Funding Scientists at the Peak Age of Discovery Act of 2014

[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5819 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5819

   To amend title IV of the Public Health Service Act to ensure that 
  scientists are being funded at the age when they are most likely to 
                          make breakthroughs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 9, 2014

  Mr. Harris introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title IV of the Public Health Service Act to ensure that 
  scientists are being funded at the age when they are most likely to 
                          make breakthroughs.

    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 ``Funding Scientists at the Peak Age 
of Discovery Act of 2014''.

SEC. 2. FUNDING SCIENTISTS AT PEAK AGE OF DISCOVERY.

    Part A of title IV of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 283 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 404M. FUNDING SCIENTISTS AT PEAK AGE OF DISCOVERY.

    ``(a) In General.--The Director of NIH shall ensure that the median 
age of first-time researchers receiving grants in the R series from the 
institutes, centers, and offices of the National Institutes of Health--
            ``(1) by January 1, 2019, is under 40 years of age;
            ``(2) by January 1, 2022, is under 39 years of age; and
            ``(3) by January 1, 2025, is under 38 years of age.
    ``(b) Exceptions.--Subsection (a) does not apply with respect to 
grants in the R series which are determined by the head of the 
respective institute, center, or office to be within any of the 
following categories:
            ``(1) Small business innovation research.
            ``(2) Small business technology transfer.
            ``(3) Clinical trial planning.
    ``(c) Definition.--In this section:
            ``(1) The term `first-time researcher' means a researcher 
        who has not previously served as the principal investigator for 
        a research project supported by the National Institutes of 
        Health through a grant in the R series.
            ``(2) The term `R series' refers the category of grants 
        that are designated by the National Institutes of Health to be 
        covered by--
                    ``(A) the activity code relating to `research 
                projects' (as such activity code is in effect on the 
                date of enactment of this section); or
                    ``(B) any successor activity code.''.
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