Christopher Reeve Paralysis Act

Bill: 108-s-1010
Sponsor: Sen. Harkin, Tom [D-IA]
Introduced: 2003-05-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Access to health care
Armed Forces and National Security
Caregivers
Citizen participation
Clinical trials
Communication in medicine
Communication in science
Community health services
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Continuing education
Department of Health and Human Services
Directories
Disabled
Economics and Public Finance
Federal aid to education
Federal aid to health facilities
Federal aid to research
Government Operations and Politics
Government paperwork
Government publicity
Governmental investigations
Health education
Health information systems
Health planning
Home care services
Labor and Employment
Medical education
Medical research
Medical technology
Nervous system diseases
Neurology
Nonprofit organizations
Paralysis
Quality of life
Rehabilitation of the disabled
Research centers
Research grants
Science, Technology, Communications
Self-help devices for the disabled
Social Welfare
Spinal cord injuries
Stroke
Veterans' hospitals
Veterans' medical care
Veterans' rehabilitation

Summary:
action_date: 2003-05-07
text: Christopher Reeve Paralysis Act - Permits the Director of the National Institutes of Health (the "Director" of NIH), acting through the Director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, to expand and coordinate the activities of NIH with respect to research on paralysis. Allows the Director to award grants to public or nonprofit entities to fund Christopher Reeve Paralysis Research Consortia for paralysis research. Permits the Director to solicit public input regarding paralysis research programs.
Allows the Director, acting through the Director of the National Institute on Child Health and Human Development and the National Center for Rehabilitation Research and in collaboration with other agencies, to expand and coordinate the activities of NIH with respect to research with implications for enhancing daily function for persons with paralysis. Permits the Director to make grants to multicenter networks of clinical sites that will collaborate on rehabilitation intervention protocols.
Permits the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to study the unique health challenges associated with paralysis and other physical disabilities to improve the quality of life and long-term health status of individuals with such conditions. Allows the Secretary to undertake direct research and to make grants. Provides for the formation of a national paralysis and physical disability quality of life plan and a hospital-based paralysis registry.
Permits the Secretary to award grants to: (1) State and local health and disability agencies, including for the purpose of establishing paralysis registries; and (2) nonprofit private health and disability organizations, including for the purpose of disseminating information to the public.
Allows the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to: (1) establish within the Department of Veterans Affairs centers for paralysis research, education, and clinical activities; and (2) carry out initiatives, through the award of grants, for quality enhancement of research on paralysis.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-05-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2003-05-07
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S5861-5862)
action_date: 2003-05-07
text: Introduced in Senate