108th Congress

Liver Research Enhancement Act

H.R. 371

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 would have 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 would have been established as a distinct component of the existing Digestive Disease Interagency Coordinating Committee within NIDDK.

Provisions of the Legislation/Impact on NIH

Representative Lynch introduced H.R. 371, the Liver Research Enhancement Act, on January 27, 2003. This bill was identical to the legislation introduced in 2002 by Representatives Miller and Lynch. H.R. 371 would have:

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

Status and Outlook

H.R. 371 was introduced by Representative Lynch on January 27, 2003, and was referred to the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health. No further action occurred on this legislation during the 108th Congress.