Health Research Act of 1980
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
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.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on February 13, 1980. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on February 13, 1980: Referred to House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
HENRY WAXMAN (D-CA) introduced it on February 13, 1980, and 5 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 3 Democrats, 2 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on February 13, 1980, 17011 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17011 days ago, on February 13, 1980.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers