(a)  In generalThe Director of the National Institutes of Health (referred to in this section as the “NIH”) may intensify and coordinate fundamental, translational, and clinical research of the NIH with respect to—

(1)  the understanding of pain;

(2)  the discovery and development of therapies for chronic pain; and

(3)  the development of alternatives to opioids for effective pain treatments.

(b)  Priority and directionThe prioritization and direction of the Federally funded portfolio of pain research studies shall consider recommendations made by the Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee in concert with the Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force, and in accordance with the National Pain Strategy, the Federal Pain Research Strategy, and the NIH-Wide Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2016–2020, the latter of which calls for the relative burdens of individual diseases and medical disorders to be regarded as crucial considerations in balancing the priorities of the Federal research portfolio.