to information about himself or herself collected during such 
individual’s participation in the research. 
‘‘(4) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘identifi-
able, sensitive information’ means information that is 
about an individual and that is gathered or used during 
the course of research described in paragraph (1)(A) and— 
‘‘(A) through which an individual is identified; 
or 
‘‘(B) for which there is at least a very small risk, 
as determined by current scientific practices or statis-
tical methods, that some combination of the informa-
tion, a request for the information, and other avail-
able data sources could be used to deduce the identity 
of an individual.’’. 
(b) APPLICABILITY.—Beginning 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, all persons engaged in re-
search and authorized by the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services to protect information under section 
301(d) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 241(d)) 
prior to the date of enactment of this Act shall be subject 
to the requirements of such section (as amended by this 
Act).
SEC. 2013. PROTECTION OF IDENTIFIABLE AND SENSITIVE 
INFORMATION. 
Section 301 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 241) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(f)(1) The Secretary may exempt from disclosure 
under section 552(b)(3) of title 5, United States Code, bio-
medical information that is about an individual and that 
is gathered or used during the course of biomedical research 
if— 
‘‘(A) an individual is identified; or 
‘‘(B) there is at least a very small risk, as deter-
mined by current scientific practices or statistical 
methods, that some combination of the information, 
the request, and other available data sources could be 
used to deduce the identity of an individual. 
‘‘(2)(A) Each determination of the Secretary under 
paragraph (1) to exempt information from disclosure shall 
be made in writing and accompanied by a statement of the 
basis for the determination. 
‘‘(B) Each such determination and statement of basis 
shall be available to the public, upon request, through the 
Office of the Chief FOIA Officer of the Department of 
Health and Human Services. 
‘‘(3) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to 
limit a research participant’s access to information about
such participant collected during the participant’s partici-
pation in the research.’’. 
SEC. 2014. DATA SHARING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 402(b) of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 282(b)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (23), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 
end; 
(2) in paragraph (24), by striking the period 
and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (24) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(25) may require recipients of National Insti-
tutes of Health awards to share scientific data, to the 
extent feasible, generated from such National Insti-
tutes of Health awards in a manner that is consistent 
with all applicable Federal laws and regulations, in-
cluding such laws and regulations for the protection 
of— 
‘‘(A) human research participants, includ-
ing with respect to privacy, security, informed 
consent, and protected health information; and 
‘‘(B) 
proprietary 
interests, 
confidential 
commercial information, and the intellectual 
property rights of the funding recipient.’’.
(b) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Nothing in the amendments 
made by subsection (a) authorizes the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services to disclose any information that is 
a trade secret, or other privileged or confidential informa-
tion, described in section 552(b)(4) of title 5, United States 
Code, or section 1905 of title 18, United States Code, or 
be construed to require recipients of grants or cooperative 
agreements through the National Institutes of Health to 
share such information. 
Subtitle C—Supporting Young 
Emerging Scientists 
SEC. 2021. INVESTING IN THE NEXT GENERATION OF RE-
SEARCHERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part A of title IV of the Public 
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 281 et seq.) is amended by 
adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 404M. NEXT GENERATION OF RESEARCHERS. 
‘‘(a) NEXT GENERATION OF RESEARCHERS INITIA-
TIVE.—There shall be established within the Office of the 
Director of the National Institutes of Health, the Next Gen-
eration of Researchers Initiative (referred to in this section 
as the ‘Initiative’), through which the Director shall coordi-
nate all policies and programs within the National Insti-
tutes of Health that are focused on promoting and pro-
viding opportunities for new researchers and earlier re-
search independence. 
‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES.—The Director of the National Insti-
tutes of Health, through the Initiative shall— 
‘‘(1) promote policies and programs within the 
National Institutes of Health that are focused on im-
proving opportunities for new researchers and pro-
moting earlier research independence, including exist-
ing policies and programs, as appropriate; 
‘‘(2) develop, modify, or prioritize policies, as 
needed, within the National Institutes of Health to 
promote opportunities for new researchers and earlier 
research independence, such as policies to increase op-
portunities for new researchers to receive funding, en-
hance training and mentorship programs for re-
searchers, and enhance workforce diversity; 
‘‘(3) coordinate, as appropriate, with relevant 
agencies, professional and academic associations, aca-
demic institutions, and others, to improve and update 
existing information on the biomedical research work-
force in order to inform programs related to the 
training, recruitment, and retention of biomedical re-
searchers; and 
‘‘(4) carry out other activities, including evalua-
tion and oversight of existing programs, as appro-
priate, to promote the development of the next genera-
tion of researchers and earlier research independ-
ence.’’. 
(b) CONSIDERATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS.—In car-
rying out activities under section 404M(b) of the Public 
Health Service Act, the Director of the National Institutes 
of Health shall take into consideration the recommendations 
made by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, 
and Medicine as part of the comprehensive study on policies 
affecting the next generation of researchers under the De-
partment of Health and Human Services Appropriations 
Act, 2016 (Public Law 114–113), and submit a report to 
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 
and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, and 
the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Com-
mittee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, 
with respect to any actions taken by the National Institutes 
of Health based on the recommendations not later than 2 
years after the completion of the study required pursuant 
to the Department of Health and Human Services Appro-
priations Act, 2016. 
SEC. 2022. IMPROVEMENT OF LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM. 
(a) INTRAMURAL LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM.—Sec-
tion 487A of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 288– 
1) is amended—