(a)(1) In order to carry out more effectively the primary function of the Administration and in order to contribute to the Nation’s knowledge about disease and disability, the Secretary shall carry out a program of medical research in connection with the provision of medical care and treatment to veterans. Funds appropriated to carry out this section shall remain available until expended.

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(2) Such program of medical research shall include biomedical research, mental illness research, prosthetic and other rehabilitative research, and health-care-services research.

(3) Such program shall stress—

(A) research into spinal-cord injuries and other diseases that lead to paralysis of the lower extremities; and

(B) research into injuries and illnesses particularly related to service.

(4) In carrying out such research program, the Secretary shall act in cooperation with the entities described in section 7302(d) of this title.

(b) Prosthetic research shall include research and testing in the field of prosthetic, orthotic, and orthopedic appliances and sensory devices. In order that the unique investigative material and research data in the possession of the Government may result in the improvement of such appliances and devices for all disabled persons, the Secretary (through the Under Secretary for Health) shall make the results of such research available to any person, and shall consult and cooperate with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Education, in connection with programs carried out under section 204(b)(3) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (relating to the establishment and support of Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers).

(c)(1) In conducting or supporting clinical research, the Secretary shall ensure that, whenever possible and appropriate—

(A) women who are veterans are included as subjects in each project of such research; and

(B) members of minority groups who are veterans are included as subjects of such research.

(2) In the case of a project of clinical research in which women or members of minority groups will under paragraph (1) be included as subjects of the research, the Secretary shall ensure that the project is designed and carried out so as to provide for a valid analysis of whether the variables being tested in the research affect women or members of minority groups, as the case may be, differently than other persons who are subjects of the research.

(d)(1) The Secretary, in carrying out the Secretary’s responsibilities under this section, shall foster and encourage the initiation and expansion of research relating to the health of veterans who are women.

(2) In carrying out this subsection, the Secretary shall consult with the following to assist the Secretary in setting research priorities:

(A) Officials of the Department assigned responsibility for women’s health programs and sexual trauma services.

(B) The members of the Advisory Committee on Women Veterans.

(C) Members of appropriate task forces and working groups within the Department (including the Women Veterans Working Group and the Task Force on Treatment of Women Who Suffer Sexual Abuse).