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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9233 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9233
To amend the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of
Health and Human Services to establish a program for the conduct and
support of research, training, and health information dissemination
with respect to environmental risk factors of neurodegenerative
diseases, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 30, 2024
Ms. Wexton (for herself and Mr. Bilirakis) 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 the Secretary of
Health and Human Services to establish a program for the conduct and
support of research, training, and health information dissemination
with respect to environmental risk factors of neurodegenerative
diseases, 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 ``Harmonizing Environmental Analyses
and Launching Therapeutic Hubs to Yield Bolstered Research And
Innovation in Neurological Science Act of 2024'' or the ``HEALTHY
BRAINS Act of 2024''.
SEC. 2. RESEARCH INTO ENVIRONMENTAL RISK FACTORS THAT MAY CONTRIBUTE TO
NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASE.
Part B of title IV of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 284
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 409K. NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the Director of
NIH, shall establish a program for the conduct and support of research,
training, and health information dissemination with respect to
environmental risk factors (including environmental toxicant exposures)
of neurodegenerative diseases.
``(b) Scope of Research.--Research conducted or supported under
this section shall--
``(1) be focused on--
``(A) potential environmental toxicants, including
environmental stressors such as volatile organic
compounds, particulate matter, per- and polyfluorinated
substances, and heavy metals in environmental media
such as air, water, food, and soil;
``(B) the mechanistic interactions of such
toxicants with neurodegenerative disease outcomes;
``(C) the presymptomatic markers of
neurodegenerative disease; and
``(D) advancing development of environmental health
strategies to prevent, manage, treat, or slow the
progression of neurodegenerative disease; and
``(2) may include research--
``(A) examining environmental exposures, including
occupational risk factors, sociobehavioral factors, and
social determinants of health;
``(B) using fundamental approaches to identify
historical, existing, and emerging environmental risks
and factors that affect disease progression;
``(C) examining multifactorial causation from
chemical and nonchemical exposures;
``(D) examining prevalence of the disease in
relation to the distribution of exposures across
communities and populations;
``(E) examining the expression of disease traits
that result from the interplay of genes and
environment; and
``(F) exploring physiological mechanisms driving
neurodegeneration from toxicant exposures.
``(c) Coordination Within NIH.--
``(1) In general.--In carrying out the program under
subsection (a), the Secretary shall--
``(A) provide for coordination across the programs
and activities of the National Institutes of Health to
avoid duplication; and
``(B) expand the funding of environmental health
research by leading an ongoing, coordinated, and
focused effort to fund new and existing centers for the
study and evaluation of environmental risk factors
(including environmental toxicants) of
neurodegenerative diseases.
``(2) Biennial report.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the
Secretary shall--
``(A) submit a biennial report detailing the
findings and conclusions of research under this section
to--
``(i) the Committees on Appropriations of
the House of Representatives and the Senate;
``(ii) the Committee on Energy and Commerce
of the House of Representatives; and
``(iii) the Committee on Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions of the Senate;
``(B) post each report under subparagraph (A) on
the public website of the National Institutes of
Health; and
``(C) include the information reported pursuant to
subparagraph (A) in the triennial report under section
403.
``(d) Collaborative Centers for Neurodegenerative Disease
Environmental Research.--
``(1) In general.--In carrying out the program under
subsection (a), the Secretary shall provide for the
establishment of research centers, to be known as Collaborative
Centers for Neurodegenerative Disease Environmental Research
(in this section each referred to as a `CCNDER') at
institutions of higher education, medical centers, and other
appropriate entities.
``(2) Requirements.--With respect to neurodegenerative
disease, each CCNDER shall--
``(A) conduct and support basic, applied, and
clinical research on the effects of environmental risk
factors (including environmental toxicants), including
with respect to disease progression;
``(B) use the facilities of a single institution or
a consortium of cooperating institutions to administer
the CCNDER and meet such qualifications as may be
prescribed by the Secretary;
``(C) focus on population-based, environmental
health research;
``(D) ensure that the research conducted and
supported pursuant to this section is interdisciplinary
and collaborative;
``(E) coordinate with existing intramural and
extramural efforts of the National Institutes of
Health; and
``(F) collaborate with relevant partners and
stakeholders, including researchers, health
professionals, nonprofit organizations, patients, and
caregivers, to understand the effects of environmental
risk factors (including environmental toxicants) of
neurodegenerative disease and progression thereof.
``(3) Discretionary activities.--With respect to
neurodegenerative diseases, each CCNDER may--
``(A) provide career enhancement and training
opportunities for scientists, researchers,
environmental professionals, and health professionals,
including through the provision of stipends;
``(B) conduct programs to provide information and
continuing education to health professionals, including
through the provision of stipends;
``(C) conduct programs for the dissemination of
information to the public regarding research findings
and proposed prevention strategies when appropriate;
``(D) separately or in collaboration with other
CCNDERs or governmental agencies, establish a
nationwide data system that--
``(i) includes data derived from
comprehensive and representative patient
populations with neurodegenerative diseases;
and
``(ii) where possible, compares relevant
data involving general populations;
``(E) separately or in collaboration with other
CCNDERs, establish a clearinghouse, to be known as the
Environmental Contributions to Neurodegenerative
Disease Information Clearinghouse, to facilitate and
enhance knowledge and understanding of environmental
risk factors of neurodegenerative diseases; and
``(F) separately or in collaboration with other
CCNDERs, establish a national education program that
fosters a national focus on environmental risk factors
of neurodegenerative diseases.
``(4) Duration of support.--The period of support for a
CCNDER under this section shall not exceed 5 years, except that
such period may be extended by the Secretary for one or more
additional periods of not more than 5 years if--
``(A) the operations of such CCNDER have been
reviewed by an appropriate technical and scientific
peer review group established by the Secretary; and
``(B) such group has recommended to the Secretary
that such period should be extended.
``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section,
there is authorized to be appropriated $50,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2026 through 2030.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
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