Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to designate, establish, and operate at selected Department of Veterans Affairs health-care…

Subchapter II of chapter 73 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

The Secretary, upon the recommendation of the Under Secretary for Health and pursuant to the provisions of this section, shall—

(1) designate—

(A) at least 6 Department health care facilities as the locations for centers of Parkinson’s disease research, education, and clinical activities and (subject to the appropriation of sufficient funds for such purpose); and

(B) at least 2 Department health care facilities as the locations for Multiple Sclerosis Centers of Excellence (subject to the appropriation of sufficient funds for such purpose); and

(2) establish and operate such centers at such locations in accordance with this section.

In designating locations for centers under subsection (a), the Secretary, upon the recommendation of the Under Secretary for Health, shall—

(1) designate each Department health care facility that, as of January 1, 2005, was operating a Parkinson’s Disease Research, Education, and Clinical Center or a Multiple Sclerosis Center of Excellence unless the Secretary, on the recommendation of the Under Secretary for Health, determines that such facility—

(A) does not meet the requirements of subsection (c);

(B) has not demonstrated effectiveness in carrying out the established purposes of such center; or

(C) has not demonstrated the potential to carry out such purposes effectively in the reasonably foreseeable future; and

(2) assure appropriate geographic distribution of such facilities.

The Secretary may not designate a health care facility as a location for a center under subsection (a) unless—

(1) the peer review panel established under subsection (d) determines that the proposal submitted by such facility is among those proposals which meet the highest competitive standards of scientific and clinical merit; and

(2) the Secretary, upon the recommendation of the Under Secretary for Health, determines that the facility has (or may reasonably be anticipated to develop)—

(A) an arrangement with an accredited medical school which provides education and training in neurology and with which such facility is affiliated under which residents receive education and training in innovative diagnosis and treatment of chronic neurodegenerative diseases and movement disorders, including Parkinson’s disease, or in the case of Multiple Sclerosis Centers, multiple sclerosis disease;

(B) the ability to attract the participation of scientists who are capable of ingenuity and creativity in health-care research efforts;

(C) a policymaking advisory committee composed of consumers and appropriate health care and research representatives of the facility and of the affiliated school or schools to advise the directors of such facility and such center on policy matters pertaining to the activities of such center during the period of the operation of such center;

(D) the capability to conduct effectively evaluations of the activities of such center;

(E) the capability to coordinate, as part of an integrated national system, education, clinical, and research activities within all facilities with such centers;

(F) the capability to jointly develop a consortium of providers with interest in treating neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease, and other movement disorders, or multiple sclerosis in the case of Multiple Sclerosis Centers, at facilities without such centers in order to ensure better access to state of the art diagnosis, care, and education for neurodegenerative disorders, or in the case of Multiple Sclerosis Centers, autoimmune disease affecting the central nervous system throughout the health care system; and

(G) the capability to develop a national repository in the health care system for the collection of data on health services delivered to veterans seeking care for neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease, and other movement disorders, or in the case of Multiple Sclerosis Centers, autoimmune disease affecting the central nervous system.

(1) The Under Secretary for Health shall establish a panel to assess the scientific and clinical merit of proposals that are submitted to the Secretary for the establishment of new centers under this section.

(A) The membership of the panel shall consist of experts in neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders, and, in the case of Multiple Sclerosis Centers, experts in autoimmune disease affecting the central nervous system.

(B) Members of the panel shall serve as consultants to the Department for a period of no longer than 2 years except in the case of panelists asked to serve on the initial panel as specified in subparagraph (C).

(C) In order to ensure panel continuity, half of the members of the first panel shall be appointed for a period of 3 years and half for a period of 2 years.

(3) The panel shall review each proposal submitted to the panel by the Under Secretary and shall submit its views on the relative scientific and clinical merit of each such proposal to the Under Secretary.

(4) The panel shall not be subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

Before providing funds for the operation of any such center at a health care facility other than a health care facility designated under subsection (b)(1), the Secretary shall ensure that—

(1) the Parkinson's disease center at each facility designated under subsection (b)(1) is receiving adequate funding to enable such center to function effectively in the areas of Parkinson’s disease research, education, and clinical activities; and

(2) in the case of a new Multiple Sclerosis Center, that existing centers are receiving adequate funding to enable such centers to function effectively in the areas of multiple sclerosis research, education, and clinical activities.

(1) There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for the support of the research and education activities of the centers established under subsection (a).

(2) The Under Secretary for Health shall allocate to such centers from other funds appropriated generally for the Department medical services account and medical and prosthetics research account, as appropriate, such amounts as the Under Secretary for Health determines appropriate.

Activities of clinical and scientific investigation at each center established under subsection (a) for Parkinson's disease shall—

(1) be eligible to compete for the award of funding from funds appropriated for the Department medical and prosthetics research account; and

(2) receive priority in the award of funding from such account to the extent funds are awarded to projects for research in Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders.

Activities of clinical and scientific investigation at each center established under subsection (a) for multiple sclerosis shall—

(1) be eligible to compete for the award of funding from funds appropriated for the Department medical and prosthetics research account; and

(2) receive priority in the award of funding from such account to the extent funds are awarded to projects for research in multiple sclerosis and other movement disorders.

The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 73 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 7328 the following:

Section 7329 of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall take effect on October 1, 2005.