I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 844

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

of a National Center for Social Work Research. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 13, 2003

Mr. RODRIGUEZ (for himself, Mr. LEACH, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. TOWNS, 

Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. FROST, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. RANGEL, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Ms. GRANGER, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. 

WAXMAN, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. LEE, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mrs. 

TAUSCHER, Ms. NORTON, and Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

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. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds as follows: 
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1 (1) Social workers focus on the improvement of 

2 individual and family functioning and the creation of 

3 effective health and mental health prevention and 

4 treatment interventions in order for individuals to 

5 become more productive members of society. 

6 (2) Social workers provide front line prevention 

7 and treatment services in the areas of school vio8 lence, aging, teen pregnancy, child abuse, domestic 

9 violence, juvenile crime, and substance abuse, par10 ticularly in rural and underserved communities. 

11 (3) Social workers are in a unique position to 

12 provide valuable research information on these com13 plex social concerns, taking into account a wide 

14 range of social, medical, economic and community 

15 influences from an interdisciplinary, family-centered 

16 and community-based approach. 

17 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL CENTER FOR SO18 CIAL WORK RESEARCH. 

19 Title IV of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

20 281 et seq.), as amended by title I of Public Law 106–

21 525, is amended—

22 (1) in section 401(b)(2) (42 U.S.C. 281(b)(2)), 

23 by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(H) The National Center for Social Work Re25 search.’’; and 
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1 (2) in part E (42 U.S.C. 287 et seq.), by add2 ing at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘Subpart 7—National Center for Social Work Research 

4 ‘‘SEC. 485J. PURPOSE OF CENTER. 

5 ‘‘The general purpose of the National Center for So6 cial Work Research (referred to in this subpart as the 

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

8 of targeted research on social work methods and outcomes 

9 related to problems of significant social concern. The Cen10 ter shall promote research and training designed to inform 

11 social work practice, thus increasing the knowledge base 

12 which promotes a healthier America. In addition, the Cen13 ter shall provide policymakers with empirically-based re14 search information to better understand complex social 

15 issues and make informed funding decisions about service 

16 effectiveness and cost efficiency. 

17 ‘‘SEC. 485K. SPECIFIC AUTHORITIES. 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To carry out the purpose de19 scribed in section 485J, the Director of the Center may 

20 provide research training and instruction and establish, in 

21 the Center and in other nonprofit institutions, research 

22 traineeships and fellowships in the study and investigation 

23 of the prevention of disease, health promotion, the associa24 tion of socioeconomic status, gender, ethnicity, age, and 

25 geographical location and health, the social work care of 
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1 persons with and families of individuals with acute and 

2 chronic illnesses, child abuse, neglect, and youth violence, 

3 and child and family care to address problems of signifi4 cant social concern especially in underserved populations 

5 and underserved geographical areas. 

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

7 the Center may provide individuals receiving training and 

8 instruction or traineeships or fellowships under subsection 

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

10 for travel and subsistence and dependency allowances) as 

11 the Director determines necessary. 

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

13 grants to nonprofit institutions to provide training and in14 struction and traineeships and fellowships under sub15 section (a). 

16 ‘‘SEC. 485L. ADVISORY COUNCIL. 

17 ‘‘(a) DUTIES.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab19 lish an advisory council for the Center that shall ad20 vise, assist, consult with, and make recommenda21 tions to the Secretary and the Director of the Center

22 on matters related to the activities carried out by 

23 and through the Center and the policies with respect 

24 to such activities. 
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1 ‘‘(2) GIFTS.—The advisory council for the Cen2 ter may recommend to the Secretary the acceptance, 

3 in accordance with section 231, of conditional gifts 

4 for study, investigations, and research and for the 

5 acquisition of grounds or construction, equipment, or 

6 maintenance of facilities for the Center. 

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

8 advisory council for the Center—

9 ‘‘(A)(i) may make recommendations to the 

10 Director of the Center with respect to research 

11 to be conducted by the Center; 

12 ‘‘(ii) may review applications for grants 

13 and cooperative agreements for research or 

14 training and recommend for approval applica15 tions for projects that demonstrate the prob16 ability of making valuable contributions to 

17 human knowledge; and

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

19 cooperative agreement proposed to be made or 

20 entered into by the Center; 

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

22 personal investigation, information relating to

23 studies that are being carried out in the United 

24 States or any other country and, with the ap25 proval of the Director of the Center, make such 
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1 information available through appropriate publi2 cations; and 

3 ‘‘(C) may appoint subcommittees and con4 vene workshops and conferences. 

5 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.—

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

7 be composed of the ex officio members described in 

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

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

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

11 members of the advisory council shall include—

12 ‘‘(A) the Secretary of Health and Human 

13 Services, the Director of NIH, the Director of 

14 the Center, the Director of the Office of Behav15 ioral and Social Sciences Research, the Chief 

16 Social Work Officer of the Veterans’ Adminis17 tration, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for 

18 Health Affairs, the Associate Director of Pre19 vention Research at the National Institute of 

20 Mental Health, the Director of the Centers for 

21 Disease Control and Prevention, the Director of 

22 the Division of Epidemiology and Services Re23 search, the Assistant Secretary of Health and 

24 Human Services for the Administration for 

25 Children and Families, the Assistant Secretary 
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1 of Education for the Office of Educational Re2 search and Improvement, the Assistant Sec3 retary of Housing and Urban Development for 

4 Community Planning and Development, and the 

5 Assistant Attorney General for Office of Justice 

6 Programs (or the designees of such officers); 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(B) such additional officers or employees 

9 of the United States as the Secretary deter10 mines necessary for the advisory council to ef11 fectively carry out its functions. 

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

13 shall appoint not to exceed 18 individuals to the ad14 visory council, of which—

15 ‘‘(A) not more than two-thirds of such in16 dividual shall be appointed from among the 

17 leading representatives of the health and sci18 entific disciplines (including public health and 

19 the behavioral or social sciences) relevant to the 

20 activities of the Center, and at least 7 such in21 dividuals shall be professional social workers 

22 who are recognized experts in the area of clin23 ical practice, education, policy, or research; and 

24 ‘‘(B) not more than one-third of such indi25 viduals shall be appointed from the general 
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1 public and shall include leaders in fields of pub2 lic policy, law, health policy, economics, and 

3 management. 

4 The Secretary shall make appointments to the advi5 sory council in such a manner as to ensure that the 

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

7 year. 

8 ‘‘(4) COMPENSATION.—Members of the advi9 sory council who are officers or employees of the 

10 United States shall not receive any compensation for 

11 service on the advisory council. The remaining mem12 bers shall receive, for each day (including travel 

13 time) they are engaged in the performance of the 

14 functions of the advisory council, compensation at 

15 rates not to exceed the daily equivalent of the annual 

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

17 the General Schedule. 

18 ‘‘(c) TERMS.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term of office of an in20 dividual appointed to the advisory council under sub21 section (b)(3) shall be 4 years, except that any indi22 vidual appointed to fill a vacancy on the advisory 

23 council shall serve for the remainder of the unex24 pired term. A member may serve after the expiration
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1 of the member’s term until a successor has been ap2 pointed. 

3 ‘‘(2) REAPPOINTMENTS.—A member of the ad4 visory council who has been appointed under sub5 section (b)(3) for a term of 4 years may not be re6 appointed to the advisory council prior to the expira7 tion of the 2-year period beginning on the date on 

8 which the prior term expired. 

9 ‘‘(3) VACANCY.—If a vacancy occurs on the ad10 visory council among the members under subsection 

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

12 fill that vacancy not later than 90 days after the 

13 date on which the vacancy occurs. 

14 ‘‘(d) CHAIRPERSON.—The chairperson of the advi15 sory council shall be selected by the Secretary from among 

16 the members appointed under subsection (b)(3), except 

17 that the Secretary may select the Director of the Center 

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

19 of office of the chairperson shall be 2 years. 

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

21 the call of the chairperson or upon the request of the Di22 rector of the Center, but not less than 3 times each fiscal 

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

24 shall be subject to the approval of the Director of the Cen25 ter. 
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1 ‘‘(f) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.—The Director of 

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

3 Center to serve as the executive secretary of the advisory 

4 council. The Director of the Center shall make available 

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

6 assistance as the council may require to carry out its func7 tions. The Director of the Center shall provide orientation 

8 and training for new members of the advisory council to 

9 provide such members with such information and training 

10 as may be appropriate for their effective participation in 

11 the functions of the advisory council. 

12 ‘‘(g) COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—The ad13 visory council may prepare, for inclusion in the biennial 

14 report under section 485M—

15 ‘‘(1) comments with respect to the activities of 

16 the advisory council in the fiscal years for which the 

17 report is prepared; 

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

19 meeting its objectives; and 

20 ‘‘(3) recommendations with respect to the fu21 ture direction and program and policy emphasis of 

22 the center. 

23 The advisory council may prepare such additional reports 

24 as it may determine appropriate. 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 485M. BIENNIAL REPORT. 

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

3 the advisory council for the Center, shall prepare for inclu4 sion in the biennial report under section 403, a biennial 

5 report that shall consist of a description of the activities 

6 of the Center and program policies of the Director of the 

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

8 The Director of the Center may prepare such additional 

9 reports as the Director determines appropriate. The Di10 rector of the Center shall provide the advisory council of 

11 the Center an opportunity for the submission of the writ12 ten comments described in section 485L(g). 

13 ‘‘SEC. 485N. QUARTERLY REPORT. 

14 ‘‘The Director of the Center shall prepare a quarterly 

15 report to Congress with a summary of findings and policy 

16 implications from research conducted or supported 

17 through the Center. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 485O. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

19 ‘‘For the purpose of carrying out this subpart, there 

20 is authorized to be appropriated $30,000,000 for each of 

21 the fiscal years 2004 through 2008.’’.

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