H.R. 7779

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7779 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7779

To amend the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services to establish a program for the conduct and 
support of research, training, and health information dissemination 
with respect to environmental risk factors of neurodegenerative 
diseases, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

March 3, 2026

Mr. Subramanyam (for himself and Mr. Bilirakis) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services to establish a program for the conduct and 
support of research, training, and health information dissemination 
with respect to environmental risk factors of neurodegenerative 
diseases, 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 ``Harmonizing Environmental Analyses 
and Launching Therapeutic Hubs to Yield Bolstered Research And 
Innovation in Neurological Science Act of 2026'' or the ``HEALTHY 
BRAINS Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. RESEARCH INTO ENVIRONMENTAL RISK FACTORS THAT MAY CONTRIBUTE TO 
NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASE.

Part B of title IV of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 284 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 409K. NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH.

``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish a program for the 
conduct and support of research, training, and health information 
dissemination with respect to environmental risk factors (including 
environmental toxicant exposures) of neurodegenerative diseases.
``(b) Scope of Research.--Research conducted or supported under 
this section shall--
``(1) be focused on--
``(A) potential environmental toxicants, including 
environmental stressors such as volatile organic 
compounds, particulate matter, per- and polyfluorinated 
substances, and heavy metals in environmental media 
such as air, water, food, and soil;
``(B) the mechanistic interactions of such 
toxicants with neurodegenerative disease outcomes;
``(C) the presymptomatic markers of 
neurodegenerative disease; and
``(D) advancing development of environmental health 
strategies to prevent, manage, treat, or slow the 
progression of neurodegenerative disease; and
``(2) may include research--
``(A) examining environmental exposures, including 
occupational risk factors, sociobehavioral factors, and 
social determinants of health;
``(B) using fundamental approaches to identify 
historical, existing, and emerging environmental risks 
and factors that affect disease progression;
``(C) examining multifactorial causation from 
chemical and nonchemical exposures;
``(D) examining prevalence of the disease in 
relation to the distribution of exposures across 
communities and populations;
``(E) examining the expression of disease traits 
that result from the interplay of genes and 
environment; and
``(F) exploring physiological mechanisms driving 
neurodegeneration from toxicant exposures.
``(c) Coordination Within HHS.--
``(1) In general.--In carrying out the program under 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall--
``(A) provide for coordination across the programs 
and activities of the Department of Health and Human 
Services to avoid duplication; and
``(B) expand the funding of environmental health 
research by leading an ongoing, coordinated, and 
focused effort to fund new and existing centers for the 
study and evaluation of environmental risk factors 
(including environmental toxicants) of 
neurodegenerative diseases.
``(2) Biennial report.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the 
Secretary shall--
``(A) submit a biennial report detailing the 
findings and conclusions of research under this section 
to--
``(i) the Committees on Appropriations of 
the House of Representatives and the Senate;
``(ii) the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
of the House of Representatives; and
``(iii) the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions of the Senate;
``(B) post each report under subparagraph (A) on 
the public website of the Department of Health and 
Human Services; and
``(C) include the information reported pursuant to 
subparagraph (A) in the triennial report under section 
403.
``(d) Collaborative Centers for Neurodegenerative Disease 
Environmental Research.--
``(1) In general.--In carrying out the program under 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall provide for the 
establishment of research centers, to be known as Collaborative 
Centers for Neurodegenerative Disease Environmental Research 
(in this section each referred to as a `Collaborative Center') 
at institutions of higher education, medical centers, and other 
appropriate entities.
``(2) Requirements.--With respect to neurodegenerative 
disease, each Collaborative Center shall--
``(A) conduct and support basic, applied, and 
clinical research on the effects of environmental risk 
factors (including environmental toxicants), including 
with respect to disease progression;
``(B) use the facilities of a single institution or 
a consortium of cooperating institutions to administer 
the Collaborative Centers and meet such qualifications 
as may be prescribed by the Secretary;
``(C) be anchored in population-based, 
environmental health research;
``(D) conduct interdisciplinary and collaborative 
research that spans basic, applies, population-based, 
or clinical research;
``(E) coordinate with existing intramural and 
extramural efforts of the Department of Health and 
Human Services; and
``(F) collaborate with relevant partners and 
stakeholders, including researchers, health 
professionals, nonprofit organizations, patients, and 
caregivers, to understand the effects of environmental 
risk factors (including environmental toxicants) of 
neurodegenerative disease and progression thereof.
``(3) Discretionary activities.--With respect to 
neurodegenerative diseases, each Collaborative Center may--
``(A) provide career enhancement and training 
opportunities for scientists, researchers, 
environmental professionals, and health professionals, 
including through the provision of stipends;
``(B) conduct programs to provide information and 
continuing education to health professionals, including 
through the provision of stipends;
``(C) conduct programs for the dissemination of 
information to the public regarding research findings 
and proposed prevention strategies when appropriate;
``(D) separately or in collaboration with other 
Collaborative Centers or governmental agencies, 
establish a nationwide data system that--
``(i) includes data derived from 
comprehensive and representative patient 
populations with neurodegenerative diseases; 
and
``(ii) where possible, compares relevant 
data involving general populations;
``(E) separately or in collaboration with other 
Collaborative Centers, establish a clearinghouse, to be 
known as the Environmental Contributions to 
Neurodegenerative Disease Information Clearinghouse, to 
facilitate and enhance knowledge and understanding of 
environmental risk factors of neurodegenerative 
diseases; and
``(F) separately or in collaboration with other 
Collaborative Centers, establish a national education 
program that fosters a national focus on environmental 
risk factors of neurodegenerative diseases.
``(4) Duration of support.--The period of support for a 
Collaborative Center under this section shall not exceed 5 
years, except that such period may be extended by the Secretary 
for one or more additional periods of not more than 5 years 
if--
``(A) the operations of such Collaborative Center 
have been reviewed by an appropriate technical and 
scientific peer review group established by the 
Secretary; and
``(B) such group has recommended to the Secretary 
that such period should be extended.
``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section, 
there is authorized to be appropriated $50,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2027 through 2031.''.
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