Health Research Act of 1980

Health Research Act of 1980 - Amends title IV of the Public Health Service Act (National Research Institutes) to establish as an agency of the Public Health Service the National Institutes of Health (abolished as a statutory entity by Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1966), consisting of the following 11 categorical institutes: the National Cancer Institute; the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; the National Institute of Arthritis, Metabolism, and Digestive Diseases; the National Institute on Aging; the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; the National Institute of Dental Research; the National Eye Institute; the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke; the National Institute of General Medical Sciences; and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Enumerates the duties of the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including the authority to obtain the services of not more than 200 scientific or professional experts or consultants. Requires the Director to delegate certain functions to the Assistant Director of NIH.

Directs the Secretary to appoint a National Institutes of Health Advisory Board to: (1) advise and make recommendations to the Director of NIH; and (2) prepare an annual report on its activities.

Requires the Director of NIH to submit to the President, Congress, and the Secretary an annual report, including a five-year plan for the activities and program policies of the Director and the unrevised annual reports of the Advisory Council and other advisory boards of NIH.

Provides that the Director of the National Cancer Institute shall be appointed by the Secretary.

Sets forth the general duties of the Secretary (acting through the Director of each national research institute) with respect to the aspect of human health for which the institutes were established. Authorizes activities and programs to be supported through grants and contracts approved by each Director.

Provides that the Director of each institute (except the National Institute of General Medical Sciences) shall appoint an assistant director to coordinate and promote the prevention, education, and health information programs of the institute.

Directs the Secretary to appoint an advisory council for each national research institute. Sets forth general provisions applicable to the councils, including that each council shall: (1) consist of 18 voting members appointed by the Secretary for four-year terms; and (2) review research projects and programs submitted under its jurisdiction, collect information in its field, advise the Director with respect to grant expenditures, and convene workshops and conferences. Applies special provisions to the National Cancer Advisory Board.

Requires each Director to prepare an annual report including a five-year plan for the institute's activities and policies.

Extends the authorization of appropriations in specific amounts for each of the 11 institutes through fiscal year 1983.

Sets forth specific provisions relating to each of the national research institutes. States the general purpose of each institute. Establishes an Interagency Technical Committee on Cancer to coordinate aspects of all Federal health programs and activities relating to cancer to assure their technical soundness and to provide for necessary exchange of information.

Extends the authorization of appropriations in specific amounts for each of the following bodies and programs through fiscal year 1983: (1) the National Arthritis Advisory Board, the National Diabetes Advisory Board, and the National Digestive Diseases Advisory Board; (2) arthritis demonstration projects and data system; (3) multipurpose arthritis centers; and (4) diabetes research and training centers.

Revises certain provisions relating to national research service awards. Extends the authorization of appropriations for such awards through fiscal year 1983. Directs the Comptroller General to report to Congress by January 1, 1982, on the effect of such program on the number of physicians who enter the various medical specialties.

Carries forward certain general provisions relating to the Institutes.

Authorizes appropriations through fiscal year 1983 for grants for preventive health service programs for tuberculosis.