Volume 86 · 1178
Public Law 92–563
To provide for the establishment Of a national advisory commission to determine the most effective means of finding the cause of and cures and treatments for multiple sclerosis.
Approved October 25, 1972
Statutory text
AN ACT
To provide for the establishment Of a national advisory commission to determine the most effective means of finding the cause of and cures and treatments for multiple sclerosis.
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 “National Advisory Commission on Multiple Sclerosis Act ”.
Sec. 2. findings
The Congress finds that—
multiple sclerosis is a disease characterized by degeneration within the brain and spinal cord and by loss of motor and sensory functions;
this disease, known as the “great crippier of young adults”, generally makes its first appearance in the very prime of life, tween the ages of twenty and forty, already affects great numbers of Americans, and will begin to afflict an even greater number as our young adult population expands;
the cause of multiple sclerosis is unknown and there is neither a preventive nor a cure for the disease; and
the determination of the most effective program for dis-covering the cause of and cures and treatments for the disease deserves the highest priority.
Sec. 3. national advisory commission
The Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare
Appointment.
(hereinafter in this section referred to as the “Secretary”), after consultation with the advisory council to the National Institute on Neurological Diseases and Stroke appointed under section 342 of the Public Health Service Act, shall appoint a national advisory
Study.
commission to determine the most effective means of finding the cause of and cures and treatments for multiple sclerosis. Such study and investigation shall give particular emphasis to the need for additional financial support by the Federal Government and the means by which the Federal Government can best participate in the effort to find the cause of and cures and treatments for multiple sclerosis.
The Secretary shall appoint to the commission (A) four members of the advisory council referred to in paragraph (1), and (B) five other individuals from the public who are particularly qualified to participate in the work of the commission. The members of the commission shall select a chairman from among the members appointed
Compensation.
under clause (B) of the preceding sentence. Members of the commission shall each be entitled to receive the daily equivalent of the annual
rate of basic pay in effect for grade GS–18 of the General Schedule for each day (including traveltime) during which they are engaged
Travel expenses.
in the actual performance of duties vested in the commission. While away from their homes or regular places of business in the performance of services for the commission, members of the commission shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in the same manner as persons employed intermittently in the Government service are allowed expenses under section 5703(b) of title 5 of the
United States Code.
The Secretary shall provide such administrative support services for the commission as it may request.
Each department, agency, and instrumentality of the executive branch of the Federal Government, including independent agencies, shall furnish to the commission, upon the request of its chairman, such information, services, personnel, and facilities as the commission deems necessary to carry out the purposes of this section.
The commission shall transmit to the Secretary for transmittal to the President and the Congress a final report (winch shall include recommendations for such legislation as the commission determines is necessary) not later than one year after the date of enactment of
Termination date.
this Act, and the commission shall cease to exist thirty days after submitting its report.
Approved October 25, 1972.