I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2621
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the establishment
of a pediatric research initiative.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 27, 1999
Mr. GREENWOOD (for himself, Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut, Ms. SLAUGH-
TER, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, and Mr. OSE) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for
the establishment of a pediatric research initiative.
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 ‘‘Pediatric Research Ini-
tiative Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that—
(1) innovations in health care, deriving from
scientific investigation of the highest quality, offer
substantial benefits to the well-being of children and
savings in health care costs;
(2) findings in pediatric research not only pro-
mote and maintain health throughout a child’s life-
span, but also contribute significantly to new in-
sights and discoveries that will aid in the prevention
and treatment of illnesses and conditions among
adults;
(3) the rapidly expanding knowledge base in bi-
ology and medicine is offering greater opportunities
than ever for pediatric physician-scientists and basic
researchers to harness this knowledge to the benefit
of children and society;
(4) the relatively smaller number of children
compared as to adults and the relative rarity of
many of their diseases and conditions has resulted in
comparatively fewer resources being devoted to pedi-
atric research and a lesser focus on children’s needs;
(5) substantially more of the support for chil-
dren’s health research is provided through the Fed-
eral Government than is the case for adults because
of these market forces;
(6) a new commitment to invest in children’s
research today will make a real difference for chil-
dren tomorrow;
(7) the commitment to invest in children’s re-
search should include not only added investment
that is devoted to pediatric research but should also
focus on ensuring the existence of a future supply of
pediatric physician-scientists;
(8) the supply of pediatric physician-scientists
is threatened by market demands which provide little
room for support for research training for new pedi-
atric physician-scientists;
(9) over 60 percent of the pediatric depart-
ments in the United States have no National Insti-
tutes of Health training grant support; and
(10) improvements in the level of training grant
support is essential to ensuring the existence of fu-
ture generations of pediatric clinical investigators
who are responsible for moving research discoveries
from the laboratories to the patients, and who are
therefore critical to clinical research.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF A PEDIATRIC RESEARCH INI-
TIATIVE.
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. 404F. PEDIATRIC RESEARCH INITIATIVE.
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish within the Office of the Director of NIH a Pediatric
Research Initiative (referred to in this section as the ‘Ini-
tiative’). The Initiative shall be headed by the Director
of NIH.
‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Initiative is to
provide funds to enable the Director of NIH to
encourage—
‘‘(1) increased support for pediatric biomedical
research within the National Institutes of Health to
ensure that the expanding opportunities for advance-
ment in scientific investigations and care for chil-
dren are realized;
‘‘(2) enhanced collaborative efforts among the
Institutes to support multidisciplinary research in
the areas that the Director deems most promising;
and
‘‘(3) the development of adequate pediatric clin-
ical trials and pediatric use information to promote
the safer and more effective use of prescription
drugs in the pediatric population.
‘‘(c) DUTIES.—In carrying out subsection (b), the Di-
rector of NIH shall—
‘‘(1) consult with the Institute of Child Health
and Human Development and the other Institutes,
in considering their requests for new or expanded
pediatric research efforts, and consult with other ad-
visors as the Director determines appropriate;
‘‘(2) have broad discretion in the allocation of
any Initiative assistance among the Institutes,
among types of grants, and between basic and clin-
ical research so long as the—
‘‘(A) assistance is directly related to the ill-
nesses and conditions of children; and
‘‘(B) assistance is extramural in nature;
and
‘‘(3) be responsible for the oversight of any
newly appropriated Initiative funds and annually re-
port to Congress and the public on the extent of the
total extramural support for pediatric research
across the NIH, including the specific support and
research awards allocated through the Initiative.
‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION.—To carry out this section,
there is authorized to be appropriated in the aggregate,
$50,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2000 through
2002.
‘‘(e) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—The Director of NIH
may transfer amounts appropriated under this section to
any of the Institutes for a fiscal year to carry out the pur-
poses of the Initiative under this section.’’.
SEC. 4. INVESTMENT IN TOMORROW’S PEDIATRIC RE-
SEARCHERS.
Subpart 7 of part C of title IV of the Public Health
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 285g et seq.) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
‘‘SEC. 452E. INVESTMENT IN TOMORROW’S PEDIATRIC RE-
SEARCHERS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make avail-
able within the National Institute of Child Health and
Human Development enhanced support for extramural ac-
tivities relating to the training and career development of
pediatric researchers.
‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of support provided
under subsection (a) shall be to ensure the future supply
of researchers dedicated to the care and research needs
of children by providing for—
‘‘(1) an increase in the number and size of in-
stitutional training grants to medical school pedi-
atric departments and children’s hospitals; and
‘‘(2) an increase in the number of career devel-
opment awards for pediatricians building careers in
pediatric basic and clinical research.
‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION.—To carry out this section,
there is authorized to be appropriated, $10,000,000 for
fiscal year 2000, $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2001, and
$20,000,000 for fiscal year 2002.’’.
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