Christopher Reeve Paralysis Act

Bill: 109-s-828
Sponsor: Sen. Harkin, Tom [D-IA]
Introduced: 2005-04-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Access to health care
Armed Forces and National Security
Caregivers
Clinical trials
Clinics
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
Education
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
Higher education
Home care services
Labor and Employment
Medical education
Medical research
Medical technology
Mental health services
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: 2005-04-18
text: 
Christopher Reeve Paralysis Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to permit the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH): (1) acting through the Director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, to expand and coordinate NIH activities on paralysis research; (2) to award grants to plan, establish, improve, and provide basic operating support for Christopher Reeve Paralysis Research Consortia; (3) to educate and disseminate information and receive public comment on NIH programs and research regarding paralysis; (4) acting through the Director of the National Institute on Child Health and Human Development and the National Center for Rehabilitation Research, to expand and coordinate NIH research with implications for enhancing daily function for persons with paralysis; and (5) to make grants to plan, establish, improve, and provide basic operating support for multicenter clinical trial networks to design clinical rehabilitation intervention protocols and measures of outcomes on paralysis. 
 
Permits the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to study the health challenges associated with paralysis and other physical disabilities and carry out projects and interventions to improve the quality of life and long-term health status of individuals with such conditions. 
 
Permits the Secretary to award grants for activities related to paralysis, including to: (1) establish paralysis registries; and (2) disseminate information to the public. 
 
Allows the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to: (1) establish Paralysis Research, Education and Clinical Care Centers; and (2) award grants to medical centers of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to translate clinical findings and recommendations on paralysis into evidence-based best practices.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2005-04-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2005-04-18
text: Introduced in Senate