“To replace the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases with 3 separate national research institutes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section provides the short title of the Act as the “NIH Reform Act.”
This section reorganizes the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by replacing the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases with three separate institutes: the National Institute of Allergic Diseases, the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, and the National Institute of Immunologic Diseases. It amends 42 U.S.C. § 281 to rename the existing institute in the list of NIH national research institutes from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to the National Institute of Allergic Diseases, add the National Institute of Infectious Diseases and the National Institute of Immunologic Diseases as new institutes, and increase the number of listed NIH institutes and centers to 29 (from 27). It also updates the appointment structure under 42 U.S.C. § 284(a)(1) to require Senate confirmation for the directors of the three new institutes and provides 5-year terms for each director, with one possible 5-year reappointment. Effective on enactment, the position of Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is terminated, and the NIH Director oversees the three new institutes until their directors are appointed. The section further establishes the purposes of the new institutes under 42 U.S.C. § 285 et seq., directing the National Institute of Allergic Diseases to conduct and support research on allergic diseases and disorders, the National Institute of Infectious Diseases to conduct and support research on infectious diseases, including tropical diseases, and the National Institute of Immunologic Diseases to conduct and support research on immunologic diseases and disorders.