I
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4873
To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish an Office of Autoimmune
Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 20, 1998
Mr. WAXMAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Commerce
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish an
Office of Autoimmune Diseases at the National Institutes
of Health, 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 ‘‘NIH Office of Auto-
immune Diseases Act of 1998’’.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF AUTOIMMUNE DIS-
EASES AT NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH.
Title IV of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
281 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 404E
the following section:
‘‘AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES
‘‘SEC. 404F. (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab-
lished within the Office of the Director of NIH an office
to be known as the Office of Autoimmune Diseases (in
this section referred to as the ‘Office’), which shall be
headed by a Director appointed by the Director of NIH.
‘‘(b) DUTIES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office
shall carry out the following:
‘‘(A) The Director shall recommend an
agenda for conducting and supporting research
on autoimmune diseases through the national
research institutes. The agenda shall provide
for a broad range of research relating to bio-
medical, psychosocial, and rehabilitative issues,
including studies of the disproportionate impact
of such diseases on women.
‘‘(B) The Director shall with respect to
autoimmune diseases promote coordination and
cooperation among the national research insti-
tutes and entities whose research is supported
by such institutes.
‘‘(C) The Director shall promote the suffi-
cient allocation of the resources of the National
Institutes of Health for conducting and sup-
porting research on autoimmune diseases.
‘‘(D) The Director shall biennially prepare
a report that describes the projects of research
on autoimmune diseases being conducted or
supported through the national research insti-
tutes, and that identifies particular projects or
types of projects that should in the future be
conducted or supported by the national research
institutes or other entities in the field of re-
search on autoimmune diseases.
‘‘(2) PRINCIPAL
ADVISOR
REGARDING
AUTO-
IMMUNE
DISEASES.—With respect to autoimmune
diseases, the Director of the Office shall serve as the
principal advisor to the Secretary, the Assistant Sec-
retary for Health, and the Director of NIH, and
shall provide advice to the Director of the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention and the Com-
missioner of Food and Drugs.
‘‘(c) COORDINATING COMMITTEE.—The Director of
NIH shall ensure that there is in operation a committee
to coordinate the activities of the National Institutes of
Health with respect to autoimmune diseases, that the com-
mittee is designated as the Autoimmune Diseases Coordi-
nating Committee, and that, to the extent possible, such
Coordinating Committee includes liaison members from
other Federal health agencies, including the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug
Administration.
‘‘(d) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the
term ‘autoimmune diseases’ includes rheumatoid arthritis,
systemic lupus erthematosus, multiple sclerosis, juvenile-
onset diabetes, Sjo¨gren’s syndrome, scleroderma, and
other diseases or disorders as determined by the Sec-
retary.
‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the
purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized
to be appropriated $750,000 for fiscal year 1999, and
such sums as may be necessary for each subsequent fiscal
year.’’.
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