(d) The Commission shall first meet as directed by the Secretary, not later than sixty days after the Commission is established, and thereafter shall meet at the call of the Chairperson of the Commission, but not less often than three times during tne life of the Commission. The Commission may hold such hearings, take such testimony and sit and act at such time and places as the Commission deems advisable.

(e)(1) The Commission may appoint and fix the pay of an executive secretary to effectively carry out its functions. The executive secretary shall be appointed subject to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive service, and shall be paid in accordance with the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates.

(2) The Secretary shall provide the Commission with such additional professional and clerical staff, such information, and the services of such consultants as the Secretary determines to be necessary for the Commission to carry out effectively its functions.

(f) Members of the Commission who are officers or employees of the Federal Government shall serve as members of the Commission without compensation in addition to that received in their regular public employment. Members of the Commission who are not officers or employees of the Federal Government shall receive compensation at a rate not to exceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate in effect for Grade GS-18 of the General Schedule for each day (including traveltime) they are engaged in the performance of their duties as members of the Commission. All members, while serving away from their homes or regular places of business in the performance of services for the Commission, shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in the same manner as such expenses are authorized by section 5703 of title 5, United States Code, for persons in Government service employed intermittently.

(g)(1) The Commission shall—

(A) conduct a comprehensive study of the present state of knowledge of the incidence, duration, and morbidity of, and mortality rates resulting from, digestive diseases and of the social and economic impact of such diseases;

(B) evaluate the public and private facilities and resources (including trained personnel and research activities) for the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of, and research in, such diseases; and

(C) identify programs (including biological, behavioral, nutritional, environmental, and social programs) in which, and the means by which, improvement in the management of digestive diseases can be accomplished.

Each Federal entity administering health programs and activities related to digestive diseases shall, upon request, assist the Commission in carrying out its duties under this paragraph.

(2) Based on the study, evaluation, and identification made pursuant to paragraph (1), the Commission shall develop and recommend a long-range plan for the use and organization of national resources to effectively deal with digestive diseases. The plan shall provide for—

(A) research studies into the basic biological processes and mechanisms related to digestive diseases;

(B) investigations into the epidemiology, etiology, diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and control of digestive diseases;

(C) development of preventive measures (including education programs, programs for the elimination of environmental hazards related to digestive diseases, and clinical programs) to be taken against digestive diseases;

(D) detection of digestive diseases in the presymptomatic stages and development and evaluation of new and improved methods of screening for digestive diseases;

(E) development of criteria for the diagnosis and the clinical management and control of digestive diseases;

(F) development of coordinated health care systems for dealing with digestive diseases;

(G) education and training (including continuing education programs) of scientists, clinicians, educators, and allied health professionals in the fields and specialties requisite to the conduct of programs related to digestive diseases with special emphasis on training for careers in research, teaching, and all aspects of patient care;

(H) the conduct and direction of field studies and clinical trials for testing, evaluating, and demonstrating preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic, rehabilitative, and control measures in digestive diseases;

(I) establishment of a standardized nomenclature of all digestive diseases for use in basic and clinical research and to facilitate collaborative studies; and

(J) establishment of a system of periodic surveillance of the research potential and research needs in digestive diseases corresponding with the recently completed survey organized by the National Institute of Arthritis, Metabolism, and Digestive Diseases. .The long-range plan formulated under this paragraph shall also include within its scope related nutritional disorders and basic biological processes and mechanisms in nutrition which are related to digestive diseases.

(h) The Commission shall recommend for each of the Institutes of the National Institutes of Health whose activities are to be affected by the long-range plan estimates of the expenditures needed to carry out each Institute's part of the overall program. Such estimates shall be prepared for the fiscal year beginning immediately after completion of the Commission's plan and for each of the next two fiscal years. (i)(1) Not later than February 1, 1979, the Commission shall publish and transmit directly to the Congress a final report respecting its activities under this section. The report shall contain (A) the longrange plan required by subsection (g), (B) the expenditure estimates required by subsection (h), and (C) any recommendations of the Commission for legislation.

(2) The Commission shall cease to exist on the thirtieth day following the date of submission of the final report to Congress.

(j) There are authorized to be appropriated without fiscal year limitation $1,500,000 to carry out the purposes of this section.

Legislative History

Congressional Record, Vol. 122 (1976): Oct. 1, considered and passed Senate and House.

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Vol. 12, No. 43: Oct. 20, Presidential statement.

Subsection (i)(1) amended by section 267 of Public Law 95-622.

17. DISEASE PREVENTION AND HEALTH PROMOTION

Title IV Of The Health Services And Centers Amendments Of

1978

(Public Law 95-626)

TITLE IV—RESOURCES FOR DISEASE PREVENTION AND HEALTH PROMOTION

Sec. 401. (a) The Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare shall undertake or support (through grants or contracts or both) five intensive and comprehensive community based programs in both rural and urban areas for the purpose of demonstrating and evaluating optimal methods for organizing and delivering comprehensive preventive health services to denned populations.

(b) The Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Human Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce of the House of Representatives on January 1, 1981, and on January 1 of every second year thereafter a report on the programs undertaken or supported under subsection (a) including, but not limited to, a detailed description and an evaluation of the effectiveness of each such program.

(c) For the purpose of undertaking or supporting demonstrations and evaluations pursuant to subsection (a), there are authorized to be appropriated $6,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1980, $8,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1981, and $8,000,000 for the fiscal year ending Spetember 30, 1982.

Sec. 402. (a) The Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, after consultation with appropriate public and private entities, shah establish a comprehensive program designed to deter smoking and the use of alcoholic beverages among children and adolescents. Such a program shall include—

(1) the undertaking or support (through grants or contracts or both) of biomedical and behavioral research designed to increase understanding of the biological and behavioral determinants of smoking and the use of alcoholic beverages among children and adolescents, with special emphasis on children aged twelve or below; and

(2) grants to States or political subdivisions of States to assist them in meeting the costs of demonstrations and evaluations of community or school-based programs designed to deter smoking and the use of alcoholic beverages among children and adolescents.

(b) With respect to grants under paragraph (a)(2) the Secretary and each grant applicant and recipient must comply with the provisions of subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), and (h) of section 317.

(c)(1) For the purpose of making payments for the undertaking or support 'of research under paragraph (a)(1), there are authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1980, and $5,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1981.

(2) For the purpose of making payments under paragraph (a)(2), there are authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1980, and $10,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1981.

Sec. 403. (a) The Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare shall conduct, or arrange for the conduct of, a study or studies of (1) the relative health risks associated with smoking cigarettes of varying levels of tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide; and (2) the health risks associated with smoking cigarettes containing any substances commonly added to commercially manufactured cigarettes.

(b) Within two years of the date of enactment of this part, the Secretary shall report to the Congress the results of the study or studies conducted pursuant to subsection (a) and any recommendations for legislative or administrative action.

Sec. 404. (a) The Secretary, acting through the National Center for Health Statistics, shall submit to Congress on December 1, 1980, and on December 1 of every third year thereafter, a national disease prevention data profile in order to provide a data base for the effective implementation of this Act and to increase public awareness of the prevalence, incidence, and any trends in the preventable causes of death and disability in the United States. Such profile shall include at a minimum—

(1) mortality rates for preventable diseases;

(2) morbidity rates associated with preventable diseases;

(3) the physical determinants of health of the population of the United States and the relationship between these determinants of health and the incidence and prevalence of preventable causes of death and disability; and

(4) the behavioral determinants of health of the population of the United States including, but not limited to, smoking, nutritional and dietary habits, exercise, and alcohol consumption, and the relationship between these determinants of health and the incidence and prevalence of preventable causes of death and disability.

(b) In preparing the profile required by subsection (a), the Secretary, acting through the National Center for Health Statistics, shall comply with all relevant provisions of sections 306 and 308 of the Public Health Service Act.