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H.R.4365 / 106th Congress

Children's Health Act of 2000

Became Public Law No: 106-310.

Official summary

Version 00 · Introduced in House · May 3, 2000

Children's Health Act of 2000 - Title I: Autism - Subtitle A: Surveillance and Research Regarding Prevalence and Pattern of Autism - Autism Statistics, Surveillance, Research, and Epidemiology Act of 2000 (ASSURE) - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants and cooperative agreements for the collection, analysis, and reporting of data on autism and pervasive developmental disorders.Mandates establishment, through grants or cooperative agreements, of three to five centers of excellence in autism and pervasive developmental disorders epidemiology to collect and analyze autism information.Requires that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) serve as the coordinating agency for autism and pervasive development disorders surveillance through the establishment of a clearinghouse for data generated from the monitoring programs created under this subtitle.Mandates establishment of an Advisory Committee for Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders Epidemiology Research.Authorizes appropriations.Subtitle B: Expansion, Intensification, and Coordination of Autism Activities of National Institutes of Health With Respect to Autism - Advancement in Pediatric Autism Research Act of 2000 - Directs the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand, intensify, and coordinate NIH activities regarding autism. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to ensure that there is in operation an interagency Autism Coordinating Committee to coordinate all Department of Health and Human Services efforts concerning autism, including activities carried out through the National Institutes of Health or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Requires the Director, among other things, to make awards of grants or contracts to public or nonprofit entities for centers of excellence regarding research on autism.Requires the Director to establish a program to provide information and education on autism to health professionals and the general public.Authorizes appropriations to carry out this subtitle.Title II: Research and Development Regarding Fragile X - Fragile X Research Breakthrough Act of 2000 - Requires the Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to: (1) expand, intensify, and coordinate the Institute's activities respecting research on the mental retardation disease known as fragile X; and (2) make grants to, and enter into contracts with, public or private nonprofit entities for the development and operation of at least three centers for fragile X research. Requires each center to conduct basic and clinical research, which may include clinical trials of new or improved diagnostic methods and drugs or other treatment approaches. Allows such centers to use grant funds to provide fees to individuals serving as subjects in clinical trials.Requires the Director to provide for the coordination of the centers' activities, including the exchange of information. Requires each center to use the facilities of a single institution, or be formed from a consortium of cooperating institutions. Allows support to be provided to a center for up to five years, with authorized extensions. Authorizes appropriations.Requires the Secretary to enter into contracts with qualified health professionals who agree to conduct fragile X research in return for repayment (up to $35,000 for each year of service) of such health professionals' educational loans. Authorizes appropriations.Title III: Juvenile Arthritis and Related Conditions - Requires the Directors of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases to expand and intensify their respective programs of research and related activities concerning juvenile arthritis and related conditions. Directs the Secretary, through the appropriate agencies of the Public Health Service, to develop a coordinated effort to help ensure that a national infrastructure is in place to train and develop pediatric rheumatologists. Authorizes appropriations.Title IV: Reducing Burden of Diabetes Among Children and Youth - Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop a system to collect data on juvenile diabetes, including its incidence and prevalence, and to establish a national database for such data; and (2) implement a national public health effort to address type 2 diabetes in youth. Authorizes appropriations.Requires the Director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to conduct or support long-term epidemiological studies concerning type 1 (juvenile) diabetes. Directs the Secretary to: (1) support regional clinical centers for the cure of juvenile diabetes; and (2) provide for a national effort to develop a vaccine for type 1 diabetes. Authorizes appropriations.Title V: Asthma Treatment Services for Children - Children's Asthma Relief Act of 2000 - Subtitle A: Treatment - Directs the Secretary to award grants to: (1) provide access to medical care for children who live in areas with a high asthma prevalence and lack access to medical care; (2) provide on-site education to parents, children, health care providers, and medical teams to recognize the signs and symptoms of asthma and to train them in the use of medications to treat asthma and prevent its exacerbations; (3) decrease preventable trips to the emergency room by making medication available to individuals who have not previously had access to treatment or education in asthma management; and (4) provide other direct and support services that ameliorate conditions that exacerbate or induce asthma. Authorizes appropriations.Subtitle B: Prevention Activities - Amends the Act to include, within the preventive health and health services block grant, any system for reducing asthma and asthma-related illnesses, especially with regard to children, through urban cockroach pest management in public facilities through a combination of biological, cultural, physical, and chemical tools that minimizes economic, health, and environmental risks.Subtitle C: Coordination of Federal Activities - Requires the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Director to: (1) identify all Federal programs carrying out asthma-related activities; (2) develop a Federal plan for responding to asthma; and (3) submit recommendations to appropriate congressional committees on ways to strengthen and improve Federal coordination of such activities. Authorizes appropriations.Subtitle D: Compilation of Data - Requires the Secretary to: (1) conduct local asthma surveillance activities to collect data on the prevalence and severity of asthma and the quality of asthma management; and (2) compile and publish annually data on the prevalence of children suffering from asthma in each State and the childhood mortality rate associated with asthma nationally.Title VI: Birth Defects Prevention Activities - Subtitle A: Folic Acid - Folic Acid Promotion and Birth Defects Prevention Act of 2000 - Directs the Secretary to carry out a program, directly or through grants or contracts, for professional and public education and training, research, and epidemiological activities regarding folic acid and birth defects. Authorizes appropriations.Subtitle B: National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities - Establishes a National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities to: (1) collect, analyze, and make available data on birth defects; (2) operate centers for the conduct of applied epidemiological research on prevention of those defects; and (3) provide birth defect prevention information and education to the public. Transfers to such Center all activities, budgets, and personnel of the National Center for Environmental Health that relate to birth defects, folic acid, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, child development, newborn screening, autism, fragile X syndrome, fetal alcohol syndrome, pediatric genetics, and disability prevention.Title VII: Early Detection, Diagnosis, and Treatment Regarding Hearing Loss in Infants - Newborn and Infant Hearing Screening and Intervention Act of 2000 - Mandates grants or cooperative agreements to: (1) develop statewide newborn and infant hearing screening, evaluation, and intervention programs and systems; and (2) provide technical assistance to State agencies to complement an intramural program and to conduct applied research related to newborn and infant hearing screening, evaluation, and intervention programs and systems. Requires NIH to continue a program of research and development on the efficacy of new screening techniques and technology. Mandates Federal coordination and collaboration with State and local agencies, consumer groups, national medical, health, and education specialty organizations, deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals and their families, qualified professional personnel, and related commercial industries. Authorizes appropriations.Title VIII: Children and Epilepsy - Directs the Secretary, directly or through grants or contracts, to develop and implement public health surveillance, education, research, and intervention strategies to improve the lives of persons with epilepsy, with emphasis on children. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to State and local governments for demonstration projects to improve access to health and other services regarding seizures to encourage early detection and treatment in children and others residing in medically underserved areas. Authorizes appropriations.Title IX: Safe Motherhood; Infant Health Promotion - Subtitle A: Safe Motherhood Monitoring and Prevention Research - Safe Motherhood Monitoring and Prevention Research Act - Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) establish a national monitoring and surveillance program to identify and promote the investigation of deaths and severe pregnancy complications; (2) expand the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System to provide surveillance and collect data in each State; and (3) expand the Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology Program to provide technical support, financial assistance, or the time-limited assignment of senior epidemiologists to maternal and child health programs in each State. Permits the Secretary to carry out specified activities to promote safe motherhood. Authorizes appropriations to carry out this subtitle.Subtitle B: Pregnant Mothers and Infants Health Promotion - Pregnant Mothers and Infants Health Protection Act - Requires the Secretary to: (1) collect, analyze, and make available data on prenatal smoking and alcohol and illegal drug usage; (2) conduct applied epidemiological research on the prevention of prenatal and postnatal smoking and alcohol and illegal drug usage; (3) support, conduct, and evaluate the effectiveness of educational and cessation programs; and (4) provide information and education to the public on the prevention and implications of prenatal and postnatal smoking and alcohol and illegal drug usage. Authorizes appropriations.Title X: Revision and Extension of Programs - Subtitle A: Pediatric Research Initiative - Pediatric Research Initiative Act of 2000 - Amends the Public Health Service Act (the Act) to mandate establishment, in the National Institutes of Health (NIH), of a Pediatric Research Initiative. Authorizes appropriations.Requires the Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to support activities to increase: (1) the number and size of institutional training grants to pediatric departments of medical schools and to children's hospitals; and (2) the number of career development awards for health professionals who are in pediatric specialties or subspecialties and intend to build careers in pediatric basic and clinical research. Authorizes appropriations.Subtitle B: Other Programs - Extends through FY 2003 programs under the Act for: (1) immunizations; and (2) screenings, referrals, and education regarding lead poisoning.Title XI: Childhood Skeletal Malignancies - Directs the Secretary to: (1) study environmental and other risk factors for childhood skeletal cancers; (2) carry out projects to improve outcomes among children with such cancers and related secondary conditions; and (3) ensure that such activities are coordinated with other Public Health Service activities focused on childhood cancers and limb loss. Authorizes the Secretary to revise, for this title, the definition of "childhood skeletal cancer" as the Secretary determines appropriate. Authorizes appropriations.Title XII: Adoption Awareness - Subtitle A: Infant Adoption Awareness - Infant Adoption Awareness Act of 2000 - Directs the Secretary to make grants to national, regional, or local adoption organizations to develop and implement programs to train health center staff in providing adoption information and referrals to pregnant women on an equal basis with all other courses of action included in nondirective counseling. Provides for the development of related best practices guidelines. Allows a grantee to spend the grant for development of a training curriculum. Requires grantees, in the training they provide, to make reasonable efforts to include voluntary family planning projects, community health centers, migrant health centers, centers regarding homeless individuals and residents of public housing, and health centers that receive grants under the Public Health Service Act to provide services in schools. Directs the Secretary to require that each program providing voluntary family planning services with a grant from the Secretary provide nondirective counseling and referrals on all the options, including adoption. Authorizes appropriations.Subtitle B: Special Needs Adoption Awareness - Directs the Secretary: (1) to make grants for planning, developing, and carrying out a national campaign to provide information to the public regarding the adoption of special needs children; (2) directly or though grant or contract, to carry out a program that, through toll-free telecommunications, makes available to the public information regarding the adoption of special needs children; and (3) to make grants for assistance to support groups for adoptive parents, adopted children, and siblings of adopted children, and for studies to identify the reasons for adoption disruptions. Authorizes appropriations.Title XIII: Traumatic Brain Injury - Traumatic Brain Injury Act Amendments of 2000 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to include in the allowed uses of currently-authorized grants to reduce the incidence of traumatic brain injury the implementation of a national education and awareness campaign on such injury. Includes brain dysfunction caused by anoxia (currently, caused by anoxia due to near drowning) in the definition of "traumatic brain injury."Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States or their designees to operate the State's traumatic brain injury registry, and to academic institutions to conduct applied research that will support registry development, to collect specified types of traumatic brain injury data.(Sec. 1303) Amends provisions relating to the NIH program of trauma research to include brain dysfunction caused by anoxia (currently, caused by anoxia due to near drowning) in the definition of "traumatic brain injury." Authorizes appropriations to carry out the program.(Sec. 1304) Removes, with respect to grants for demonstration projects to improve access to health and other services regarding traumatic brain injury, a requirement that State matching funds be in cash. Revises other matching fund requirements for those grants and sets forth required and allowed uses for grant funds. Includes brain dysfunction caused by anoxia (currently, caused by anoxia due to near drowning) in the definition of "traumatic brain injury." Authorizes appropriations.Title XIV: Prevention and Control of Injuries - Authorizes appropriations to carry out provisions relating to the prevention and control of injuries.Title XV: Healthy Start Initiative - Healthy Start Initiative Continuation Act - Directs the Secretary to continue in effect the Healthy Start Initiative, a current demonstration project of grants for areas with high rates of infant mortality. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out the program nationally.Authorizes additional grants to States to assist communities with technical assistance, replication of successful projects, and State policy formation.Authorizes grants to health care entities to provide: (1) health services for pregnant women or infants (up to one year) that are medically appropriate to prevent or mitigate congenital defects or other serious obstetric complications, allowing grant funds to be used for transportation and subsistence expenses for a pregnant woman; and (2) ultrasound for pregnant women on medical indication.Authorizes appropriations to carry out this title.Title XVI: Oral Health Promotion and Disease Prevention - Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States and Indian tribes to increase the resources available for community water fluoridation, allowing grants to be used to purchase equipment, train engineers, develop educational materials, or support the monitoring and quality maintenance infrastructure.Directs the Secretary to establish a demonstration project to assist rural water systems in implementing specified water fluoridation guidelines.Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States and Indian tribes for the development of school-based dental sealant programs to improve children's access to sealants, with grantees using the amounts received to provide children in second and sixth grades with access to dental care and dental sealant services. Requires, for eligibility, that: (1) urban schools be in an area where more than half the student population is participating in Federal or State free or reduced meal programs; and (2) rural schools be in a district with a median income below a specified level.Authorizes appropriations to carry out this title.Title XVII: Vaccine Compensation Program - Vaccine Injury Compensation Program Amendments of 2000 - Requires a petition for compensation for a vaccine-related injury or death, in addition to current matters, to demonstrate that administration of a qualified vaccine resulted in inpatient hospitalization and surgical intervention. Makes the previous sentence effective on enactment, including regarding pending petitions.Title XVIII: Hepatitis C - Hepatitis C and Children Act of 2000 - Authorizes the Secretary to provide for programs relating to hepatitis C and: (1) implementation of a national system to determine incidence and prevalence of infection; (2) the identification, contacting, and referral of individuals infected by blood transfusions before July 1992 when they were infants, small children, or adolescents; (3) public information and education; and (4) the education, training, and skills of health professionals.Authorizes the Secretary, directly or through grants, to provide for improvements in the quality of clinical laboratory procedures regarding hepatitis C.Authorizes appropriations to carry out this title.Title XIX: NIH Initiative on Autoimmune Diseases - NIH Autoimmune Diseases Initiative Act of 2000 - Requires the NIH director to expand, intensify, and coordinate research and other NIH activities regarding juvenile-onset diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erthematosus, multiple sclerosis, Sjogren's syndrome, scleroderma, chronic fatigue syndrome, Crohn's disease, colitis, and other diseases or disorders as the Secretary determines appropriate (autoimmune diseases).Directs the Secretary to establish the Autoimmune Diseases Coordinating Committee and the Autoimmune Diseases Public Advisory Council. Requires the Committee to develop, and at least annually review (and revise as appropriate), a plan for conducting and supporting research and education on autoimmune diseases through the national research institutes. Requires the NIH director to ensure that NIH activities are implemented in accordance with the plan.Authorizes appropriations to carry out this title.Title XX: Graduate Medical Education Programs in Children's Hospitals - Authorizes appropriations for payments to children's hospitals for direct expenses associated with operating approved graduate medical residency training programs.Title XXI: Special Needs of Children Regarding Organ Transplantation - Pediatric Organ Transplantation Improvement Act of 2000 - Requires the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network to: (1) recognize the differences in health and organ transplantation issues between children (individuals under the age of 18) and adults and adopt criteria, policies, and procedures that address children's unique health care needs; and (2) carry out studies and demonstration projects to improve procedures for organ donation procurement and allocation.Directs the Secretary to study and report to Congress on the costs of immunosuppressive drugs provided to children pursuant to organ transplants and the extent to which health plans and health insurance cover such costs, including recommendations on issues particular to the special health and transplantation needs of children.Title XXII: Miscellaneous Provisions - Requires the NIH director to report to Congress on activities that in FY2000 were, or in the next five fiscal years are planned to be, conducted or supported by NIH regarding rare diseases in children, including (in FY2000) Friedreich's ataxia.Title XXIII: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective date for this Act and its amendments.

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Who introduced it

Rep. Bilirakis, Michael [R-FL-9] · R–FL

Committees

  • Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee
  • Energy and Commerce Committee
1 cosponsorship records, including any withdrawals

Actions

A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.

  1. Became Public Law No: 106-310.

  2. Became Public Law No: 106-310.

  3. Signed by President.

  4. Signed by President.

  5. Presented to President.

  6. Presented to President.

  7. Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

  8. On motion that the House agree to the Senate amendment Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 394 - 25 (Roll no. 496). (consideration: CR H8209-8265; text: CR H8209-8247)

    House roll call 496 · Individual votes
  9. Resolving differences -- House actions: On motion that the House agree to the Senate amendment Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 394 - 25 (Roll no. 496).(consideration: CR H8209-8265; text: CR H8209-8247)

    House roll call 496 · Individual votes
  10. The previous question was ordered without objection.

  11. DEBATE - The House proceeded with one hour of debate on the motion to agree to the Senate amendment.

  12. Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 594, the House moved to agree to the Senate amendment.

  13. Rules Committee Resolution H. Res. 594 Reported to House. Rule provides for consideration of Senate amendment to H.R. 4365 with 1 hour of general debate. Previous question shall be considered as ordered without intervening motions.

  14. Message on Senate action sent to the House.

  15. Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.

  16. Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.

  17. Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent. (consideration: CR S9094-9116)

  18. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions discharged by Unanimous Consent.

  19. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions discharged by Unanimous Consent.

  20. Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

  21. Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

  22. On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 419 - 2 (Roll no. 152). (text: CR H2698-2711)

    House roll call 152 · Individual votes
  23. Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 419 - 2 (Roll no. 152).(text: CR H2698-2711)

    House roll call 152 · Individual votes
  24. Considered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H2735-2736)

  25. At the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.

  26. DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 4365.

  27. Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H2698-2720)

  28. Mr. Bilirakis moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.

  29. Referred to the House Committee on Commerce.

  30. Introduced in House

  31. Introduced in House

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