Congress has recently voted on a number of health research bills. On September 19, 2012, the House of Representatives approved H.R. 733, the “Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act of 2012,” which directs the National Cancer Institute to develop a long-term strategic plan for addressing cancers with a high mortality rate. The Senate HELP Committee approved a Senate companion bill the same day. The House also approved H.R. 6163, the “National Pediatric Research Network Act.” This measure calls on the National Institutes of Health to establish a National Pediatric Research Network consisting of the pediatric research consortia receiving awards for basic, clinical, behavioral, or translational research to meet unmet needs for pediatric research and training researchers in pediatric research techniques. The Senate HELP Committee also has voted to approve an amended version of S. 1440, the “Prematurity Research Expansion and Education for Mothers who deliver Infants Early (PREEMIE) Reauthorization Act,” which would, among other things, expand federal research on the causes of preterm labor and delivery, tools to detect and prevent preterm labor and delivery, and the care of preterm infants.
