[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3287 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3287

  To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for demonstration 
    projects in which nurses and other health care professionals in 
hospital emergency rooms and other sites provide specialized assistance 
        to victims of sexual assault and interpersonal violence.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 9, 1999

Mr. Weiner (for himself and Mr. Chabot) introduced the following bill; 
            which was referred to the Committee on Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for demonstration 
    projects in which nurses and other health care professionals in 
hospital emergency rooms and other sites provide specialized assistance 
        to victims of sexual assault and interpersonal violence.

    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 ``Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners Act 
of 1999''.

SEC. 2. SEXUAL ASSAULT AND INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE; DEMONSTRATION 
              PROJECTS REGARDING COUNSELING, EVIDENCE-COLLECTION, AND 
              OTHER SERVICES OF NURSES AND OTHER HEALTH CARE 
              PROFESSIONALS IN HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOMS AND OTHER 
              SITES.

    Section 393 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 280b-1a) is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following 
        subsection:
    ``(b)(1) With respect to all victims of sexual assault and 
interpersonal violence who present at hospital emergency rooms and 
other sites offering services to such victims, demonstration projects 
under subsection (a)(6) shall include projects in which, on a 24-hour 
basis, nurses and other health care professionals at such rooms and 
sites who are trained in accordance with protocols under paragraph 
(2)--
            ``(A) identify victims of such violence;
            ``(B) collect physical evidence from the victims that may 
        be of use in judicial proceedings regarding the violence; and
            ``(C) provide counseling, in conjunction with rape crisis 
        center programs and victim service providers, on such violence 
        and appropriate referrals, including referrals for health-
        related services and social services.
    ``(2) In carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary shall carry out 
a program to train nurses and other health care professionals to 
provide the services described in such paragraph. The program shall 
develop a protocol for such training.''.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendment made by section 2 to section 393 of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 280b-1a) shall apply to demonstration projects 
funded under subsection (a)(6) of such Act which are ongoing on the 
date of the enactment of this Act.
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