[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 12] [House] [Pages 16934-16935] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]PEDIATRIC RESEARCH CONSORTIA ESTABLISHMENT ACT Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 758) to amend title IV of the Public Health Service Act to provide for the establishment of pediatric research consortia, as amended. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 758 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 ``Pediatric Research Consortia Establishment Act''. SEC. 2. NATIONAL PEDIATRIC RESEARCH CONSORTIA. Subpart 7 of part C of title IV of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 285g et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``SEC. 452H. NATIONAL PEDIATRIC RESEARCH CONSORTIA. ``(a) In General.--The Director of NIH, acting through the Director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and in collaboration with all other Institutes of the National Institutes of Health that support pediatric research, may, subject to the availability of funds, award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to public or nonprofit private entities to pay all or part of the cost of planning, establishing, and providing basic operating support for up to 20 national pediatric research consortia. The Director of NIH shall take unmet research needs into account when making awards under this section. ``(b) Research.--Research conducted under this section shall supplement, but not replace, research that is otherwise conducted or supported as part of the comprehensive pediatric research portfolio of entities receiving awards under subsection (a). Consortia established under subsection (a) shall, in the aggregate, conduct basic, clinical, behavioral, social, or translational research to meet unmet research needs, as well as training in and demonstration of advanced diagnostic and treatment methods relating to pediatrics, as appropriate. ``(c) Coordination of Consortia Reports.--The Director of NIH shall-- ``(1) as appropriate, provide for the coordination of information among consortia established under subsection (a) and ensure regular communication between such consortia; and ``(2) require the periodic preparation of reports on the activities of the consortia and the submission of the reports to the Director. ``(d) Organization of Consortium.--Each consortium established under subsection (a) shall be formed from a collaboration of cooperating institutions with a lead institution, meeting such requirements as may be prescribed by the Director of NIH, including participation in a network of such consortia. ``(e) Limitation.--Payments under subsection (a) shall not exceed $2,500,000 per year for each consortium in the first 5-year cycle. ``(f) Duration of Payments.--Payments under subsection (a) for a consortium may be provided under this section for a period of 5 years and may be extended for additional periods of 5 years each, with enhanced funding opportunities based on a review of the operations by an appropriate scientific review.''. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey. General Leave Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the Record. [[Page 16935]] The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from New Jersey? There was no objection. Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 758, the Pediatric Research Consortia Establishment Act. The goal of H.R. 758 is to enhance the Nation's research program into pediatric conditions by creating a strong research infrastructure. I urge my colleagues to support this bill. I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 758, the Pediatric Research Consortia Establishment Act, would allow the National Institutes of Health to support up to 20 national pediatric research consortia that would conduct vital pediatric research. Specifically, the Pediatric Research Consortia Establishment Act would allow but not require the National Institutes of Health award grants to public or nonprofit private entities to pay for the cost of planning, establishing, and providing a basic operating support for up to 20 national pediatric research consortia. These consortia would conduct basic clinical, behavioral, social, and translational research. They could also provide training on advanced diagnostic and treatment methods relating to pediatrics. The consortia will foster efficiency and collaboration at all levels of pediatric research, and they will provide patients with greater access to vital research. I urge my colleagues to support the bill. Mr. KING of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 758, the Pediatric Research Consortia Establishment Act. This legislation is an important step towards understanding and eradicating diseases in children. The consortia will lead to new insights to the major disorders that affect children and will empower researchers to discover innovative strategies for diagnosis and treatment. Pediatric research and care is currently underfunded despite the fact that children comprise 20 percent of our nation's population. Enrolling and evaluating a sufficiently large group of children is the most effective way of understanding these disorders and to monitor how they manifest in adults. By having Pediatric research institutions collaborate and share information in a methodical way, we can speed up breakthroughs and treatments to fight diseases that affect children. This investment in research is an important step in speeding up the development of therapies to combat devastating diseases in children. I am proud to support this legislation. I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I urge support for the bill and yield back the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 758, as amended. The question was taken. The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being in the affirmative, the ayes have it. Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn. ____________________