,,ii  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #dbd  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,february #bh1 #bjac
 ,mr4 ,brown 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,wicker1
 ,mr4 ,blumenthal1 ,mr4 ,blunt1 ,ms4    
,collins1 ,mr4 ,portman1 and ,mr4       
,whitehouse7 introduced the following   
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on ,health1           
,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions  ,a   
,,bill  ,to amend title ,,iv of the     
,public ,health ,service ,act to provide
 for a ,national ,pediatric ,research   
,network1 including with respect to     
pediatric rare diseases or conditions4  
#a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited
 as the ,national ,pediatric ,research  
,network ,act of #bjac4  #b4 ,national  
,pediatric ,research ,network ,section  
#dji;,d of the ,public ,health ,service 
,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bhd;h2 relating to 
the ,pediatric ,research ,initiative7 is
 amended--  7#a7 by redesignating       
subsection 7d7 as subsection 7f72 and   
7#b7 by inserting after subsection 7c7  

the following3  7d7 ,national ,pediatric
 ,research ,network  7#a7 ,network ,in  
carrying out the ,initiative1 the       
,director of ,,nih1 in consultation with
 the ,director of the ,eunice ,kennedy  
,shriver ,national ,institute of ,child 
,health and ,human ,development and in  
collaboration with other appropriate    
national research institutes and        
national centers that carry out         
activities involving pediatric research1
 may provide for the establishment of a 
,national ,pediatric ,research ,network 
consisting of the pediatric research    
consortia receiving awards under        
paragraph 7#b74  7#b7 ,pediatric        
research consortia  7,a7 ,in general    
,the ,director of ,,nih may award       
funding1 including through grants1      
contracts or other mechanisms1 to public
 or private nonprofit entities--  7i7   
for establishing or strengthening       
pediatric research consortia2 and  7ii7 
for providing support for such          
consortia1 including with respect to--  

7,i7 basic1 clinical1 behavioral1 or    
translational research to meet unmet    
pediatric research needs2 and  7,,ii7   
training researchers in pediatric       
research techniques in order to address 
unmet pediatric research needs4  7,b7   
,research ,the ,director of ,,nih may   
ensure that--  7i7 each consortium      
receiving an award under subparagraph   
7,a7 conducts or supports at least one  
category of research described in       
subparagraph 7,a77ii77,i7 and           
collectively such consortia conduct or  
support all such categories of research2
 and  7ii7 one or more such consortia   
provide training described in           
subparagraph 7,a77ii77,,ii74  7,c7      
,number of consortia ,the ,director of  
,,nih may make awards under this        
paragraph for not more than #h pediatric
 research consortia1 with a minimum of  
one pediatric research consortium that  
prioritizes collaboration with          
institutions serving rural areas4  7,d7 
,organization of consortium ,each       

consortium receiving an award under     
subparagraph 7,a7 shall--  7i7 be formed
 from a collaboration of cooperating    
institutions2  7ii7 be coordinated by a 
lead institution2 and  7iii7 meet such  
requirements as may be prescribed by the
 ,director of ,,nih4  7,e7 ,supplement1 
not supplant ,any support received by a 
consortium under subparagraph 7,a7 shall
 be used to supplement1 and not         
supplant1 other public or private       
support for activities authorized to be 
supported under this paragraph4  7,f7   
,duration of consortium support ,support
 of a consortium under subparagraph 7,a7
 may be for a period of not to exceed #e
 years4 ,such period may be extended at 
the discretion of the ,director of      
,,nih4  7#c7 ,coordination of consortia 
activities ,the ,director of ,,nih      
shall--  7,a7 as appropriate1 provide   
for the coordination of activities      
7including the exchange of information  
and regular communication7 among the    
consortia established pursuant to       

paragraph 7#b72 and  7,b7 as            
appropriate1 require the periodic       
preparation and submission to the       
,director of reports on the activities  
of each such consortium4  7e7 ,research 
on pediatric rare diseases or conditions
  7#a7 ,in general ,in making awards    
under subsection 7d77#b7 for pediatric  
research consortia1 the ,director of    
,,nih may ensure that an appropriate    
number of such awards are awarded to    
such consortia that agree to--  7,a7    
focus primarily on pediatric rare       
diseases or conditions 7including any   
such diseases or conditions that are    
genetic disorders or are related to     
birth defects72 and  7,b7 conduct or    
coordinate one or more multisite        
clinical trials of therapies for1 or    
approaches to1 the prevention1          
diagnosis1 or treatment of one or more  
pediatric rare diseases or conditions4  
4