[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6483 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6483
To amend the Public Health Service Act to require greater transparency
and accountability within the grant-making process of the National
Institutes of Health.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 28, 2023
Mr. Huizenga introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act to require greater transparency
and accountability within the grant-making process of the National
Institutes of Health.
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 ``Grant Reform And NIH Transparency
Act of 2023'' or the ``GRANT Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. NIH DATABASE OF DENIALS.
Section 402 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 282) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(p) Database of Denials.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary, acting through the
Director of NIH, shall establish and maintain a database of
each research proposal that is denied a grant or other award by
the National Institutes of Health.
``(2) Updates.--The Secretary shall update the contents of
the database under paragraph (1) not less than quarterly.
``(3) Contents.--The database under paragraph (1) shall
include, with respect to each denial described in such
paragraph, an explanation of the basis for such denial.
``(4) Timing.--
``(A) Establishment of database.--The Secretary
shall establish the database under paragraph (1) not
later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this
subsection.
``(B) Covered denials.--The database under
paragraph (1) shall include all denials described in
such paragraph occurring on or after the date of
enactment of this subsection.''.
SEC. 3. ACCESS BY INDEPENDENT, OUTSIDE RESEARCHERS TO INFORMATION ON
NIH'S INTERNAL OPERATIONS FOR MAKING AWARDS.
Section 402 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 282), as
amended, is further amended by adding at the end the following:
``(q) Access to NIH Data by Independent, Outside Researcher.--
``(1) Sharing.--The Secretary, acting through the Director
of NIH, shall share with researchers, on request, information
concerning the internal operations of the National Institutes
of Health in making awards.
``(2) Relation to other law.--The obligation imposed by
paragraph (1) to share information applies notwithstanding any
other law, including sections 552(b), 552a, and 552b of title
5, United States Code.
``(3) Information to be shared.--Except as provided in
paragraph (4), the information required to be shared by
paragraph (1) includes the following:
``(A) Individual scores and written comments on
funded and unfunded proposals made by study section
members and program staff of the National Institutes of
Health (including the Center for Scientific Review and
any national research institute, national center,
advisory council or board, or other office or agency of
the National Institutes of Health) in carrying out
applicable provisions of law, including sections
405(b)(2)(B)(ii), 405(b)(3)(B)(iii), 492, and 492A.
``(B) The full text of funded proposals, unfunded
proposals, progress reports, and final reports for
research awards, including such awards consisting of a
grant, a cooperative agreement, a contract, training,
technical assistance, or other transaction authority.
``(C) The information in the database under
subsection (p).
``(D) Information on the performance of employees
and agents of the National Institutes of Health in
conducting research.
``(E) The degree to which the National Institutes
of Health funds awards below the payline and the
rationale for doing so.
``(F) Any other information regarding making awards
that is maintained by the Office of Portfolio Analysis,
the Center for Scientific Review, or the Office of
Evaluation, Performance, and Reporting.
``(G) Any other information in the possession of
the National Institutes of Health that is requested in
accordance with paragraph (1), including any such--
``(i) evaluation of performance; or
``(ii) funding or peer-review model.
``(4) Redaction.--Before sharing information pursuant to
paragraph (1) regarding an award, the Secretary shall redact
the names of--
``(A) the individuals serving as peer reviewers for
purposes of the research involved; and
``(B) in the case of a grant or other award that
was denied (as described in subsection (p)(1)) the
individuals or other persons applying for the award.
``(5) Covered information.--
``(A) Maintenance of information.--The Secretary
shall maintain into perpetuity information that is--
``(i) described in paragraph (1); and
``(ii) in the possession of the National
Institutes of Health on or after the date of
enactment of this subsection.
``(B) Earlier information.--The Secretary shall
make a reasonable effort to reconstruct information
that--
``(i) is requested pursuant to paragraph
(1); and
``(ii) was in the possession of the
National Institutes of Health before the date
of enactment of this subsection but has not
been maintained in whole or in part.''.
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