 as may be appropriate for their effective participation in

21 the functions of the advisory council.

22 ‘‘(g) COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—The ad23 visory council may prepare, for inclusion in the biennial

24 report under section 485J—
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1 ‘‘(1) comments with respect to the activities of

2 the advisory council in the fiscal years for which the

3 report is prepared;

4 ‘‘(2) comments on the progress of the Center in

5 meeting its objectives; and

6 ‘‘(3) recommendations with respect to the fu7 ture direction and program and policy emphasis of

8 the center.

9 The advisory council may prepare such additional reports

10 as it may determine appropriate.

11 ‘‘SEC. 485J. BIENNIAL REPORT.

12 ‘‘The Director of the Center, after consultation with

13 the advisory council for the Center, shall prepare for inclu14 sion in the biennial report under section 403, a biennial

15 report that shall consist of a description of the activities

16 of the Center and program policies of the Director of the

17 Center in the fiscal years for which the report is prepared.

18 The Director of the Center may prepare such additional

19 reports as the Director determines appropriate. The Di20 rector of the Center shall provide the advisory council of

21 the Center an opportunity for the submission of the writ22 ten comments described in section 485I(g).’’.

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