Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 623) to require certain civil penalties to be transferred to a fund through which amounts are made available for the Gabriella Miller Kids First Pediatric Research Program at the National Institutes of Health, and for other purposes, as amended.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 623

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act 2.0''. SEC. 2. FUNDING FOR THE PEDIATRIC RESEARCH INITIATIVE.

The Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) is amended--

(1) in section 402A(a)(2) (42 U.S.C. 282a(a)(2))--

(A) in the heading--

(i) by striking ``10-year''; and

(ii) by striking ``through common fund'';

(B) by striking ``to the Common Fund'' and inserting ``to the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives'';

(C) by striking ``10-Year'';

(D) by striking ``and reserved under subsection (c)(1)(B)(i) of this section''; and

(E) by inserting before the period the following: ``, and $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027'';

(2) in each of paragraphs (1)(A) and (2)(C) of section 402A(c) (42 U.S.C. 282a(c)), by striking ``section 402(b)(7)(B)'' and inserting ``section 402(b)(7)(B)(i)''; and

(3) in section 402(b)(7)(B)(ii) (42 U.S.C. 282(b)(7)(B)(ii)), by striking ``the Common Fund'' and inserting ``the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives''. SEC. 3. COORDINATION OF NIH FUNDING FOR PEDIATRIC RESEARCH.

(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress that the Director of the National Institutes of Health should continue to oversee and coordinate research that is conducted or supported by the National Institutes of Health for research on pediatric cancer and other pediatric diseases and conditions, including through the Pediatric Research Initiative Fund.

(b) Avoiding Duplication.--Section 402(b)(7)(B)(ii) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 282(b)(7)(B)(ii)) is amended by inserting ``and shall prioritize, as appropriate, such pediatric research that does not duplicate existing research activities of the National Institutes of Health'' before ``; and''. SEC. 4. REPORT ON PROGRESS AND INVESTMENTS IN PEDIATRIC RESEARCH.

Not later than 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report that--

(1) details pediatric research projects and initiatives receiving funds allocated pursuant to section 402(b)(7)(B)(ii) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 282(b)(7)(B)(ii)); and

(2) summarizes advancements made in pediatric research with funds allocated pursuant to section 402(b)(7)(B)(ii) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 282(b)(7)(B)(ii)).

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Mr. PALLONE. 623.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 623, the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act 2.0.

We are considering this bill in the memory of Gabriella Miller, who was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and sadly passed at the age of 10 in 2013.

Mr. Speaker, cancer is one of the leading causes of death in American children, but only 4 percent of the National Cancer Institute's budget is dedicated to pediatric cancer research.

The Kids First program was first established at the National Institutes of Health in 2014 after Congress passed the original Gabriella Miller Kids First Research bill. The goal of this program is to enhance collaborative research on childhood cancer and structural birth defects, including the development of a large-scale database of clinical and genetic data to discover shared genetic pathways between the disorders.

Since its creation, the Kids First program has recruited over 40 pediatric cancer and structural birth defect cohorts for whole genome sequencing, representing 20,000 pediatric patients and 48,000 genomes. The database developed and maintained by the Kids First program has become a critical tool for pediatric cancer researchers and practitioners across the country.

Mr. Speaker, the bill before us reauthorizes and transfers the Kids First program from the NIH Common Fund to the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives, which will give the program more stability and allow for appropriate planning. The legislation also increases the funding authorization to $25 million annually for 5 years.

I thank Representative Wexton for her leadership on this issue and Ranking Members Rodgers and Guthrie for working with us on this important bill.

Finally, I thank Ellyn and Mark Miller for their relentless advocacy in honor of their daughter. The Kids First program may lead to the next big medical breakthrough for some of the rarest cancers, and those breakthroughs simply would not be possible without their longtime commitment to this effort.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. PALLONE. Wexton), the sponsor of the bill.

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Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, again, I think this is a very important bill, and I thank Representative Wexton for her leadership on this issue.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that Members on both sides of the aisle support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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