zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Lupus Research, Education, Awareness, Communication, and Healthcare Amendments of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases to expand research on lupus to include: (1) basic research to discover the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of the disease; and (2) research to validate lupus biomarkers. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to work with a consortium of academic health institutions to undertake an epidemiological study to determine the prevalence and incidence of lupus in the United States. Requires the Director of CDC to: (1) enter into a cooperative agreement with such consortium to develop, implement, and manage a system for lupus data collection and analysis; and (2) ensure that such consortium represents different geographic areas and includes individuals of racial and ethnic backgrounds disproportionately affected by lupus. Requires the Secretary to enter into a contract with the Institute of Medicine to study and make recommendations related to lupus, to include: (1) evaluating federal and state activities related to lupus and recommending ways to expand such activities; (2) identifying gaps in federal research; and (3) recommending ways to improve the quality of life for people with lupus. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Office on Women's Health, to conduct and support a national lupus public awareness and health professional education campaign, with an emphasis on reaching populations at highest risk for the disease.

Date: 2007-02-27
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Health
Caroline Pryce Walker Conquer Childhood Cancer Act of 2008 - (Sec. 4) Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to continue to enhance, expand, and intensify pediatric cancer research and other activities related to pediatric cancer, including therapeutically applicable research to generate effective treatments, pediatric preclinical testing, and pediatric clinical trials through National Cancer Institute-supported pediatric cancer clinical trials groups and their member institutions. Encourages the Secretary to take into consideration the application of such research and other activities for minority, health disparity, and medically underserved communities. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to childhood cancer professional and direct service organizations for the expansion and widespread implementation of: (1) activities that provide information on treatment protocols to ensure early access to the best available therapies and clinical trials for pediatric cancers; (2) activities that provide available information on the late effects of pediatric cancer treatment to ensure access to necessary long-term medical and psychological care; and (3) direct resource services such as educational outreach for parents, information on school reentry and postsecondary education, and resource directories or referral services for financial assistance, psychological counseling, and other support services. Encourages the Secretary to take into consideration the extent to which an entity would use such grant for purposes of making activities and services available to minority, health disparity, and medically underserved communities. Requires the Secretary to develop and implement metrics-based performance measures to assess the effectiveness of activities funded under such grants. Requires any information made available pursuant to a grant to be: (1) culturally and linguistically appropriate as needed by patients and families affected by childhood cancer; and (2) approved by the Secretary.Authorizes appropriations for FY2009-FY2013. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to award a grant to enhance and expand infrastructure to track the epidemiology of pediatric cancer into a comprehensive nationwide registry of actual occurrences of pediatric cancer. Requires such registry to be updated to include an actual occurrence within weeks of the date of such occurrence. Subjects such registry to federal laws regarding records maintained on individuals, health information privacy regulations, informed consent regulations, and any other federal laws relating to the privacy of patient information.

Date: 2007-03-15
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Health
Alzheimer's Breakthrough Act of 2007 - Authorizes appropriations to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for conducting and supporting research on Alzheimer's disease in FY2008-FY2012.Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute on Aging to: (1) give priority to projects for conducting and supporting Alzheimer's disease research; (2) increase the emphasis on the need to conduct Alzheimer's disease prevention trials within NIH; (3) ensure that Alzheimer's disease is maintained as a high priority for the existing neuroscience initiative; (4) conduct and support cooperative clinical research regarding Alzheimer's disease; and (5) make grants for research related to the early detection, diagnosis, and prevention of Alzheimer's disease, the relationship of vascular disease and Alzheimer's disease, and Alzheimer's disease services and caregiving.Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) convene a summit of researchers and other industry representatives on Alzheimer's disease; (2) make grants for public education programs on risk factors associated with cognitive health, Alzheimer's disease, and other dementias; and (3) make grants to community organizations to establish and operate Alzheimer's call centers to provide 24-hour information on Alzheimer's disease.Extends through FY2012 funding for demonstration projects relating to Alzheimer's disease.

Date: 2007-03-19
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Health
Liver Research Enhancement Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish the National Center on Liver Disease Research in the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to ensure the development of increased understanding of, and better treatments and cures for, liver diseases. Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish the Liver Disease Research Advisory Board to: (1) advise and assist the Director of the Center concerning matters relating to liver disease research; and (2) develop the Liver Disease Research Action Plan to identify scientific opportunities and priorities of liver disease research. Requires the Director of each institute or center within NIH to allocate for liver disease research amounts necessary to: (1) fund existing scientific research opportunities; and (2) carry out the recommendations of the Plan.

Date: 2007-03-28
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Health
National Amniotic and Placental Stem Cell Bank Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish and maintain the National Amniotic and Placental Stem Cell Bank to obtain, store, and make available for research and treatment human stem cells derived from amniotic fluid or placenta. Requires the Bank to maintain not fewer than 100,000 samples of human stem cells.Allows the Bank to obtain a stem cell only if the woman providing the amniotic fluid or placenta makes a written statement of informed consent.

Date: 2007-04-17
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Health
Enhanced Health Care Value for All Act of 2007 - Amends the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 to expand the scope of research on the comparative effectiveness of health care items and services. Renames as the Comparative Effectiveness Advisory Board the stakeholders group the Secretary of Health and Human Services is required to consult in developing research priorities. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish in the Treasury the Health Care Comparative Effectiveness Research Trust Fund. Makes appropriations. Imposes on health insurance policy issuers (including self-insured health plans) a fee for each specified policy for each policy year, whose equivalent amounts shall be transferred into the Fund. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a permanent council to assist the offices and agencies of the Departments of Health and Human Services, of Veterans Affairs, and of Defense, and any other department or agency, to coordinate the conduct or support of health services research.

Date: 2007-05-07
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Health
ALS Registry Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to: (1) develop a system to collect data on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other motor neuron disorders that can be confused with ALS, misdiagnosed as ALS, or progress to ALS; and (2) establish a national registry for the collection and storage of such data. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to establish the Advisory Committee on the National ALS Registry to review information and make recommendations to the Secretary concerning: (1) the development and maintenance of the registry; (2) the type of information to be included; (3) the manner in which data is to be collected; (4) the use and availability of such data; and (5) the collection of information about diseases and disorders that primarily affect motor neurons that are considered essential to furthering the study and cure of ALS. Sets forth reporting requirements. Allows the Secretary, acting through the Director, to award grants to, and enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with, public or private nonprofit entities for the collection, analysis, and reporting of data on ALS and other motor neuron disorders. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to: (1) identify, build upon, expand, and coordinate among existing data and surveillance systems, surveys, registries, and other federal public health and environmental infrastructure wherever possible; and (2) provide for research access to ALS data as recommended by the Advisory Committee in a manner that protects personal privacy. Requires the Secretary to ensure that epidemiological and other types of information is made available to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Authorizes appropriations for FY2008-FY2012.

Date: 2007-05-14
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Health
Better Screening Test for Women Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations for FY2008-FY2012 for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct and support: (1) clinical research and related activities concerning early detection and screening for breast cancer; and (2) research and data collection regarding the link between early detection of breast cancer and reduction of mortality rates.

Date: 2007-05-21
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Health
Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit any public or private person or entity, in or affecting interstate commerce, from: (1) performing or attempting to perform human cloning; (2) participating in an attempt to perform human cloning; or (3) shipping, receiving, or importing the product of human cloning for any purpose. Sets forth criminal and civil penalties for violations.Provides that nothing in this Act shall restrict areas of scientific research not specifically prohibited by this Act, including research in the use of nuclear transfer or other cloning techniques to produce molecules, DNA, cells other than human embryos, tissues, organs, plants, or animals other than humans.

Date: 2007-06-05
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Health
Directs the Medical Follow-Up Agency of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences (Agency) to maintain and manage the assets (including electronic data files and biological specimens of study participants) transferred to the Agency from the Air Force Health Study. Authorizes the Agency, during FY2007-FY2011, to conduct additional research on such assets toward the goal of understanding the determinants of health, and promoting wellness, in veterans. Requires an Agency report to Congress assessing the feasibility and advisability of conducting additional research on such assets after the end of FY2011.

Date: 2007-06-12
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Prostate Cancer Research and Prevention Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations through FY2012 for: (1) the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to make grants to states and local health departments to carry out preventive health measures related to prostate cancer; and (2) the Director of the National Cancer Institute to expand, intensify, and coordinate prostate cancer research activities.

Date: 2007-06-14
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Health
Patients First Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct and support basic and applied research to develop techniques for the isolation, derivation, production, testing, and human clinical use of stem cells that may result in improved understanding of, or treatments for, diseases and other adverse health conditions, including pluripotent stem cells that have the flexibility of embryonic stem cells (whether or not such pluripotent stem cells have an embryonic source), provided that such techniques will not involve: (1) the creation of a human embryo for research purposes; (2) the destruction or discarding of, or risk of injury to, a living human embryo; or (3) the use of any stem cell the derivation or provision of which would be inconsistent with this Act.Requires the Secretary to issue guidelines implementing this Act to ensure that any research (including any clinical trial) supported under this Act: (1) is clearly consistent with the standards established in this Act, if conducted using human cells; (2) is prioritized in terms of potential for near-term clinical benefit in human patients; and (3) may take into account techniques outlined by the President's Council on Bioethics and any other appropriate techniques and research.Requires the Secretary to: (1) report on peer reviewed stem cell research proposals that were not funded; and (2) study and submit recommendations to Congress on any structural changes to the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program that would help to expand access to new and future stem cell therapeutic products.

Date: 2007-06-21
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Health
American Life Sciences Competitiveness Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow biomedical research corporations to: (1) engage in investment activity involving shifts in ownership without incurring limitations on net operating loss carryforwards; (2) claim a full research and development tax credit for contract research expenses (currently, limited to 65%); (3) claim a business tax credit for 20% of eligible countermeasures research expenses (for biomedical threats); and (4) claim a tax-free rollover of gain from stock sales reinvested in another biomedical research corporation.Expands the tax credit for clinical testing expenses for drugs to treat rare diseases (orphan drugs) to include expenses incurred after an application is made to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) but before receipt of an orphan drug designation.Allows individual taxpayers a 20% tax credit for equity investments in small biomedical research firms engaged in incubational research (i.e., research conducted prior to large-scale clinical trials).

Date: 2007-07-31
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Taxation
SMA Treatment Acceleration Act - Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to upgrade and unify existing spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) clinical trial sites to establish a national clinical trials network for SMA. Requires the Director of NIH to ensure that such network: (1) conducts coordinated, multisite, clinical trials of pharmacological approaches to the treatment of SMA; and (2) rapidly and effectively disseminates scientific findings to the field.Requires the Director of NIH to: (1) establish an SMA data coordinating center; and (2) expand and intensify NIH programs with respect to preclinical translation research and medicinal chemistry related to SMA.Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to enhance and provide ongoing support to the existing SMA patient registry to provide for expanded research on the epidemiology of SMA. Directs the Secretary to ensure the collection and analysis of longitudinal data related to individuals of all ages with SMA.Requires the Secretary to establish the Spinal Muscular Atrophy Coordinating Committee to: (1) coordinate activities across NIH and with other federal health programs and activities relating to SMA; and (2) conduct a study to identify barriers to the development of drugs for treating SMA and similar genetic disorders.Requires the Director of NIH to establish a trans-National Institutes of Health cooperative research initiative on SMA to ensure the success of the SMA projects led by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Requires the Secretary to submit recommendations to Congress to improve and expand on incentives provided under the Orphan Drug Act and related statutes to promote SMA drug development.

Date: 2007-08-02
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Health
Pulmonary Hypertension Research and Education Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to expand, intensify, and coordinate the Institute's pulmonary hypertension research activities. Requires the Director to establish a Pulmonary Hypertension Clinical Research Network to conduct clinical trials to evaluate new treatment approaches for pulmonary hypertension and facilitate collaboration among investigators with expertise in pulmonary hypertension. Directs the network to include: (1) a steering committee; and (2) an Institute project scientist. Provides for the establishment of a national Pulmonary Hypertension Preceptorship and Training Program to facilitate the direct education and training of medical professionals by experienced pulmonary hypertension specialists in clinical settings. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to develop and disseminate to the public information regarding pulmonary hypertension. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Director of CDC, to develop and disseminate to health care providers information on pulmonary hypertension to ensure that providers remain informed about the disease, its presenting symptoms, and current treatment options. Requires the Comptroller General to conduct a study on the coverage standards that apply to individuals with pulmonary hypertension under Medicare and Medicaid.

Date: 2007-08-03
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Health
Methamphetamine Treatment and Rehabilitation Best Practices Act of 2007 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to conduct a survey of research available on methamphetamine addiction and treatment, with a focus on reviewing research on the best treatment for methamphetamine addiction, rehabilitation, and recovery. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress on the findings of the survey and include recommendations for additional research avenues focusing on methamphetamine addiction and treatment.

Date: 2007-08-03
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Health
Paget's Cancer Awareness Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out a program to provide information and education to health professionals and the public on the symptoms of and treatment for Paget's disease of the breast. Requires the Secretary to study aspects of the disease concerning the range of symptoms, time lapse between the onset of symptoms and diagnosis and treatment, and demographic distribution.

Date: 2007-09-14
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Health
Taxpayers' Cancer Research Funding Act of 2007- Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow taxpayers to designate on their tax returns a $5 contribution to the Breast and Prostate Cancer Research Fund ($10 for joint returns). Establishes in the Treasury the Breast and Prostate Cancer Research Fund to award grants for breast or prostate cancer research.

Date: 2007-09-14
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Taxation
Prostate Research, Imaging, and Men's Education Act of 2007 or the PRIME Act of 2007 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to: (1) carry out a program to expand and intensify research to develop advanced imaging technologies for prostate cancer detection, diagnosis, and treatment comparable to mammogram technology; and (2) utilize the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering and the National Cancer Institute for advanced stages of research in prostate imaging. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, to: (1) carry out a grant program to encourage the early stages of research in prostate imaging to develop and implement new ideas, proof of concepts, and pilot studies for high-risk technologic innovation; and (2) establish interdisciplinary private-public partnerships to develop research strategies for expedited innovation in imaging and image-guided treatment. Directs the Secretary: (1) to carry out a national campaign to increase awareness and knowledge with respect to the need for prostate cancer screening and for improved detection technologies; (2) in carrying out the program and the campaign, to recognize and address the racial disparities in the incidences of prostate cancer and mortality rates and any racial barriers in access to care and participation in clinical trials; (3) establish a program to award grants to nonprofit private entities to test alternative outreach and education strategies; and (4) carry out research to develop an improved prostate cancer screening blood test using in-vitro detection.

Date: 2007-09-18
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Health
Ovarian Cancer Biomarker Research Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Cancer Institute to enter into cooperative agreements with, or make grants to, public or nonprofit entities to establish and operate centers to conduct research on biomarkers for use in risk stratification for, and the early detection and screening of, ovarian cancer. Designates each center as an Ovarian Cancer Biomarker Center of Excellence.Allows federal payments under such an agreement or grant to be used for research on: (1) the development and characterization of new biomarkers and the refinement of existing biomarkers; (2) the clinical and laboratory validation of such biomarkers; (3) the development and implementation of clinical and epidemiological research on the utilization of such biomarkers; and (4) the development and implementation of repositories for new tissue, urine, serum, and other biological specimens.Requires the Director to: (1) make available for research banked serum and tissue specimens from clinical research regarding ovarian cancer that was funded by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); (2) establish an Ovarian Cancer Biomarker Clinical Trial Committee to assist the Director to design and implement national clinical trials to determine the utility of such biomarkers; and (3) establish a national data center to conduct statistical analyses of trial data.

Date: 2007-09-27
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Health
Strategies to Address Antimicrobial Resistance Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) establish, and appoint the Director of, the Office of Antimicrobial Resistance in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health to develop plans for addressing antimicrobial resistance in the United States and internationally; (2) establish the Public Health Antimicrobial Advisory Board to assist the Director; and (3) develop an antimicrobial resistance strategic research plan. Renews the Antimicrobial Resistance Task Force and sets forth its membership and duties.Requires sponsors of human and animal antimicrobial drug products to report to the Office of Antimicrobial Resistance the amount of such drug products sold or distributed in the United States in a calendar year. Requires the Director to make summaries of drug distribution data publicly available.Requires the Secretary to: (1) establish at least 10 Antimicrobial Resistance Clinical Research and Public Health Network sites to describe outbreaks of antimicrobial resistant pathogens and monitor the patterns of such pathogens in individuals; and (2) award competitive grants to establish demonstration projects to assess the scope of the antimicrobial resistance problem and the use of antimicrobial drugs.Requires the Comptroller General to report to Congress on the effectiveness of this Act.

Date: 2007-09-27
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Health
Safety of Seniors Act of 2008 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) oversee and support a national education campaign focusing on reducing falls among older adults and preventing repeat falls; and (2) award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to design and carry out local education campaigns. Allows the Secretary to conduct and support research to: (1) improve the identification of older adults who have a high risk of falling; (2) improve data collection and analysis to identify fall risk and protective factors; (3) design, implement, and evaluate the most effective fall prevention interventions; (4) tailor effective strategies to reduce falls to specific populations of older adults; (5) maximize the dissemination of proven, effective fall prevention interventions; (6) improve the diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of elderly fall victims and older adults at high risk for falls; and (7) assess the risks of falls occurring in various settings. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) conduct research concerning the barriers to the adoption of proven fall prevention interventions; (2) conduct research to develop, implement, and evaluate the most effective approaches to reduce falls among high-risk older adults living in communities and long-term care and assisted living facilities; (3) evaluate the effectiveness of community programs; (4) provide professional education for physicians and allied health professionals in fall prevention; (5) oversee and support specified demonstration and research projects; (6) award grants to design, implement, and evaluate fall prevention programs using proven intervention strategies and carry out a multistate demonstration project; (7) give priority in awarding grants under this Act to entities that explore the use of cost-sharing to ensure the institutional commitment of the recipients of such assistance to the funded projects; and (8) report to Congress on the effects of falls on health care costs, the potential for reducing falls, and the most effective strategies for reducing associated health care costs.

Date: 2007-09-27
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Health
Family Asthma Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to award grants to eligible entities to conduct pilot projects to prevent and control asthma symptoms and to reduce asthma attacks and improve self-management for individuals and families. Requires the Secretary to give: (1) priority to entities that serve a medically underserved population; and (2) consideration to an adequate rural-urban distribution, so as to gain better information about asthma at the national level. Authorizes additional appropriations to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to develop a National Asthma Action Plan and to fund a report to Congress by the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to: (1) collaborate with state and local health departments to conduct activities to inform and educate the public regarding asthma; (2) conduct asthma surveillance activities to collect data on the prevalence and severity of asthma, the effectiveness of public heath asthma intervention, and the quality of asthma management; and (3) compile and annually publish asthma data. Requires the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to establish Dr. Irving J. Selikoff individual and institutional training grants for education and training of health care providers on the role of environmental factors in the development and prevention of asthma and recurrent asthma attacks.

Date: 2007-10-18
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Health
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a general business tax credit for 50% of expenses paid for research and development of any qualified infectious disease product. Defines "qualified infectious disease product" as any antibiotic drug, antiviral, diagnostic test, biological product, or vaccine developed to treat, detect, prevent, or identify certain pathogens. Terminates such credit after 2012.

Date: 2007-11-15
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Taxation
Pediatric, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancer Survivorship Research and Quality of Life Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to expand and intensify CDC's cancer control programs. Requires the Secretary to: (1) provide guidance to states, in collaboration with the Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), on interventions that may be incorporated into state cancer control programs to improve the long-term health status of childhood cancer survivors; (2) encourage states to incorporate strategies for improving their care into their comprehensive cancer plans; (3) collaborate with the NCI Director to improve or develop systems for tracking cancer survivors; and (4) enhance control programs to include a focus on childhood cancer survivorship.Directs the NCI Director to: (1) coordinate National Institutes of Health (NIH) activities regarding cancer survivorship; (2) make grants for research regarding pediatric cancer survivors and health disparities in cancer survivorship within minority populations; (3) conduct or support research to evaluate followup care for childhood cancer survivors; and (4) make grants to establish pilot programs to develop, study, or evaluate model systems for monitoring and caring for cancer survivors.Directs the Secretary to make grants to: (1) establish or improve training programs for health care professionals to improve followup care for young cancer survivors and to ensure that such care is linguistically and culturally competent; (2) pay costs incurred during the first four years of operating a clinic for comprehensive long-term followup services for childhood cancer survivors; and (3) improve physical and psychosocial care for such survivors.

Date: 2007-12-11
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Health
MRSA Research and Study Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to establish a six-year program under which the Secretary shall award competitive two-year grants to public or private universities or affiliated teaching hospitals to conduct research into preventing, treating, and finding the cure for Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus. Requires the Secretary to award at least 25 grants during each two-year period of the program.

Date: 2007-12-11
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Health
Robin Danielson Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to provide for the conduct or support of research on the extent to which additives in feminine hygiene products pose any risks to the health of women or the health of the children of women who use those products during or before the pregnancies involved. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to: (1) collect, analyze, and make available data on toxic shock syndrome, including data on the causes of such syndrome; and (2) determine the national incidence and prevalence of such syndrome.

Date: 2008-01-29
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Health
Paul D. Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Community Assistance, Research, and Education Amendments of 2008 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to designate centers of excellence for research on various forms of muscular dystrophy as Paul D. Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Cooperative Research Centers.Authorizes the Muscular Dystrophy Interagency Coordinating Committee to evaluate the potential need to enhance the clinical research infrastructure required to test emerging therapies for the various forms of muscular dystrophy.Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to ensure that any data on patients that is collected as part of the Muscular Dystrophy Surveillance, Tracking and Research Network (MD STARnet) is regularly updated to reflect changes in patient condition over time. Requires the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to report to the appropriate congressional committees on MD STARnet and data collection. Authorizes the Secretary to provide prospective health outcome data on the health and survival of people with muscular dystrophy.Authorizes the Secretary, in carrying out a program to provide information and education on muscular dystrophy to health professionals and the general public, to: (1) partner with leaders in the muscular dystrophy patient community; (2) cooperate with professional organizations and the patient community to develop, issue, and update care considerations for Duchenne-Baker muscular dystrophy and other forms of muscular dystrophy; and (3) widely disseminate such care considerations as broadly as possible, including through partnership opportunities with the muscular dystrophy patient community.

Date: 2008-02-07
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Health
Nino's Act - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide for mandatory Medicaid coverage of drugs prescribed for certain research study child participants, regardless of Medicaid eligibility otherwise, if the state provides drug coverage.

Date: 2008-02-14
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Health
Women's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Act of 2008 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to make grants for the development and operation of centers to conduct multidisciplinary research on environmental factors that may be related to the development of women's health conditions. Requires each such center to: (1) conduct basic or clinical research; (2) develop protocols and conduct training programs for physicians, scientists, nurses, and other health and allied health professionals; (3) disseminate information to such professionals and the public; and (4) emphasize activities that are directed toward preventing the development in women of the diseases and conditions involved. Allows a center to use funds to provide stipends for health and allied health professionals enrolled in training programs.Requires each center to establish and maintain ongoing collaborations with community organizations in the geographic area served by the center, including organizations that represent women or children with disorders that appear to stem from environmental factors.Requires the Director to provide for the coordination of information among centers and ensure regular communication between them.

Date: 2008-04-15
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Health
Environmental Hormone Disruption Research Act of 2008 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to establish a comprehensive program to: (1) research the health effects on women and children that may result through disruption of the hormone systems; (2) carry out research, development, and demonstrations on technologies to mitigate the occurrence of hormone-disrupting pollutants in the environment and their unintended effects on ecological and wildlife health, in cooperation with the United States Geological Survey (USGS); and (3) coordinate U.S. research on hormone disruption with research conducted in other nations.Requires the program to provide for: (1) the collection and dissemination of scientifically valid information on human health effects of hormone-disrupting pollutants, the extent of human exposure to such pollutants, and the exposure of wildlife species to such pollutants and possible associated health effects; and (2) research on mechanisms by which such pollutants interact with biological systems, testing for hormone disruption, and the identity and fate of hormone-disrupting pollutants in the environment.Gives the Director principal responsibility for conducting and coordinating research on the unintended effects of hormone-disrupting pollutants on human health and the environment.Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish the Hormone Disruption Research Interagency Commission. Establishes a Hormone Disruption Research Panel to make recommendations on the design and implementation of the program.

Date: 2008-04-15
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Health
Eliminating Disparities in Breast Cancer Treatment Act of 2008 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a breast cancer treatment quality performance system to: (1) assess and disclose publicly, through the use of quality measures, the quality of care provided for the treatment of breast cancer by specified health care providers; and (2) base payment to such providers for such treatment on their performance with respect to such measures. Requires reduced payments to providers that either do not submit data in accordance with the reporting process in the system, or furnish low quality care for treatment of breast cancer.

Date: 2008-04-24
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Health
Human-Animal Hybrid Prohibition Act of 2008- Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit and to set penalties for: (1) creating or attempting to create a human-animal hybrid (a being with human and non-human tissue as specified in this Act); (2) transferring or attempting to transfer a human embryo into a non-human womb, or a non-human embryo into a human womb; or (3) transporting or receiving for any purpose a human-animal hybrid.

Date: 2008-04-24
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
National Neurotechnology Initiative Act - Defines "neurotechnology" to mean the science and technology that allows an individual to analyze, understand, treat, and heal the brain and nervous system.Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to implement a National Neurotechnology Initiative, under which the Secretary shall: (1) establish goals, priorities, and metrics for evaluation for federal neurotechnology research, development, and commercialization; (2) increase the investment in federal research, development, and translational programs in neurotechnology to achieve such goals; and (3) increase interagency coordination.Requires the Secretary to establish the National Neurotechnology Coordination Office and the National Neurotechnology Advisory Council.Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop the Blueprint for Neuroscience Research to: (1) identify pervasive challenges in neuroscience and any technological barriers to solving such challenges; and (2) support the development of new tools, training opportunities, and other resources to assist neuroscientists in basic and clinical research. Directs the Commissioner of Food and Drugs to require the Directors of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, and the Center for Devices and Radiological Health to improve the timelines of the review process for neurology and psychiatry.Requires the Director of the National Neurotechnology Coordination Office to establish the American Neurotechnology Study Center.

Date: 2008-05-07
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Health
National Trauma Institute Research Program Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense to establish a National Trauma Institute Research Program at the National Trauma Institute as a military-civilian public-private partnership to nationally fund trauma research.

Date: 2008-05-08
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Access to America's Orthopedic Services Act of 2008 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish criteria for accounting and reporting the effort expended by researchers on musculoskeletal research funded with certain grants.Sets forth reporting requirements related to musculoskeletal health, including on: (1) research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH); (2) federal programs and activities relating to musculoskeletal trauma care; (3) a standard unit for the measurement of bone mass under the Medicare program; (4) access to orthopedic services by certain federal health program beneficiaries; and (5) childhood musculoskeletal diseases, conditions, and injuries in the United States.Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network to establish the Transplantation Transmission Sentinel Network to track disease transmission from organ, tissue, or eye transplants.Requires the Secretary to issue regulations relating to the accreditation of: (1) establishments engaged in the manufacture of human cells, tissues, and cellular and tissue-based products; and (2) personnel who participate in related activities.Requires the Secretary to conduct studies related to: (1) a national registry of artificial joint replacements in Medicare beneficiaries; (2) severe trauma to extremities resulting from motor vehicle crashes; (3) workplace-related musculoskeletal injuries and conditions; (4) funding available for graduate medical education in orthopedics; (5) methods for measuring bone mass in Medicare beneficiaries; and (6) aging in the United States.Requires the Secretary to: (1) conduct a national public awareness program on musculoskeletal health; and (2) award grants for certain health and aging activities for seniors.Provides for musculoskeletal diseases and conditions to be treated as a priority within the Office of Minority Health.

Date: 2008-07-10
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Health
Genomics and Personalized Medicine Act of 2008 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) establish the Genomics and Personalized Medicine Interagency Working Group (IWG) to facilitate collaboration, coordination, and integration of activities among federal agencies relating to genomic research and initiatives; (2) expand and accelerate research and programs to collect genetic and genomic data that will advance the field of genomics and personalized medicine; (3) establish a national biobanking distributed database for the collection and integration of genomic data and associated environmental and clinical health information; (4) establish a grant program for academic medical centers and other entities to develop or expand biobanking initiatives; (5) improve genetics and genomics training for diagnosis, treatment, and counseling of adults and children for both rare and common disorders; (6) establish a registry on the analytical and clinical validity of laboratory-developed genetic tests; (7) contract with the National Academy of Sciences to study incentives to encourage companion diagnostic test development; and (8) make information available on the safety and efficacy of genetic tests and commission a study for improving federal oversight and regulation of such tests. Requires the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to: (1) conduct an analysis of the public health impact of direct-to-consumer marketing of genetic tests; and (2) expand efforts to educate the public about genomics and its health applications.Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish a companion diagnostic tax credit for qualified diagnostic tests designed to provide information that can be used to increase the safety or effectiveness of a drug.

Date: 2008-07-15
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Health
Pulmonary Fibrosis Research Enhancement Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to: (1) develop a system to collect data on pulmonary fibrosis and other interstitial lung diseases; (2) establish the National PF Registry; and (3) establish the National Pulmonary Fibrosis Advisory Board.Allows the Secretary, acting through the Director of the CDC, to provide for the collection, analysis, and reporting of data on pulmonary fibrosis and other interstitial lung diseases that can be confused with, misdiagnosed as, and progress to pulmonary fibrosis.Requires the Secretary, in developing the Registry, to: (1) expand and coordinate existing data and surveillance systems, surveys, registries, and other federal public health and environmental infrastructure; and (2) provide for research access to pulmonary fibrosis data.Directs the Secretary to ensure that epidemiological and other types of information are made available to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).Requires the Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to expand, intensify, and coordinate Institute pulmonary fibrosis research activities.Requires the Director of CDC to prepare the National Pulmonary Fibrosis Action Plan.Requires the Secretary to: (1) convene a summit of individuals with expertise in research and care of pulmonary fibrosis to provide a detailed overview of NIH research activities and discuss potential collaborations between NIH and other federal health agencies; and (2) make information about NIH activities relating to pulmonary fibrosis publicly available.

Date: 2008-07-22
Topic: Health (R&D)
Subject: Health