110th Congress

Liver Research Enhancement Act

H.R. 1743

Background

Approximately 10 percent of the Nation’s population suffer from liver, bile duct, or gallbladder disease, and more than 3 million Americans are infected with hepatitis C.

During the 107th Congress, Representatives Dan Miller (R-FL) and Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA) introduced H.R. 5047, the Liver Research Enhancement Act. In response to this legislation, Elias Zerhouni, Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Allen Spiegel, Director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), made a commitment to Representative Michael Bilirakis (R-FL), Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, that NIH would take administrative steps to stimulate liver disease research. These steps included the development of a trans-NIH Liver Disease Research Action Plan under the auspices of an NIH-wide Liver Disease Research Coordinating Committee. To ensure optimal scientific coordination of liver disease research, this new committee was established as a distinct component of the NIDDK Digestive Disease Interagency Coordinating Committee. The committee released the Action Plan for Liver Disease Research in December 2004.

During the 108th and 109th Congresses, Representative Lynch reintroduced the legislation; he has reintroduced it again in the 110th Congress as H.R. 1743.

Provisions of the Legislation/Impact on NIH

HH.R. 1743 is identical to the legislation first introduced in 2002 by Representatives Miller and Lynch. H.R. 1743 would:

• Amend the Public Health Service Act to establish the National Center on Liver Disease Research within NIDDK. The Center would be headed by a Director appointed by the Director of NIDDK in consultation with the Director of NIH.
• Establish the Liver Disease Research Advisory Board to assist the Director of the Center in developing the Liver Disease Research Action Plan, which would identify scientific opportunities and priorities for liver disease research. The plan would be revised every 3 years; progress would be reviewed annually.
• Require the Director of the Center to coordinate implementation of the plan by the national research institutes. The institutes would be required to allocate adequate funds for the plan’s implementation.

Status and Outlook

H.R. 1743 was introduced by Representative Lynch on March 28, 2007, and was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. No further action has occurred on this legislation.