Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Enhancing the Stature and Visibility of Medical Rehabilitation Research at the NIH Act”.
Enhancing the Stature and Visibility of Medical Rehabilitation Research at the NIH Act
A BILL
To improve, coordinate, and enhance rehabilitation research at the National Institutes of Health.
Sec. 2 Improving medical rehabilitation research at the National Institutes of Health
Section 452 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 285g–4) is amended—
in subsection (b), by striking “conduct and support” and inserting “conduct, support, and coordination”;
in subsection (c)(1)(C), by striking “of the Center” and inserting “within the Center”;
in subsection (d)—
by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following: “(1) The Director of the Center, on behalf of the Director of NIH and the Director of the Institute and in consultation with the coordinating committee established under subsection (e) and the advisory board established under subsection (f), shall develop a comprehensive plan (referred to in this section as the “Research Plan”) for the conduct, support, and coordination of medical rehabilitation research.”;
in paragraph (2)—
in subparagraph (A), by striking “and priorities for such research; and” and inserting “priorities for such research, and existing resources to support the purpose described in subsection (b);”;
in subparagraph (B), by striking the period and inserting “; and”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(C) include objectives, benchmarks, and guiding principles for conducting, supporting, and coordinating medical rehabilitation research, consistent with the purpose described in subsection (b).”
in paragraph (4)—
by striking the first sentence and inserting the following: “The Director of the Center, in consultation with the Director of the Institute, the coordinating committee established under subsection (e), and the advisory board established under subsection (f), shall periodically, or not less than every 5 years, revise and update the Research Plan, as appropriate. Not later than 30 days after the Research Plan is so revised and updated, the Director of the Center shall transmit the revised and updated Research Plan to the President and the appropriate committees of Congress.”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(5) The Director of the Center, in consultation with the Director of the Institute, shall annually prepare a report for the coordinating committee established under subsection (e) and the advisory board established under subsection (f) that describes and analyzes the progress during the preceding fiscal year in achieving the objectives, benchmarks, and guiding principles described in paragraph (2)(C) and includes expenditures of the Center and other agencies of the National Institutes of Health for carrying out the Research Plan. The report shall include recommendations for revising and updating the Research Plan, and such initiatives as the Director of the Center and the Director of the Institute determine appropriate. In preparing the report, the Director of the Center and the Director of the Institute shall consult with the Director of NIH, and the report shall reflect an assessment of the Research Plan by the Director of NIH.”
in subsection (e)—
in paragraph (2), by inserting “periodically, or not less than every 5 years, host a scientific conference or workshop on medical rehabilitation research and” after “The Coordinating Committee shall”;
in paragraph (3), by inserting “the Director of the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives within the Office of the Director of NIH,” after “shall be composed of”; and
in paragraph (4), by striking “Director of the Center” and inserting “Director of the Center, acting in the capacity of a designee of the Director of NIH”;
in subsection (f)(3)(B), by adding at the end the following:
“(xii) The Director of the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives.”
by adding at the end the following:
“(g) The Director of the Center, in consultation with the Director of the Institute, the Coordinating Committee, and the Advisory Board, shall develop guidelines governing the funding for medical rehabilitation research by the Center and other agencies of the National Institutes of Health. At a minimum, such guidelines shall reflect the purpose of the Center described in subsection (b) and be consistent with the Research Plan.
“(h)
“(1) The Secretary and the heads of other Federal agencies shall jointly review the programs carried out (or proposed to be carried out) by each such official with respect to medical rehabilitation research and, as appropriate, enter into agreements preventing duplication among such programs.
“(2) The Secretary shall enter into interagency agreements relating to the coordination of medical rehabilitation research conducted by agencies of the National Institutes of Health and other agencies of the Federal Government.
“(i) For purposes of this section, the term medical rehabilitation research means the science of mechanisms and interventions that prevent, improve, restore, or replace lost, underdeveloped, or deteriorating function (defined at the level of impairment, activity, and participation, according to the World Health Organization in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (2001)).”
Sec. 3 Requirements of certain agreements for enhancing coordination and preventing duplicative programs of medical rehabilitation research
Section 3 of the National Institutes of Health Amendments of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 285g–4 note) is amended—
in subsection (a), by striking “(a) In general.—”; and
by striking subsection (b).