,i #aacth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #dgja ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,may #ba1 #bjad ,mr4 ,gibson 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,courtney1 ,mr4 ,peterson1 ,mr4 ,smith of ,new ,jersey1 ,mr4 ,wolf1 and ,mr4 ,barletta7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce ,a ,,bill ,to provide for scientific frameworks with respect to vector-borne diseases4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,vector-,borne ,disease ,research ,accountability and ,transparency ,act of #bjad4 #b4 ,scientific framework for vector-borne diseases ,subpart #f of part ,c of title ,,iv of the ,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bhe;f et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #ddg;,d4 ,scientific framework for vector-borne diseases 7a7 ,development of ,scientific ,framework for ,vector-,borne ,diseases 7#a7 ,in ,general ,for each vector-borne disease identified under subsection 7b71 the ,directors shall develop a scientific framework for the conduct or support of research on such vector-borne disease4 7#b7 ,contents ,the scientific framework with respect to a vector-borne disease shall include the following3 7,a7 ,current ,status 7i7 ,comprehensive review of the literature ,a summary of findings from the current literature in the areas of-- 7,i7 the prevention1 diagnosis1 and treatment of acute and chronic vector-borne disease2 7,,ii7 the fundamental environmental and biologic process that regulate acute and chronic vector-borne disease2 and 7,,iii7 the epidemiology of acute and chronic vector-borne disease4 7ii7 ,number of incidences internationally ,an assessment of the incidence of acute and chronic vector-borne disease reported internationally4 7iii7 ,scientific advances ,the identification of relevant and diverse emerging scientific areas1 and promising scientific advances1 in basic1 translational1 and clinical science relating to the areas described in subclauses 7,i7 and 7,,ii7 of clause 7i74 7iv7 ,researchers ,a description of the availability of individuals who-- 7,i7 conduct scientific research in the areas described in clause 7i72 and 7,,ii7 represent a diversity of scientific perspectives relevant to such areas4 7v7 ,coordinated research initiatives ,the identification of the types of initiatives and partnerships for the coordination of intramural and extramural research of the ,national ,institutes of ,health and the ,centers for ,disease ,control and ,prevention in the areas described in clause 7i7 with research of the relevant national research institutes1 ,federal agencies1 and non-,federal public and private entities in such areas4 7vi7 ,research resources ,the identification of public and private resources1 such as patient registries1 that are available to facilitate research relating to each of the areas described in clause 7i74 7,b7 ,identification of ,research ,questions ,the identification of research questions relating to basic1 translational1 and clinical science in the areas described in subclauses 7,i7 and 7,,ii7 of subparagraph 7,a77i7 that have not been adequately addressed with respect to acute or chronic vector-borne disease4 7,c7 ,recommendations ,recommendations for appropriate actions that should be taken to advance research in the areas described in subparagraph 7,a77i7 and to address the research questions identified in subparagraph 7,b71 as well as for appropriate benchmarks to measure progress on achieving such action1 including the following3 7i7 ,researchers ,ensuring adequate availability of individuals described in subparagraph 7,a77iv74 7ii7 ,coordinated research initiatives ,promoting and developing initiatives and partnerships described in subparagraph 7,a77v74 7iii7 ,research resources ,developing additional public and private resources described in subparagraph 7,a77vi7 and strengthening existing resources4 7#c7 ,timing 7,a7 ,initial development and subsequent update ,for each vector-borne disease identified under subsection 7b77#a71 the ,directors shall-- 7i7 develop a scientific framework under this subsection not later than #ah months after the date of the enactment of this section2 and 7ii7 review and update the scientific framework not later than #e years after its initial development4 7,b7 ,other updates ,the ,directors may review and update each scientific framework developed under this subsection as necessary4 7#d7 ,public ,notice ,with respect to each scientific framework developed under this subsection1 not later than #cj days after the date of completion of the framework1 the ,directors shall-- 7,a7 submit such framework to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce and the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,house of ,representatives1 and the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions and the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,senate2 and 7,b7 make such framework publicly available on the ,internet ,web site of the ,department of ,health and ,human ,services4 7b7 ,identification of vector-,borne diseases 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #f months after the date of the enactment of this section1 the ,directors shall identify #b or more bacterial or parasitic vector-borne diseases that each have a high incidence domestically4 7#b7 ,treating tick-borne diseases as a single vector-borne disease ,for purposes of identifying vector-borne diseases under this subsection and developing scientific frameworks for such diseases under subsection 7a71 tick-borne diseases1 including ,lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases that are known to be transmitted by ticks to humans in the ,united ,states1 shall be treated as a single vector-borne disease4 7#c7 ,additional vector-borne diseases ,subject to paragraph 7#b71 the ,directors may1 at any time1 identify other vector-borne diseases for purposes of this section4 ,in identifying a vector-borne disease pursuant to the previous sentence1 the ,directors may consider additional metrics of progress against such type of vector-borne disease4 7c7 ,working groups 7#a7 ,in general ,for each vector-borne disease identified under subsection 7b71 the ,directors shall convene a working group in accordance with the ,federal ,advisory ,committee ,act4 ,the ,directors 7or their designees7 shall participate in the meetings of each such working group4 7#b7 ,members ,each working group convened under this subsection shall be comprised of the following members3 7,a7 ,one or more representatives of each of the following3 7i7 ,the ,national ,institutes of ,health4 7ii7 ,the ,centers for ,disease ,control and ,prevention4 7iii7 ,other agencies or offices of the ,department of ,health and ,human ,services1 as determined appropriate by the ,directors4 7iv7 ,other ,federal agencies1 as determined appropriate by the ,directors4 7,b7 ,one or more representatives of each of the following categories3 7i7 ,physicians with experience in diagnosing and treating stages or manifestations of the relevant vector-borne disease4 7ii7 ,non-,federal scientists or researchers with expertise1 and representing a diversity of perspectives1 regarding the science pertaining to vector-borne diseases4 7iii7 ,patients and their family members4 7iv7 ,nonprofit organizations that advocate for patients by promoting education1 services1 or research4 7v7 ,other individuals whose expertise is determined by the ,directors to be beneficial to the functioning of the working group4 7,c7 ,one individual appointed by the ,speaker of the ,house of ,representatives4 7,d7 ,one individual appointed by the ,majority ,leader of the ,senate4 7#c7 ,,faca sunset inapplicable ,section #ad7;a7 of the ,federal ,advisory ,committee ,act 7#e ,u4,s4,c4 ,app42 relating to termination of advisory committees7 shall not apply to a working group convened under paragraph 7#a74 7#d7 ,other working groups ,if the ,directors1 in addition to convening the working groups required by this subsection1 choose to continue any working group on any vector-borne disease in existence on the date of enactment of the ,vector-,borne ,disease ,research ,accountability and ,transparency ,act of #bjad1 any such working group is deemed to be an advisory committee subject to the ,federal ,advisory ,committee ,act4 7d7 ,public hearings 7#a7 ,in ,general ,the ,directors shall1 within #fj days after identifying a vector-borne disease under section 7b71 and annually thereafter1 convene public forums-- 7,a7 to seek public input on the development of the scientific framework for such vector-borne disease under this section and progress in addressing related chronic conditions2 and 7,b7 to identify1 and seek public input on1 potential emerging strains in species of pathogenic organisms4 7#b7 ,participants ,the participants at the forums convened under this subsection shall be researchers1 physicians1 patients1 and other members of the public4 7e7 ,reporting 7#a7 ,biennial reports ,the ,directors shall ensure that each biennial report under section #djc includes information on actions undertaken to carry out each scientific framework developed under subsection 7a7 with respect to a vector-borne disease1 including the following3 7,a7 ,information on research grants awarded by the ,national ,institutes of ,health and the ,centers for ,disease ,control and ,prevention for research relating to such vector-borne disease4 7,b7 ,an assessment of the progress made in improving outcomes4 7#b7 ,additional one-time reports 7,a7 ,frameworks ,for each vector-borne disease identified under subsection 7b77#a71 the ,directors shall1 not later than #f years after the initial development of a scientific framework for such disease under subsection 7a71 submit a report to the ,congress on the effectiveness of the framework 7including the update required by subsection 7a77#c77;,a77ii77 in improving the prevention1 detection1 diagnosis1 and treatment of such disease4 7,b7 ,total number of working groups ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this section1 the ,directors shall submit a report to the ,congress identifying the total number of working groups convened under this section4 7f7 ,recommendations for exception funding ,the ,directors shall consider each relevant scientific framework developed under subsection 7a7 when making recommendations for exception funding for grant applications4 7g7 ,definition ,in this section3 7#a7 ,the term ,directors means the ,director of ,,nih and the ,director of the ,centers for ,disease ,control and ,prevention acting jointly4 7#b7 ,the term vector-borne disease means an infection transmitted to humans or other animals by ticks1 mosquitoes1 or fleas1 such as ,lyme disease4 4