I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2573
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
JULY 20, 1999
Mr. WAXMAN (for himself, Mrs. MORELLA, and Mr. BONIOR) 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 1999’’.
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 404D
the following section:
‘‘AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES
‘‘SEC. 404E. (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,
in consultation with the coordinating committee es-
tablished under subsection (c), 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 and education ac-
tivities relating to biomedical, 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 research and edu-
cation activities on autoimmune diseases being
conducted or supported through the national re-
search institutes, and that identifies particular
projects or types of projects that should in the
future be conducted or supported by the na-
tional research institutes or other entities in the
field of research 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, the Commis-
sioner of Food and Drugs, and other relevant agen-
cies.
‘‘(c) COORDINATING COMMITTEE.—The Director of
NIH shall ensure that there is in operation a committee
to assist the Director of the Office in carrying out sub-
section (b), that the committee is designated as the Auto-
immune Diseases Coordinating Committee, and that, to
the extent possible, such Coordinating Committee includes
liaison members from other Federal health agencies, in-
cluding 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, chronic
fatigue syndrome, Crohn’s disease and colitis, and other
diseases or disorders as determined by the Secretary.
‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the
purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized
to be appropriated $950,000 for fiscal year 2000, and
such sums as may be necessary for each subsequent fiscal
year.’’.
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