[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3773 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3773
To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Director of the
National Institutes of Health to make awards to outstanding scientists,
including physician-scientists, to support researchers focusing on
pediatric research, including basic, clinical, translational, or
pediatric pharmacological research, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 8, 2021
Mr. Joyce of Pennsylvania (for himself and Ms. Schrier) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Director of the
National Institutes of Health to make awards to outstanding scientists,
including physician-scientists, to support researchers focusing on
pediatric research, including basic, clinical, translational, or
pediatric pharmacological research, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Pediatricians Accelerate Childhood
Therapies Act of 2021'' or the ``PACT Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. TRANS-NIH AWARDS FOR EARLY-CAREER PEDIATRIC RESEARCHERS.
Part G of title IV of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 288
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``SEC. 489A. TRANS-NIH AWARDS FOR EARLY-CAREER PEDIATRIC RESEARCHERS.
``(a) In General.--The Director of the NIH shall make awards to
outstanding scientists, including physician-scientists, to support
early-career researchers focusing on pediatric research, including
basic, clinical, translational, or pediatric pharmacological research.
``(b) Priority Research Populations.--In carrying out subsection
(a), the Director of NIH may prioritize the issuance of awards to
applicants who--
``(1) are individual researchers presenting qualifying
applications and representing populations that have been
historically underrepresented in pediatric medical research,
including women and underrepresented racial minorities; or
``(2) are institutions of higher education that are
eligible to receive funds under part A or B of title III of the
Higher Education Act of 1965, part A or B of title V of such
Act, or subpart 4 of part A of title VII of such Act, or
research institutions partnering with such institutions of
higher education to offer programs to support early-career
pediatric researchers.
``(c) Priority Research Topic Areas.--In carrying out subsection
(a), the Director of NIH, in consultation with the Director of the
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human
Development and the directors of other national research institutes and
national centers that participate within the Trans-NIH Pediatric
Research Consortium, shall--
``(1) establish priority research topic areas, informed by
external stakeholders, including research institutions,
research societies, patient organizations, and industry; and
``(2) consider opportunities to align such priority
pediatric research topic areas with current and future
priorities of the National Institutes of Health, including--
``(A) pediatric and adolescent mental and
behavioral health, including addiction medicine;
``(B) childhood cancer;
``(C) precision medicine, genetics, and genomics;
``(D) rare diseases and disorders, such as sickle
cell disease, and other diseases and disorders with
significant unmet training needs; and
``(E) fetal, placental, and neonatal development.
``(d) Requirements.--The Director of NIH--
``(1) shall require recipients of awards under this section
to use such awards to support pediatric research activities,
including costs associated with laboratory staff and other
costs associated with the conduct of research; and
``(2) may allow recipients of awards under this section to
use such awards for costs associated with receiving guidance
and training from senior researchers and mentors, as necessary
to help such recipients reach a state of research independence,
including conferences and other meeting participation.
``(e) Supplement, Not Supplant.--Awards made under this section
shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, other funding for
pediatric research and pediatric training.''.
SEC. 3. TRANS-NIH PEDIATRIC CONSORTIUM.
Title IV of the Public Health Service is amended by inserting after
section 409D (42 U.S.C. 284h) the following new section:
``SEC. 409D-1. TRANS-NIH PEDIATRIC CONSORTIUM.
``(a) Establishment.--The Director of NIH shall establish and
maintain a consortium to be known as the Trans-NIH Pediatric Research
Consortium (in this sections referred to as the `Consortium') to
coordinate pediatric research programs across the National Institutes
of Health.
``(b) Membership.--The members of the Consortium shall consist of
representatives of multiple national research institutes and national
centers.
``(c) Chair.--The Chair of the Consortium shall be the Director of
the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human
Development (or the Director's designee).
``(d) Duties.--In coordinating pediatric research programs across
the National Institutes of Health, the Consortium shall--
``(1) establish pediatric research priorities;
``(2) identify gaps and opportunities for research
collaborations involving multiple national research institutes
and national centers; and
``(3) identify opportunities to develop the next generation
of pediatric researchers.
``(e) Consultation.--The Consortium shall consult regularly with
external experts in the field of pediatric research, including
children's hospitals, children's research institutions, patient
organizations, and other stakeholders.
``(f) Reporting.--Beginning one year after the date of enactment of
the Pediatricians Accelerate Childhood Therapies Act of 2021 and every
2 years thereafter, the Consortium shall submit to Congress, and make
publicly available on the website of the National Institutes of Health,
a report on--
``(1) any research project involving pediatrics and
involving more than one Institute or Center that was supported
during the review period;
``(2) any strategic initiatives that include a significant
pediatric component;
``(3) career development awards for early-career
researchers focused in pediatrics, including specific numbers
of awards and amount of funding, made during the review period;
``(4) details on the composition of awards for early-career
researchers, including demographic details indicating the
proportion of recipients from populations that have been
underrepresented in pediatric medical research; and
``(5) such other information as the Director of NIH
determines appropriate.''.
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