I 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5989 
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to implement a 
National Neurotechnology Initiative, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 7, 2008 
Mr. KENNEDY (for himself and Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to 
implement a National Neurotechnology Initiative, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This 
Act 
may 
be 
cited 
as 
the 
‘‘National 
Neurotechnology Initiative Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) While the field of neuroscience is highly ad-
vanced, our understanding of how the brain works 
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still has many gaps and our ability to repair damage 
remains limited. 
(2) Nearly 100,000,000 Americans suffer from 
a brain or nervous system disease, injury, or dis-
order, and the national economic burden of such 
brain-related 
illnesses 
has 
reached 
over 
$1,000,000,000,000 per year and is growing alarm-
ingly due to an aging population. 
(3) Critical unmet medical needs exist in almost 
every area of the brain and nervous system, includ-
ing Alzheimer’s disease, addiction, anxiety, chronic 
pain, depression, epilepsy, hearing loss, multiple 
sclerosis, obesity, Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, 
sleep, spinal cord injury, stroke, traumatic brain in-
jury, and more. 
(4) While the science of the brain is moving for-
ward more rapidly than any other science today, we 
must ensure these discoveries quickly become tools 
to improve the human condition. 
(5) Neurotechnology holds the potential to 
transform nearly every aspect of our lives from med-
icine to defense to education to computing, as well 
as our conception of the human mind. 
(6) A global race is underway to determine the 
country that will lead the neurotechnology economy, 
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which will have long-lasting implications on employ-
ment, infrastructure development, and regional com-
petitiveness. 
(7) Federal leadership is needed to accelerate 
and coordinate the development of neurotechnology 
and bring the benefits to those in need across the 
Nation. 
(8) Therefore, it is in the national interest for 
the Federal Government to increase investment and 
interagency coordination of Federal neurotechnology 
research, development, and commercialization pro-
grams. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) INITIATIVE.—The term ‘‘Initiative’’ means 
the National Neurotechnology Initiative implemented 
under section 4. 
(2) NEUROTECHNOLOGY.—The term ‘‘neuro-
technology’’ means the science and technology that 
allows an individual to analyze, understand, treat, 
and heal the brain and nervous system. 
(3) QUALIFIED
STAFF.—The term ‘‘qualified 
staff’’ means a Food and Drug Administration em-
ployee who has academic training or significant ex-
perience in neurotechnology or related fields, or who 
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has satisfactorily completed a Food and Drug Ad-
ministration neuroscience training course. 
(4) RELATED
FIELDS.—The term ‘‘related 
fields’’ means neuroscience, neuromedicine, cognitive 
science, behavioral psychology, neuropharmacology, 
neuropsychiatry, neuroimaging, neuroregeneration, 
neurorehabilitation, neuromodulation, neurostimula-
tion, biomedical engineering, bioengineering, molec-
ular biology, computer science, robotics, and such 
other fields as the Director of the National Neuro-
technology Coordinating Office determines to be re-
lated to neurotechnology. 
(5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 
(6) TRANSLATIONAL.—The term ‘‘translation-
al’’ means relating to research that is focused on 
converting laboratory findings into patient treat-
ments. 
SEC. 4. NATIONAL NEUROTECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall implement a 
National Neurotechnology Initiative under which, acting 
through appropriate agencies, councils, and the National 
Neurotechnology Coordination Office established pursuant 
to section 5, the Secretary shall— 
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