The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, known informally as the "stimulus" bill, appropriated $1.1 billion to create a Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Research. The provision is one of the most controversial in the 1,000-page measure.
The coordinating council, a 15-member board of federal employees, will advise Congress and the president on how to use the stimulus funds. Grants will be made to analyze the "comparative effectiveness" of specific treatments, medical devices, surgical interventions, and drugs.