US Code

Public Law 119-73 (01/23/2026)

42 U.S.C. § 285g–4

National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research

(a)

Establishment of Center

There shall be in the Institute an agency to be known as the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (hereafter in this section referred to as the “Center”). The Director of the Institute shall appoint a qualified individual to serve as Director of the Center. The Director of the Center shall report directly to the Director of the Institute.

(b)

Purpose

The general purpose of the Center is the conduct, support, and coordination of research and research training (including research on the development of orthotic and prosthetic devices), the dissemination of health information, and other programs with respect to the rehabilitation of individuals with physical disabilities resulting from diseases or disorders of the neurological, musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, pulmonary, or any other physiological system (hereafter in this section referred to as “medical rehabilitation”).

(c)

Authority of Director

(1)
In carrying out the purpose described in subsection (b), the Director of the Center may—
(A)
provide for clinical trials regarding medical rehabilitation;
(B)
provide for research regarding model systems of medical rehabilitation;
(C)
coordinate the activities within the Center with similar activities of other agencies of the Federal Government, including the other agencies of the National Institutes of Health, and with similar activities of other public entities and of private entities;
(D)
support multidisciplinary medical rehabilitation research conducted or supported by more than one such agency;
(E)
in consultation with the advisory council for the Institute and with the approval of the Director of NIH—
(i)
section 282(b)(16) of this title establish technical and scientific peer review groups in addition to those appointed under ; and
(ii)
appoint the members of peer review groups established under subparagraph (A); and
(F)
support medical rehabilitation research and training centers.
Chapter 10 of title 5 shall not apply to the duration of a peer review group appointed under subparagraph (E).
(2)
In carrying out this section, the Director of the Center may make grants and enter into cooperative agreements and contracts.
(d)

Research Plan

(1)
The Director of the Center, in consultation with the Director of the Institute, the coordinating committee established under subsection (e), and the advisory board established under subsection (f), shall develop a comprehensive plan (referred to in this section as the “Research Plan”) for the conduct, support, and coordination of medical rehabilitation research.
(2)
The Research Plan shall—
(A)
identify current medical rehabilitation research activities conducted or supported by the Federal Government, opportunities and needs for additional research, and priorities for such research;
(B)
make recommendations for the coordination of such research conducted or supported by the National Institutes of Health and other agencies of the Federal Government; and
(C)
include goals and objectives for conducting, supporting, and coordinating medical rehabilitation research, consistent with the purpose described in subsection (b).
(3)
(A)
Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of the National Institutes of Health Revitalization Amendments of 1990, the Director of the Institute shall transmit the Research Plan to the Director of NIH, who shall submit the Plan to the President and the Congress.
(B)
1
1 See References in Text note below.
Subparagraph (A) shall be carried out independently of the process of reporting that is required in sections 283 and 284b  of this title.
(4)
The Director of the Center, in consultation with the Director of the Institute, the coordinating committee established under subsection (e), and the advisory board established under subsection (f), shall revise and update the Research Plan periodically, as appropriate, or not less than every 5 years. Not later than 30 days after the Research Plan is so revised and updated, the Director of the Center shall transmit the revised and updated Research Plan to the President, the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives.
(5)
The Director of the Center, in consultation with the Director of the Institute, shall, prior to revising and updating the Research Plan, prepare a report for the coordinating committee established under subsection (e) and the advisory board established under subsection (f) that describes and analyzes the progress during the preceding fiscal year in achieving the goals and objectives described in paragraph (2)(C) and includes expenditures for rehabilitation research at the National Institutes of Health. The report shall include recommendations for revising and updating the Research Plan, and such initiatives as the Director of the Center and the Director of the Institute determine appropriate. In preparing the report, the Director of the Center and the Director of the Institute shall consult with the Director of the National Institutes of Health.
(e)

Medical Rehabilitation Coordinating Committee

(1)
The Director of NIH shall establish a committee to be known as the Medical Rehabilitation Coordinating Committee (hereafter in this section referred to as the “Coordinating Committee”).
(2)
The Coordinating Committee shall periodically host a scientific conference or workshop on medical rehabilitation research and make recommendations to the Director of the Institute and the Director of the Center with respect to the content of the Research Plan and with respect to the activities of the Center that are carried out in conjunction with other agencies of the National Institutes of Health and with other agencies of the Federal Government.
(3)
The Coordinating Committee shall be composed of the Director of the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives within the Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health, the Director of the Center, the Director of the Institute, and the Directors of the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and such other national research institutes and such representatives of other agencies of the Federal Government as the Director of NIH determines to be appropriate.
(4)
The Coordinating Committee shall be chaired by the Director of the Center.
(f)

National Advisory Board on Medical Rehabilitation Research

(1)
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of the National Institutes of Health Revitalization Amendments of 1990, the Director of NIH shall establish a National Advisory Board on Medical Rehabilitation Research (hereafter in this section referred to as the “Advisory Board”).
(2)
The Advisory Board shall review and assess Federal research priorities, activities, and findings regarding medical rehabilitation research, and shall advise the Director of the Center and the Director of the Institute on the provisions of the Research Plan.
(3)
(A)
The Director of NIH shall appoint to the Advisory Board 18 qualified representatives of the public who are not officers or employees of the Federal Government. Of such members, 12 shall be representatives of health and scientific disciplines with respect to medical rehabilitation and 6 shall be individuals representing the interests of individuals undergoing, or in need of, medical rehabilitation.
(B)
The following officials shall serve as ex officio members of the Advisory Board:
(i)
The Director of the Center.
(ii)
The Director of the Institute.
(iii)
The Director of the National Institute on Aging.
(iv)
The Director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.
(v)
The Director of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.
(vi)
The Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
(vii)
The Director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
(viii)
The Director of the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research.
(ix)
The Director of the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives.
(x)
The Commissioner for Rehabilitation Services Administration.
(xi)
The Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs).
(xii)
The Under Secretary for Health of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
(4)
The members of the Advisory Board shall, from among the members appointed under paragraph (3)(A), designate an individual to serve as the chair of the Advisory Board.
(g)

Review and coordination of medical rehabilitation research programs

(1)
The Secretary and the heads of other Federal agencies shall jointly review the programs carried out (or proposed to be carried out) by each such official with respect to medical rehabilitation research and, as appropriate, enter into agreements preventing duplication among such programs.
(2)
The Secretary shall, as appropriate, enter into interagency agreements relating to the coordination of medical rehabilitation research conducted by agencies of the National Institutes of Health and other agencies of the Federal Government.
(h)

“Medical rehabilitation research” defined

For purposes of this section, the term “medical rehabilitation research” means the science of mechanisms and interventions that prevent, improve, restore, or replace lost, underdeveloped, or deteriorating function.

July 1, 1944, ch. 373Pub. L. 101–613, § 3(a)104 Stat. 3227Pub. L. 102–405, title III, § 302(e)(1)106 Stat. 1985Pub. L. 109–482, title I, § 102(f)(1)(B)120 Stat. 3685Pub. L. 114–255, div. A, title II, § 2040(a)130 Stat. 1069Pub. L. 117–286, § 4(a)(234)136 Stat. 4331(, title IV, § 452, as added , , ; amended , , ; , , ; , (b)(1), , , 1070; , , .)

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Pub. L. 101–613The date of the enactment of the National Institutes of Health Revitalization Amendments of 1990, referred to in subsecs. (d)(3)(A) and (f)(1), probably means the date of enactment of the National Institutes of Health Amendments of 1990, , which was approved .

Section 284b of this titlePub. L. 109–482, title I, § 104(b)(1)(C)120 Stat. 3693, referred to in subsec. (d)(3)(B), was repealed by , , .

Amendments

Pub. L. 117–2862022—Subsec. (c)(1). substituted “Chapter 10 of title 5” for “The Federal Advisory Committee Act” in concluding provisions.

Pub. L. 114–255, § 2040(b)(1)Pub. L. 101–613, § 3(a)2016—, made technical amendment to directory language of , which enacted this section.

Pub. L. 114–255, § 2040(a)(1)Subsec. (b). , substituted “conduct, support, and coordination” for “conduct and support”.

Pub. L. 114–255, § 2040(a)(2)Subsec. (c)(1)(C). , substituted “within the Center” for “of the Center”.

Pub. L. 114–255, § 2040(a)(3)(A)Subsec. (d)(1). , added par. (1) and struck out former par. (1), which read as follows: “In consultation with the Director of the Center, the coordinating committee established under subsection (e), and the advisory board established under subsection (f), the Director of the Institute shall develop a comprehensive plan for the conduct and support of medical rehabilitation research (hereafter in this section referred to as the ‘Research Plan’).”

Pub. L. 114–255, § 2040(a)(3)(B)Subsec. (d)(2)(C). , added subpar. (C).

Pub. L. 114–255, § 2040(a)(3)(C)section 284b of this titleSubsec. (d)(4). , added par. (4) and struck out former par. (4) which read as follows: “The Director of the Institute shall periodically revise and update the Research Plan as appropriate, after consultation with the Director of the Center, the coordinating committee established under subsection (e), and the advisory board established under subsection (f). A description of any revisions in the Research Plan shall be contained in each report prepared under by the Director of the Institute.”

Pub. L. 114–255, § 2040(a)(3)(D)Subsec. (d)(5). , added par. (5).

Pub. L. 114–255, § 2040(a)(4)(A)Subsec. (e)(2). , inserted “periodically host a scientific conference or workshop on medical rehabilitation research and” after “The Coordinating Committee shall”.

Pub. L. 114–255, § 2040(a)(4)(B)Subsec. (e)(3). , inserted “the Director of the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives within the Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health,” after “shall be composed of”.

Pub. L. 114–255, § 2040(a)(5)Subsec. (f)(3)(B)(ix) to (xii). , added cl. (ix) and redesignated former cls. (ix) to (xi) as (x) to (xii), respectively.

Pub. L. 114–255, § 2040(a)(6)Subsecs. (g), (h). , added subsecs. (g) and (h).

Pub. L. 109–4822007—Subsec. (c)(1)(E)(i). substituted “section 282(b)(16)” for “section 282(b)(6)”.

Pub. L. 102–4051992—Subsec. (f)(3)(B)(xi). substituted “Under Secretary for Health of the Department of Veterans Affairs” for “Chief Medical Director of the Department of Veterans Affairs”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 2007 Amendment

Pub. L. 109–482section 109 of Pub. L. 109–482section 281 of this titleAmendment by applicable only with respect to amounts appropriated for fiscal year 2007 or subsequent fiscal years, see , set out as a note under .

Transfer of Functions

section 3515e of Title 42Functions which the Director of the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research exercised before (including all related functions of any officer or employee of the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research), transferred to the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research, see subsection (n) of , The Public Health and Welfare.

Preventing Duplicative Programs of Medical Rehabilitation Research

Pub. L. 101–613, § 3(b)104 Stat. 3230Pub. L. 114–255, div. A, title II, § 2040(b)(2)130 Stat. 1070, , , which required the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the heads of other Federal agencies to jointly review medical rehabilitation research programs and enter into agreements for preventing duplication among such programs not later than one year after , was repealed by , , . See subsecs. (g) and (h) of this section.

Termination of Advisory Boards

Advisory boards established after , to terminate not later than the expiration of the 2-year period beginning on the date of their establishment, unless, in the case of a board established by the President or an officer of the Federal Government, such board is renewed by appropriate action prior to the expiration of such 2-year period, or in the case of a board established by Congress, its duration is otherwise provided by law. See sections 1001(2) and 1013 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

Pub. L. 93–641, § 688 Stat. 2275section 217a of this title, , , set out as a note under , provided that an advisory committee established pursuant to the Public Health Service Act shall terminate at such time as may be specifically prescribed by an Act of Congress enacted after .