108th Congress

The Research Review Act of 2004

P.L. 108-427

Impact of Public Law

P.L. 108-427, the Research Review Act of 2004, requires the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to submit an NIH Roadmap for Medical Research progress report to Congress. The bill also incorporated a component of an earlier bill, the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Act, requiring NIH to prepare a report describing NIH Roadmap efforts with respect to spinal cord injury and paralysis research.

The Roadmap for Medical Research is not a congressional Act. The Roadmap was conceived in May 2002 by the Director of NIH to identify major opportunities and gaps in biomedical research that the Agency must address in order to make the greatest impact on the progress of medical research. Developed with input from more than 300 nationally recognized leaders in academia, industry, government, and the public, three NIH Roadmap themes emerged: New Pathways to Discovery, Research Teams of the Future, and Re-engineering the Clinical Research Enterprise.

Under section 2, subsection (b), the report must be submitted to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions no later than February 1, 2005.

Legislative History

The Research Review Act of 2004 combines elements of two earlier bills, the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Act and the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Act, with new language regarding the NIH Roadmap.

S. 1010, the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Act, would have focused attention on research related to paralysis resulting from a variety of neurological events and encouraged cross-disciplinary and cross-institutional collaborations. S. 1010 was introduced by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) on May 7, 2003, and was referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. H.R. 1998, its companion measure, was introduced by Representative Michael Bilirakis (R-FL) on the same day and was referred to the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health.

H.R. 290, the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Act, would have required the Director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to expand activities addressing inflammatory bowel disease with an emphasis on genetic, animal model, and clinical research. H.R. 290 was introduced by Representative Sue W. Kelly (R-NY) on January 8, 2003, and was referred to the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health. S. 491, its companion measure, was introduced by Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) on February 27, 2003, and was referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

The Research Review Act of 2004 combined elements of these earlier bills with new language requiring an interim report on NIH Roadmap activities. H.R. 5213 was introduced by Representatives Bilirakis and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) on October 5, 2004, and was passed by the House on October 7. The bill was unanimously passed by the Senate on November 16. President Bush signed P.L. 108-427, the Research Review Act of 2004, into law on November 30.