At-Home Testing Prize Competitions Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6924 To authorize the Director of the National Institutes of Health to establish prize competitions to incentivize research by institutions of higher edu- cation on at-home testing for the detection of current infection with the virus that causes COVID–19, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 19, 2020 Mr. BEYER (for himself and Mr. GONZALEZ of Ohio) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com- mittee concerned A BILL To authorize the Director of the National Institutes of Health to establish prize competitions to incentivize re- search by institutions of higher education on at-home testing for the detection of current infection with the virus that causes COVID–19, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘At-Home Testing Prize 4 Competitions Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Jun 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6924.IH H6924 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6924 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds the following: 2 (1) Prize competitions have been used through- 3 out America’s history, dating back to the designing 4 of the United States Capitol Building in 1792. 5 (2) The America COMPETES Reauthorization 6 Act of 2010 granted authority for Federal agencies 7 to carry out prize competitions in order to stimulate 8 innovation to advance each agency’s mission. 9 (3) Prize competitions provide a benefit to the 10 American people by providing a high reward return 11 on taxpayer dollars. 12 (4) Since 2010, Federal agencies have con- 13 ducted nearly 1,000 prize competitions to help ad- 14 dress some of our Nation’s greatest challenges. 15 (5) In order to mitigate the spread of COVID– 16 19, Americans needs access to rapid diagnostic test- 17 ing in their homes. 18 (6) At-home infectious disease tests provide re- 19 sults in real time, rather than in hours or days. 20 (7) Infectious disease tests are useful in re- 21 source-limited situations where there may not be ac- 22 cess to a central laboratory or where infrastructure 23 is limited for transporting samples. At-home infec- 24 tious disease tests can also lead to prompter treat- 25 ment, which can prevent infections from spreading. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Jun 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6924.IH H6924 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6924 IH (8) Although other Federal agencies are cur- 1 rently involved in supporting and conducting re- 2 search into at-home testing, research spurred by 3 prize competitions at the National Institutes of 4 Health in consultation with the National Institute of 5 Standards and Technology can have broader benefits 6 for the American public. 7 (9) The National Institute of Standards and 8 Technology, due to its expertise in materials meas- 9 urement, including for DNA and other biological 10 materials, is well positioned to support the National 11 Institutes of Health in the development of reference 12 materials and best practices for the assessment and 13 validation of COVID–19 test results. 14 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF PRIZE COMPETITION FOR RE- 15 SEARCH ON COVID–19 AT-HOME TESTING. 16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National In- 17 stitutes of Health, in consultation with the Director of the 18 National Institute of Standards and Technology, shall 19 carry out prize competitions pursuant to section 24 of the 20 Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 21 U.S.C. 3719) to incentivize research by institutions of 22 higher education on at-home testing for the detection of 23 current infection with the virus that causes COVID–19. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Jun 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6924.IH H6924 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6924 IH (b) REQUIREMENTS.—To be eligible for funding 1 under this section, the at-home testing subject to the pro- 2 posed research must be capable of— 3 (1) being self-administered; and 4 (2) producing results in 30 minutes or less. 5 (c) TIMING.—The Director of the National Institutes 6 of Health shall— 7 (1) publicize at least one prize competition pur- 8 suant to subsection (a) within 30 days after the date 9 of enactment of this Act; and 10 (2) publicize additional prize competitions pur- 11 suant to subsection (a) as determined appropriate by 12 the Director. 13 (d) NIST ASSISTANCE.—The Director of the Na- 14 tional Institute of Standards and Technology shall provide 15 assistance to the Director of the National Institutes of 16 Health on developing validation protocols and standards 17 for testing developed pursuant to this section. 18 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Jun 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H6924.IH H6924 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS