[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7265 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7265
To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of
Health and Human Services to carry out a program of research related to
cerebral palsy, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 29, 2022
Mr. Cohen (for himself, Mr. Fitzpatrick, and Mr. Cleaver) 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 Secretary of
Health and Human Services to carry out a program of research related to
cerebral palsy, 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 ``Cerebral Palsy Research Program
Authorization Act of 2022''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Cerebral palsy is the most common motor disability in
children, affecting more than 1,000,000 Americans, 1 in 345
children, and over 17,000,000 people worldwide.
(2) In the United States, more than 10,000 babies are
diagnosed with cerebral palsy each year.
(3) Cerebral palsy is a broad group of disorders disrupting
a person's ability to move, sit, stand, walk, talk, and use
their hands.
(4) In more than 80 percent of cases, the cause of cerebral
palsy is unknown.
(5) Seventy-five percent of individuals with cerebral palsy
also have 1 or more additional developmental disabilities
including epilepsy, intellectual disabilities, communication
problems, learning and attention disorders, chronic pain,
autism, hearing disorders, and visual impairments or blindness.
(6) Children with cerebral palsy are more likely to die
from the flu and related viruses, including COVID-19, than
children without neurologic disorders.
(7) There is no consensus of best practices for a person
with cerebral palsy at the time of diagnosis or through the
lifespan.
(8) It is estimated that the lifetime care and medical
costs for all people with cerebral palsy who were born in 2000
alone will total more than $13,500,000,000. The loss of
productivity and lost wages of the individual with cerebral
palsy and their family members is more than $35,000,000,000.
(9) There is no known cure for cerebral palsy, and in most
cases, it is not preventable.
SEC. 3. CEREBRAL PALSY RESEARCH.
Title III of the Public Health Service Act is amended by inserting
after section 317C of such Act (42 U.S.C. 247b-4) the following new
section:
``SEC. 317C-1. CEREBRAL PALSY RESEARCH.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the Director of
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and in consultation
with other Federal agencies and partners, shall carry out (directly or
through grants or contracts) a program of research related to cerebral
palsy, including--
``(1) research on--
``(A) the most promising avenues of cerebral palsy
diagnosis and treatment;
``(B) factors that may mitigate the prevalence of
cerebral palsy; and
``(C) the health care and societal costs of
cerebral palsy;
``(2) public health surveillance; and
``(3) other research that the Director of the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention determines to be appropriate to
provide education and training for health professionals and the
general public for purposes of diagnosing, treating, and
explaining the causes, prevalence, and lifelong effects of
cerebral palsy.
``(b) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary may (directly or through
grants or contracts) provide technical assistance to public and
nonprofit private entities in furtherance of research under this
section.
``(c) Evaluations.--The Secretary shall (directly or through grants
or contracts) provide for the evaluation of activities under subsection
(a) in order to determine the extent to which such activities have been
effective, including evaluation of the effects of such activities on
various demographic populations.
``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section,
there is authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2023 through 2028.''.
SEC. 4. UPDATING STRATEGIC PLAN FOR CEREBRAL PALSY RESEARCH.
(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Director of the National Institutes of Health, acting
through the Director of the National Institute of Neurological
Disorders and Stroke and the Director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development--
(1) shall conduct a strategic workshop with key
stakeholders to provide updates on promising research performed
to date with the goal of further refining the specific
opportunities that were identified in the ``NINDS/NICHD
Strategic Plan for Cerebral Palsy Research'' dated September
30, 2017 (or any successor strategic plan);
(2) shall update such strategic plan (or any successor
strategic plan) to include--
(A) new research opportunities that are identified
in the workshop under paragraph (1);
(B) a process and timeline for soliciting proposals
for research on cerebral palsy;
(C) implementation and clinical studies aimed at
early detection and intervention, comparative
effectiveness, and functional outcomes; and
(D) surveillance;
(3) may include in such updated strategic plan a focus on
basic and translational discoveries, including with respect
to--
(A) neuroprotective medicine;
(B) regenerative medicine and mechanisms of
neuroplasticity; and
(C) genomics; and
(4) shall publish the updated strategic plan.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section,
there is authorized to be appropriated $500,000 for each of fiscal
years 2023 and 2024.
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