I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2818 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the establishment 
of Epilepsy Centers of Excellence in the Veterans Health Administration 
of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 21, 2007 
Mr. PERLMUTTER (for himself, Mr. FILNER, Mr. MICHAUD, Mr. KENNEDY, 
Mr. SALAZAR, Mr. WEXLER, and Mr. LAMBORN) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the 
establishment of Epilepsy Centers of Excellence in the 
Veterans Health Administration of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. EPILEPSY CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE. 
(a) REQUIREMENT FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF EPI-
LEPSY CENTERS
OF EXCELLENCE.—Subchapter II of 
chapter 73 of title 38, United States Code, is amended 
by adding at the end the following new section: 
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‘‘§ 7330A. Epilepsy centers of excellence 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF CENTERS.—(1) Not later 
than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary, upon the recommendation of the Under 
Secretary for Health, shall designate not less than six De-
partment health-care facilities as the locations for epilepsy 
centers of excellence. 
‘‘(2) Subject to the availability of appropriations for 
such purpose, the Secretary shall establish and operate 
epilepsy centers of excellence at the locations designated 
pursuant to paragraph (1). 
‘‘(b) DESIGNATION OF FACILITIES.—(1) The Sec-
retary may not designate a Department health-care facil-
ity as a location for an epilepsy center of excellence under 
subsection (a)(1) unless the peer review panel established 
under subsection (c) has determined under that subsection 
that the proposal submitted by such facility seeking des-
ignation as a location for an epilepsy center of excellence 
is among those proposals that meet the highest competi-
tive standards of scientific and clinical merit. 
‘‘(2) In choosing from among the facilities meeting 
the requirements of paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 
also consider appropriate geographic distribution when 
designating the epilepsy centers of excellence under sub-
section (a)(1). 
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‘‘(c) PEER REVIEW PANEL.—(1) The Under Sec-
retary for Health shall establish a peer review panel to 
assess the scientific and clinical merit of proposals that 
are submitted to the Secretary for the designation of epi-
lepsy centers of excellence under this section. 
‘‘(2)(A) The membership of the peer review panel 
shall consist of experts on epilepsy, including post-trau-
matic epilepsy. 
‘‘(B) Members of the peer review panel shall serve 
for a period of no longer than two years, except as speci-
fied in subparagraph (C). 
‘‘(C) Of the members first appointed to the panel, 
one half shall be appointed for a period of three years and 
one half shall be appointed for a period of two years, as 
designated by the Under Secretary at the time of appoint-
ment. 
‘‘(3) The peer review panel shall review each proposal 
submitted to the panel by the Under Secretary for Health 
and shall submit its views on the relative scientific and 
clinical merit of each such proposal to the Under Sec-
retary. 
‘‘(4) The peer review panel shall not be subject to 
the Federal Advisory Committee Act. 
‘‘(d) PRIORITY OF FUNDING.—The Secretary shall 
ensure that each Department health-care facility that, as 
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of January 1, 2007, was operating a nationally designated 
VA Center of Excellence for Epilepsy Monitoring and is 
designated as an epilepsy center of excellence under sub-
section (a)(1) shall receive adequate funding to enable 
those centers to function effectively in the areas of epilepsy 
research, education, and clinical care activities before pro-
viding funds to facilities designated under subsection 
(a)(1) that were not operating a nationally designated VA 
Center of Excellence for Epilepsy Monitoring as of Janu-
ary 1, 2007. 
‘‘(e) EPILEPSY
CENTER
OF
EXCELLENCE
DE-
FINED.—The term ‘epilepsy center of excellence’ means a 
Department health-care facility that has (or in the foresee-
able future can develop) the necessary capacity to function 
as a center of excellence in research, education, and clin-
ical care activities in the diagnosis and treatment of epi-
lepsy and has (or may reasonably be anticipated to de-
velop) each of the following: 
‘‘(1) An affiliation with an accredited medical 
school that provides education and training in neu-
rology, including an arrangement with such school 
under which medical residents receive education and 
training in the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy 
(including neurosurgery). 
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‘‘(2) The ability to attract the participation of 
scientists who are capable of ingenuity and creativity 
in health-care research efforts. 
‘‘(3) An advisory committee composed of vet-
erans and appropriate health-care and research rep-
resentatives of the facility and of the affiliated 
school or schools to advise the directors of such fa-
cility and such center on policy matters pertaining to 
the activities of the center during the period of the 
operation of such center. 
‘‘(4) The capability to conduct effectively eval-
uations of the activities of such center. 
‘‘(5) The capability to coordinate (as part of an 
integrated national system) education, clinical care, 
and research activities within all facilities with such 
centers. 
‘‘(6) The capability to develop jointly a national 
consortium of providers with interest in treating epi-
lepsy at Department health-care facilities lacking 
such centers in order to ensure better access to 
state-of-the-art diagnosis, research, clinical care, and 
education for traumatic brain injury and epilepsy 
throughout the health-care system of the Depart-
ment. Such consortium should include a designated 
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epilepsy referral clinic in each Veterans Integrated 
Service Network. 
‘‘(7) The capability to assist in the expansion of 
the Department’s use of information systems and 
databases to improve the quality and delivery of care 
for veterans enrolled within the Department’s health 
care system. 
‘‘(8) The capability to assist in the expansion of 
the Department telehealth program to develop, 
transmit, monitor, and review neurological diag-
nostic tests. 
‘‘(9) The ability to perform epilepsy research, 
education, and clinical care activities in collaboration 
with Department medical facilities that have centers 
for research, education, and clinical care activities 
on complex multi-trauma associated with combat in-
juries established under section 7327. 
‘‘(f) ADMINISTRATION.—(1) In order to assist the 
Secretary and Under Secretary for Health in carrying out 
this section, a national coordinator for epilepsy programs 
shall report to the official responsible for neurology at the 
Veterans Health Administration and shall— 
‘‘(A) supervise the operation of the centers es-
tablished pursuant to this section; 
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