[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 148 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 148

   To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide a comprehensive 
         program for the prevention of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 21, 1997

 Mr. Daschle (for himself, Mr. Chafee, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Inouye, Mrs. 
    Murray, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Campbell, and Mr. Reid) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                       Labor and Human Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide a comprehensive 
         program for the prevention of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.

    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 ``Comprehensive Fetal Alcohol Syndrome 
Prevention Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is the leading known cause of 
        mental retardation, and it is 100 percent preventable;
            (2) each year, up to 12,000 infants are born in the United 
        States with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, suffering irreversible 
        physical and mental damage;
            (3) thousands more infants are born each year with Fetal 
        Alcohol Effects, which are lesser, though still serious, 
        alcohol-related birth defects;
            (4) children of women who use alcohol while pregnant have a 
        significantly higher infant mortality rate (13.3 per 1000) than 
        children of those women who do not use alcohol (8.6 per 1000);
            (5) Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects are 
        national problems which can impact any child, family, or 
        community, but their threat to American Indians and Alaska 
        Natives is especially alarming;
            (6) in some American Indian communities, where alcohol 
        dependency rates reach 50 percent and above, the chances of a 
        newborn suffering Fetal Alcohol Syndrome or Fetal Alcohol 
        Effects are up to 30 times greater than national averages;
            (7) in addition to the immeasurable toll on children and 
        their families, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol 
        Effects pose extraordinary financial costs to the Nation, 
        including the costs of health care, education, foster care, job 
        training, and general support services for affected 
        individuals;
            (8) the total cost to the economy of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome 
        was approximately $2,500,000,000 in 1995, and over a lifetime, 
        health care costs for one Fetal Alcohol Syndrome child are 
        estimated to be at least $1,400,000;
            (9) researchers have determined that the possibility of 
        giving birth to a baby with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome or Fetal 
        Alcohol Effects increases in proportion to the amount and 
        frequency of alcohol consumed by a pregnant woman, and that 
        stopping alcohol consumption at any point in the pregnancy 
        reduces the emotional, physical, and mental consequences of 
        alcohol exposure to the baby; and
            (10) though approximately 1 out of every 5 pregnant women 
        drink alcohol during their pregnancy, we know of no safe dose 
        of alcohol during pregnancy, or of any safe time to drink 
        during pregnancy, thus, it is in the best interest of the 
        Nation for the Federal Government to take an active role in 
        encouraging all women to abstain from alcohol consumption 
        during pregnancy.

SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

    It is the purpose of this Act to establish, within the Department 
of Health and Human Services, a comprehensive program to help prevent 
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects nationwide. Such 
program shall--
            (1) coordinate, support, and conduct basic and applied 
        epidemiologic research concerning Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and 
        Fetal Alcohol Effects;
            (2) coordinate, support, and conduct national, State, and 
        community-based public awareness, prevention, and education 
        programs on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects; 
        and
            (3) foster coordination among all Federal agencies that 
        conduct or support Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol 
        Effects research, programs, and surveillance and otherwise meet 
        the general needs of populations actually or potentially 
        impacted by Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects.

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.

    Title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 241 et seq.) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:

          ``PART O--FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME PREVENTION PROGRAM

``SEC. 399G. ESTABLISHMENT OF FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME PREVENTION 
              PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Prevention Program.--The Secretary 
shall establish a comprehensive Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal 
Alcohol Effects prevention program that shall include--
            ``(1) an education and public awareness program to--
                    ``(A) support, conduct, and evaluate the 
                effectiveness of--
                            ``(i) training programs concerning the 
                        prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of Fetal 
                        Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects;
                            ``(ii) prevention and education programs, 
                        including school health education and school-
                        based clinic programs for school-age children, 
                        concerning Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal 
                        Alcohol Effects; and
                            ``(iii) public and community awareness 
                        programs concerning Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and 
                        Fetal Alcohol Effects;
                    ``(B) provide technical and consultative assistance 
                to States, Indian tribal governments, local 
                governments, scientific and academic institutions, and 
                nonprofit organizations concerning the programs 
                referred to in subparagraph (A); and
                    ``(C) award grants to, and enter into cooperative 
                agreements and contracts with, States, Indian tribal 
                governments, local governments, scientific and academic 
                institutions, and nonprofit organizations for the 
                purpose of--
                            ``(i) evaluating the effectiveness, with 
                        particular emphasis on the cultural competency 
                        and age-appropriateness, of programs referred 
                        to in subparagraph (A);
                            ``(ii) providing training in the 
                        prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of Fetal 
                        Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects;
                            ``(iii) educating school-age children, 
                        including pregnant and high-risk youth, 
                        concerning Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal 
                        Alcohol Effects, with priority given to 
                        programs that are part of a sequential, 
                        comprehensive school health education program; 
                        and
                            ``(iv) increasing public and community 
                        awareness concerning Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and 
                        Fetal Alcohol Effects through culturally 
                        competent projects, programs, and campaigns, 
                        and improving the understanding of the general 
                        public and targeted groups concerning the most 
                        effective intervention methods to prevent fetal 
                        exposure to alcohol;
            ``(2) an applied epidemiologic research and prevention 
        program to--
                    ``(A) support and conduct research on the causes, 
                mechanisms, diagnostic methods, treatment, and 
                prevention of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol 
                Effects;
                    ``(B) provide technical and consultative assistance 
                and training to States, Tribal governments, local 
                governments, scientific and academic institutions, and 
                nonprofit organizations engaged in the conduct of--
                            ``(i) Fetal Alcohol Syndrome prevention and 
                        early intervention programs; and
                            ``(ii) research relating to the causes, 
                        mechanisms, diagnosis methods, treatment, and 
                        prevention of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal 
                        Alcohol Effects; and
                    ``(C) award grants to, and enter into cooperative 
                agreements and contracts with, States, Indian tribal 
                governments, local governments, scientific and academic 
                institutions, and nonprofit organizations for the 
                purpose of--
                            ``(i) conducting innovative demonstration 
                        and evaluation projects designed to determine 
                        effective strategies, including community-based 
                        prevention programs and multicultural education 
                        campaigns, for preventing and intervening in 
                        fetal exposure to alcohol;
                            ``(ii) improving and coordinating the 
                        surveillance and ongoing assessment methods 
                        implemented by such entities and the Federal 
                        Government with respect to Fetal Alcohol 
                        Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects;
                            ``(iii) developing and evaluating effective 
                        age-appropriate and culturally competent 
                        prevention programs for children, adolescents, 
                        and adults identified as being at-risk of 
                        becoming chemically dependent on alcohol and 
                        associated with or developing Fetal Alcohol 
                        Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects; and
                            ``(iv) facilitating coordination and 
                        collaboration among Federal, State, local 
                        government, Indian tribal, and community-based 
                        Fetal Alcohol Syndrome prevention programs;
            ``(3) a basic research program to support and conduct basic 
        research on services and effective prevention treatments and 
        interventions for pregnant alcohol-dependent women and 
        individuals with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol 
        Effects;
            ``(4) a procedure for disseminating the Fetal Alcohol 
        Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects diagnostic criteria 
        developed pursuant to section 705 of the ADAMHA Reorganization 
        Act (42 U.S.C. 485n note) to health care providers, educators, 
        social workers, child welfare workers, and other individuals; 
        and
            ``(5) the establishment, in accordance with subsection (b), 
        of an interagency task force on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and 
        Fetal Alcohol Effects to foster coordination among all Federal 
agencies that conduct or support Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal 
Alcohol Effects research, programs, and surveillance, and otherwise 
meet the general needs of populations actually or potentially impacted 
by Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects.
    ``(b) Interagency Task Force.--
            ``(1) Membership.--The Task Force established pursuant to 
        paragraph (5) of subsection (a) shall--
                    ``(A) be chaired by the Secretary or a designee of 
                the Secretary, and staffed by the Administration; and
                    ``(B) include representatives from all relevant 
                agencies and offices within the Department of Health 
                and Human Services, the Department of Agriculture, the 
                Department of Education, the Department of Defense, the 
                Department of the Interior, the Department of Justice, 
                the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Bureau of 
                Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Federal Trade 
                Commission, and any other relevant Federal agency.
            ``(2) Functions.--The Task Force shall--
                    ``(A) coordinate all Federal programs and research 
                concerning Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol 
                Effects, including programs that--
                            ``(i) target individuals, families, and 
                        populations identified as being at risk of 
                        acquiring Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal 
                        Alcohol Effects; and
                            ``(ii) provide health, education, 
                        treatment, and social services to infants, 
                        children, and adults with Fetal Alcohol 
                        Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects;
                    ``(B) coordinate its efforts with existing 
                Department of Health and Human Services task forces on 
                substance abuse prevention and maternal and child 
                health; and
                    ``(C) report on a biennial basis to the Secretary 
                and relevant committees of Congress on the current and 
                planned activities of the participating agencies.
    ``(c) Scientific Research and Training.--The Director of the 
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, with the 
cooperation of members of the interagency task force established under 
subsection (b), shall establish a collaborative program to provide for 
the conduct and support of research, training, and dissemination of 
information to researchers, clinicians, health professionals and the 
public, with respect to the cause, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment 
of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and the related condition know as Fetal 
Alcohol Effects.

``SEC. 399H. ELIGIBILITY.

    ``To be eligible to receive a grant, or enter into a cooperative 
agreement or contract under this part, an entity shall--
            ``(1) be a State, Indian tribal government, local 
        government, scientific or academic institution, or nonprofit 
        organization; and
            ``(2) prepare and submit to the Secretary an application at 
        such time, in such manner, and containing such information as 
        the Secretary may prescribe, including a description of the 
        activities that the entity intends to carry out using amounts 
        received under this part.

``SEC. 399I. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this part, 
such sums as are necessary for each of the fiscal years 1997 through 
2001.''.
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