42 U.S.C. § 285a–2 — Special authorities of Director

**(a) Information and education program** (1) The Director of the Institute shall establish an information and education program to collect, identify, analyze, and disseminate on a timely basis, through publications and other appropriate means, to cancer patients and their families, physicians and other health professionals, and the general public, information on cancer research, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment (including information respecting nutrition programs for cancer patients and the relationship between nutrition and cancer). The Director of the Institute may take such action as may be necessary to insure that all channels for the dissemination and exchange of scientific knowledge and information are maintained between the Institute and the public and between the Institute and other scientific, medical, and biomedical disciplines and organizations nationally and internationally. (2) In carrying out paragraph (1), the Director of the Institute shall— (A) provide public and patient information and education programs, providing information that will help individuals take personal steps to reduce their risk of cancer, to make them aware of early detection techniques and to motivate appropriate utilization of those techniques, to help individuals deal with cancer if it strikes, and to provide information to improve long-term survival; (B) continue and expand programs to provide physicians and the public with state-of-the-art information on the treatment of particular forms of cancers, and to identify those clinical trials that might benefit patients while advancing knowledge of cancer treatment; (C) assess the incorporation of state-of-the-art cancer treatments into clinical practice and the extent to which cancer patients receive such treatments and include the results of such assessments in the biennial reports required under section 284b 11 See References in Text note below. of this title; (D) maintain and operate the International Cancer Research Data Bank, which shall collect, catalog, store, and disseminate insofar as feasible the results of cancer research and treatment undertaken in any country for the use of any person involved in cancer research and treatment in any country; and (E) to the extent practicable, in disseminating the results of such cancer research and treatment, utilize information systems available to the public. **(b) National Cancer Program** The Director of the Institute in carrying out the National Cancer Program— (1) shall establish or support the large-scale production or distribution of specialized biological materials and other therapeutic substances for cancer research and set standards of safety and care for persons using such materials; (2) shall, in consultation with the advisory council for the Institute, support (A) research in the cancer field outside the United States by highly qualified foreign nationals which can be expected to benefit the American people, (B) collaborative research involving American and foreign participants, and (C) the training of American scientists abroad and foreign scientists in the United States; (3) shall, in consultation with the advisory council for the Institute, support appropriate programs of education and training (including continuing education and laboratory and clinical research training); (4) shall encourage and coordinate cancer research by industrial concerns where such concerns evidence a particular capability for such research; (5) may obtain (after consultation with the advisory council for the Institute and in accordance with [section 3109 of title 5](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title5-section3109&num=0&edition=prelim), but without regard to the limitation in such section on the period of service) the services of not more than one hundred and fifty-one experts or consultants who have scientific or professional qualifications; (6) (A) may, in consultation with the advisory council for the Institute, acquire, construct, improve, repair, operate, and maintain laboratories, other research facilities, equipment, and such other real or personal property as the Director determines necessary; (B) may, in consultation with the advisory council for the Institute, make grants for construction or renovation of facilities; and (C) may, in consultation with the advisory council for the Institute, acquire, without regard to [section 8141 of title 40](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title40-section8141&num=0&edition=prelim), by lease or otherwise through the Administrator of General Services, buildings or parts of buildings in the District of Columbia or communities located adjacent to the District of Columbia for the use of the Institute for a period not to exceed ten years; (7) may, in consultation with the advisory council for the Institute, appoint one or more advisory committees composed of such private citizens and officials of Federal, State, and local governments to advise the Director with respect to the Director’s functions; (8) may, subject to [section 284(b)(2) of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title42-section284/b/2&num=0&edition=prelim) and without regard to [section 3324 of title 31](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title31-section3324&num=0&edition=prelim) and [section 6101 of title 41](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title41-section6101&num=0&edition=prelim), enter into such contracts, leases, cooperative agreements, as may be necessary in the conduct of functions of the Director, with any public agency, or with any person, firm, association, corporation, or educational institution; and (9) shall, notwithstanding [section 284(a) of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title42-section284/a&num=0&edition=prelim), prepare and submit, directly to the President for review and transmittal to Congress, an annual budget estimate (including an estimate of the number and type of personnel needs for the Institute) for the National Cancer Program, after reasonable opportunity for comment (but without change) by the Secretary, the Director of NIH, and the Institute’s advisory council. Except as otherwise provided, experts and consultants whose services are obtained under paragraph (5) shall be paid or reimbursed, in accordance with title 5 for their travel to and from their place of service and for other expenses associated with their assignment. Such expenses shall not be allowed in connection with the assignment of an expert or consultant whose services are obtained under paragraph (5) unless the expert or consultant has agreed in writing to complete the entire period of the assignment or one year of the assignment, whichever is shorter, unless separated or reassigned for reasons which are beyond the control of the expert or consultant and which are acceptable to the Director of the Institute. If the expert or consultant violates the agreement, the money spent by the United States for such expenses is recoverable from the expert or consultant as a debt due the United States. The Secretary may waive in whole or in part a right of recovery under the preceding sentence. **(c) Pre-clinical models to evaluate promising pediatric cancer therapies** (1) **Expansion and coordination of activities** — The Director of the National Cancer Institute shall expand, intensify, and coordinate the activities of the Institute with respect to research on the development of preclinical models to evaluate which therapies are likely to be effective for treating pediatric cancer. (2) **Coordination with other institutes** — The Director of the Institute shall coordinate the activities under paragraph (1) with similar activities conducted by other national research institutes and agencies of the National Institutes of Health to the extent that those Institutes and agencies have responsibilities that are related to pediatric cancer.