HR 3067 IHCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

112th CONGRESSCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

1st SessionCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

H. R. 3067CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To provide for the establishment of a Commission to Accelerate the End of Breast Cancer.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

September 26, 2011CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Ms. BASS of California (for herself, Mr. BASS of New Hampshire, Ms. HANABUSA, Mr. SCALISE, Ms. MOORE, Mrs. CAPITO, and Ms. DELAURO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and CommerceCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

A BILLCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To provide for the establishment of a Commission to Accelerate the End of Breast Cancer.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act of 2011’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.

The table of contents of this Act is as follows:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 1. Short title.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 2. Table of contents.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 3. Findings.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 4. Establishment.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 5. Mission; duties.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 6. Membership.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 7. Chairperson and commissioners.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 8. Coordination and nonduplication.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 9. Evaluation of the commission.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 10. Termination.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) In the United States, the chance of a woman developing breast cancer during her lifetime has increased from 1 in 11 in 1975 to 1 in 8 today.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) Worldwide, breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women with 1.3 million cases each year and the leading cause of cancer death with more than 500,000 women dying from the disease in 2010.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) More than 90 percent of deaths from breast cancer are caused by metastasis, when breast cancer has spread to other organs or bone.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) The National Cancer Institute estimated that breast cancer care in the United States cost $16.5 billion in 2009 and cost the Nation $12.1 billion in lost productivity.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(5) Very little has improved in terms of breast cancer incidence, morbidity, and mortality rates over the past 40 years.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT.

The President shall establish a commission to be known as the Commission to Accelerate the End of Breast Cancer (in this Act referred to as the ‘the Commission’).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 5. MISSION; DUTIES.

(a) Mission- The mission of the Commission shall be to help end breast cancer by January 1, 2020.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Duties- The Commission shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) identify opportunities and ideas within government and the private sector that are key components in achieving the end of breast cancer and which have been overlooked, yet are ripe for collaboration and investment, andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) recommend projects to leverage such opportunities and ideas in the areas of--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) the primary prevention of breast cancer; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) the causes and prevention of breast cancer metastasis.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Means- In carrying out the duties described in subsection (b), the Commission shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) identify revolutionary opportunities and ideas in fundamental and applied sciences and epidemiology with a focus on ending breast cancer;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) identify timely opportunities and scientific discoveries which can be turned into real world strategies to prevent breast cancer and prevent breast cancer metastasis and deaths;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) promote ideas that are intellectually compelling, innovative, and imaginative;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) accelerate potential transformational scientific advances--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) not being prioritized within the Federal Government, but which can help to achieve the mission described in subsection (a); andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) unlikely to be achieved by the private sector due to technical and financial uncertainty;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(5) identify promising, underdeveloped areas of research that would benefit from a cluster of government, industry, and academia forming innovation communities to rapidly advance knowledge into practice, while creating new opportunities for job creation and advancement;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(6) identify opportunities for transdisciplinary cross-cutting collaborations; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(7) identify opportunities for seed grants to leverage identified opportunities and ideas.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(d) Strategic Vision- Not later than 6 months after the appointment of the initial members of the Commission, the Commission shall submit to the President and the relevant authorizing and appropriations committees of the Congress a description of the Commission’s strategic vision for making progress in achieving the mission described in subsection (a) by January 1, 2020.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(e) Annual Reports- The Commission shall submit an annual report to the President, the Congress, and the public describing the Commission’s activities under this section, including its progress in achieving the mission described in subsection (a).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 6. MEMBERSHIP.

(a) Number; Appointment- The Commission shall be composed of not more than 10 members, of which--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) not more than 8 shall be appointed by the President;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) 1 shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) 1 shall be appointed by the majority leader of the Senate.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Composition-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) IN GENERAL- Each member of the Commission shall be appointed to represent one of the following 3 categories:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) Representatives of varied disciplines within the biomedical research field.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) Representatives of varied disciplines outside of the biomedical research field.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) Educated patient advocates, meaning individuals who--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) represent a patient-led, patient-centered organization with a patient constituency;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) have been personally affected by breast cancer; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(iii) are trained, knowledgeable, and prepared to participate in the decisionmaking process of science and medicine.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) REPRESENTATION OF MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES- Of the members of the Commission--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) at least 1 but not more than 3 shall be appointed to represent the category described in paragraph (1)(A);CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) at least 1 but not more than 3 shall be appointed to represent the category described in paragraph (1)(B); andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) at least 2 but not more than 4 shall be appointed to represent the category described in paragraph (1)(C).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Initial Members- The initial members of the Commission shall be appointed not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(d) Terms-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) IN GENERAL- Each member of the Commission shall be appointed for a term of 3 years and may be reappointed.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) VACANCIES- Any member of the Commission appointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration of the term for which the member’s predecessor was appointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of that term. A member may serve after the expiration of that member’s term until a successor has taken office. A vacancy in the Commission shall be filled in the manner in which the original appointment was made.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(e) Quorum- Three members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 7. CHAIRPERSON AND COMMISSIONERS.

(a) Chairperson-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) DESIGNATION- Of the members of the Commission appointed under section 6(a), the President shall at the time of appointment, designate one to serve as Chairperson of the Commission.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) QUALIFICATIONS- The Chairperson shall be an individual who, by reason of professional background and experience, is especially qualified to manage areas of study pertaining to ending breast cancer by January 1, 2020.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) RESPONSIBILITIES- The responsibilities of the Chairperson shall include--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) approving all new study projects and areas of study of the Commission based on innovation, impact, and scientific and technical merit;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) developing criteria (including milestones) for assessing, and overseeing assessment of, the success of the study projects and areas of study of the Commission;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) identifying opportunities for seed grants and other funding through awards, prizes, grants, and contracts to achieve the mission described in section 5(a); andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(D) terminating study projects and areas of study of the Commission that are not achieving the mission described in section 5(a).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Commissioners-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) IN GENERAL- The Chairperson of the Commission may appoint members of the Commission to oversee one or more areas of study of the Commission.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) RESPONSIBILITIES- A member appointed under paragraph (1) shall, with respect to one or more areas of study, be responsible for--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) recommending novel proposals, projects, and collaborations based on scientific and technical merit to achieve the mission described in section 5(a) with a focus on strategies for the primary prevention of breast cancer, and methods to prevent breast cancer metastasis;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) identifying ideas and opportunities to achieve the mission described in section 5(a) that are intellectually compelling, innovative, and imaginative, including such ideas and opportunities not being prioritized for breast cancer relevance within Federal agencies or programs or the private sector;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) working with other relevant Federal agencies to identify areas of concurrent interests in order to maximize Federal investment and stimulate collaborative projects;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(D) identifying opportunities for transdisciplinary, cross-cutting collaborations; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(E) monitoring the progress of study projects and areas of study and recommending restructure or termination.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 8. COORDINATION AND NONDUPLICATION.

To the maximum extent practicable, the Commission shall ensure that the activities of the Commission are coordinated with, and do not duplicate the efforts of, programs and laboratories of other government agencies.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 9. EVALUATION OF THE COMMISSION.

(a) In General- The President shall seek to enter into an agreement with the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences under which the Institute, after the Commission has been in operation for 3 years, completes an evaluation of how well the Commission is making progress towards achieving the mission described in section 5(a).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Inclusions- The evaluation under subsection (a) shall include--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) a recommendation on whether the Commission should be continued or terminated; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) a description of lessons learned from operation of the Commission.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Availability- On completion of the evaluation under subsection (a), the Commission shall make the evaluation available to the Congress and the public.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 10. TERMINATION.

The Commission shall terminate on June 1, 2020.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink