H.R. 7694

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7694 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7694

To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out a 
public awareness campaign to increase participation by women in 
clinical trials that are conducted or supported by the National 
Institutes of Health, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

February 25, 2026

Mr. Gottheimer (for himself, Ms. Pettersen, and Mr. Lawler) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out a 
public awareness campaign to increase participation by women in 
clinical trials that are conducted or supported by the National 
Institutes of Health, and for other purposes.

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 ``Gwenn's Law''.

SEC. 2. PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN TO INCREASE PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN IN 
NIH CLINICAL TRIALS.

(a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting 
through the Director of the National Institutes of Health (in this 
section referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall carry out a public 
awareness campaign to increase the participation of women in clinical 
trials conducted or supported by the National Institutes of Health.
(b) Targeted Outreach.--In carrying out the campaign under 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall increase outreach at hospitals, 
physicians' offices, health centers, health care clinics, and other 
locations that the Secretary determines appropriate.
(c) Priority.--In carrying out the campaign under subsection (a), 
the Secretary shall prioritize increasing the participation of women in 
clinical trials involving research on, and development of, products to 
prevent, diagnose, or treat rare diseases and conditions.
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section, 
there is authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2027 through 2031.

SEC. 3. PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN TO INCREASE AWARENESS OF BLEEDING AND 
CLOTTING DISORDERS IN WOMEN.

(a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 
carry out a public awareness campaign to increase the number of women 
participating in programs of the Department of Health and Human 
Services for research, surveillance, and prevention with respect to 
bleeding and clotting disorders, including hemophilia.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section, 
there is authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2027 through 2031.

SEC. 4. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE ON ADVANCING TREATMENTS FOR RARE 
DISEASES.

Part A of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 241 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 310C. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE ON ADVANCING TREATMENTS FOR RARE 
DISEASES.

``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall maintain a permanent task 
force, to be known as the Interagency Task Force on Advancing 
Treatments for Rare Diseases (in this section referred to as the `Task 
Force'). The Secretary shall establish the Task Force not later than 90 
days after the date of enactment of the legislation.
``(b) Composition.--The Task Force shall be composed of the 
following members:
``(1) The Secretary.
``(2) The Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & 
Medicaid Services.
``(3) The Commissioner of Food and Drugs.
``(4) The Director of the National Institutes of Health.
``(5) The Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention.
``(6) Four individuals, to be appointed by the Secretary, 
who are--
``(A) biopharmaceutical innovators with respect to 
rare diseases and conditions;
``(B) private health plan administrators; or
``(C) representatives of institutions or 
organizations conducting federally funded research with 
respect to rare diseases and conditions.
``(7) Four individuals, to be appointed by the Secretary, 
who are representatives of rare disease advocacy groups.
``(c) Duties.--The Task Force shall--
``(1) assess--
``(A) Federal agency activities concerning rare 
diseases, including projects involving two or more 
agencies;
``(B) overall programmatic funding; and
``(C) potential measurable outcomes to include in 
future reports; and
``(2) coordinate the efforts of the Department of Health 
and Human Services to incentivize research on, and development 
of, products for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment with 
respect to rare diseases and conditions, particularly rare 
diseases and conditions that disproportionately impact 
women.''.

SEC. 5. ACTION PLAN FOR COORDINATING HHS EFFORTS WITH RESPECT TO 
CERTAIN RARE DISEASES AND CONDITIONS.

(a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 
prepare an action plan for coordinating efforts of the Department of 
Health and Human Services to incentivize research on, and development 
of, products for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment with respect to 
rare diseases and conditions that disproportionately impact women.
(b) Submission and Public Availability.--Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall--
(1) complete the action plan required by subsection (a);
(2) submit such action plan to the Congress; and
(3) make such plan publicly available, including by posting 
on the websites of the Department of Health and Human Services 
and the National Institutes of Health.
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