I 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6218 
To provide for the establishment of the Autoimmune Diseases 
Interdepartmental Coordinating Committee, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 26, 2012 
Ms. BUERKLE (for herself, Mrs. MALONEY, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. KING 
of New York, Mr. HANNA, Mr. RANGEL, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. 
TURNER of New York, Ms. CHU, Mrs. EMERSON, Mr. MARINO, Mr. 
WOLF, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, and Mr. KELLY) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Com-
merce 
A BILL 
To provide for the establishment of the Autoimmune Dis-
eases Interdepartmental Coordinating Committee, 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 ‘‘Mary Colella Auto-
immune Disease Awareness Act of 2012’’. 
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SEC. 2. AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES INTERDEPARTMENTAL CO-
ORDINATING COMMITTEE. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Part B of title III of the Pub-
lic Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 243 et seq.) is amended 
by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 320B. AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES INTERDEPARTMENTAL 
COORDINATING COMMITTEE. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 
and maintain a committee, to be known as the Auto-
immune Diseases Interdepartmental Coordinating Com-
mittee (referred to in this section as the ‘Coordinating 
Committee’), for the purpose of formulating recommenda-
tions for the coordination of governmental and private 
programs and activities relating to autoimmune diseases. 
‘‘(b) COMPOSITION.—The Coordinating Committee 
shall be composed of the following members (or their des-
ignees): 
‘‘(1) The Assistant Secretary for Health, who 
shall serve as the Chair of the Coordinating Com-
mittee. 
‘‘(2) The Assistant Secretary for Planning and 
Evaluation. 
‘‘(3) The Commissioner of Food and Drugs. 
‘‘(4) The Director of the National Institutes of 
Health. 
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‘‘(5) The Director of the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention. 
‘‘(6) The Administrator of the Health Re-
sources and Services Administration. 
‘‘(7) The Secretary of Education. 
‘‘(8) The Secretary of Defense. 
‘‘(9) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 
‘‘(10) The Commissioner of Social Security. 
‘‘(11) Such other Federal officials as the Sec-
retary may designate or invite, as appropriate, to 
serve as members on the Coordinating Committee. 
‘‘(c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—In furtherance of the pur-
pose described in subsection (a), the Coordinating Com-
mittee shall— 
‘‘(1) develop criteria to be used in defining and 
identifying autoimmune diseases; 
‘‘(2) monitor Federal, State, and private activi-
ties with respect to autoimmune diseases; 
‘‘(3) make recommendations regarding any ap-
propriate changes to such activities, including rec-
ommendations to the Director of NIH with respect 
to the strategic plan developed under paragraph (5); 
‘‘(4) make recommendations regarding public 
participation in decisions relating to autoimmune 
diseases; 
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‘‘(5) develop and annually update a strategic 
plan for the coordination of governmental and pri-
vate programs and activities relating to autoimmune 
diseases, including— 
‘‘(A) proposed budgetary requirements; 
‘‘(B) a summary of advances in auto-
immune disease research related to causes, pre-
vention, treatment, early screening, diagnosis or 
rule out, intervention, and access to services 
and supports for individuals with an auto-
immune disease; 
‘‘(C) an assessment of research that is 
being conducted on autoimmune diseases; 
‘‘(D) an assessment of the ability of health 
care providers to identify and diagnose auto-
immune diseases properly; 
‘‘(E) an assessment of the quality of post-
graduate continuing education programs on 
autoimmune diseases; and 
‘‘(F) recommendations on education and 
continuing education on autoimmune diseases 
for health care providers; and 
‘‘(6) on a biennial basis, submit to the Congress 
such strategic plan and any updates to such plan. 
‘‘(d) FUNDING.— 
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‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
To carry out this section, there is authorized to be 
appropriated $250,000 for each of fiscal years 2013 
through 2016. 
‘‘(2) FUNDING
SOURCE.—Funds for carrying 
out this section shall be derived exclusively from 
funds made available under section 241.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING CHANGE.—Section 409E of the 
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 284i) is amended 
by striking subsection (b). 
Æ 
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