[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 632 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
106th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 632
To provide assistance for poison prevention and to stabilize the
funding of regional poison control centers.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 16, 1999
Mr. DeWine (for himself, Mr. Abraham, Mr. Chafee, Mr. Graham, Mr. Bond,
Mr. Domenici, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Burns, and Mr. Dodd)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide assistance for poison prevention and to stabilize the
funding of regional poison control centers.
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 ``Poison Control Center Enhancement
and Awareness Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Each year more than 2,000,000 poisonings are reported
to poison control centers throughout the United States. More
than 90 percent of these poisonings happen in the home. 53
percent of poisoning victims are children younger than 6 years
of age.
(2) Poison control centers are a valuable national resource
that provide life-saving and cost-effective public health
services. For every dollar spent on poison control centers, $7
in medical costs are saved. The average cost of a poisoning
exposure call is $32, while the average cost if other parts of
the medical system are involved is $932. Over the last 2
decades, the instability and lack of funding has resulted in a
steady decline in the number of poison control centers in the
United States. Within just the last year, 2 poison control
centers have been forced to close because of funding problems.
A third poison control center is scheduled to close in April
1999. Currently, there are 73 such centers.
(3) Stabilizing the funding structure and increasing
accessibility to poison control centers will increase the
number of United States residents who have access to a
certified poison control center, and reduce the inappropriate
use of emergency medical services and other more costly health
care services.
SEC. 3. DEFINITION.
In this Act, the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Health
and Human Services.
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF A NATIONAL TOLL-FREE
NUMBER.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall provide coordination and
assistance to regional poison control centers for the establishment of
a nationwide toll-free phone number to be used to access such centers.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section, $2,000,000 for each of the
fiscal years 2000 through 2004.
SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONWIDE MEDIA
CAMPAIGN.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish a national media
campaign to educate the public and health care providers about poison
prevention and the availability of poison control resources in local
communities and to conduct advertising campaigns concerning the
nationwide toll-free number established under section 4.
(b) Contract With Entity.--The Secretary may carry out subsection
(a) by entering into contracts with 1 or more nationally recognized
media firms for the development and distribution of monthly television,
radio, and newspaper public service announcements.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section, $600,000 for each of the fiscal
years 2000 through 2004.
SEC. 6. ESTABLISHMENT OF A GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) Regional Poison Control Centers.--The Secretary shall award
grants to certified regional poison control centers for the purposes of
achieving the financial stability of such centers, and for preventing
and providing treatment recommendations for poisonings.
(b) Other Improvements.--The Secretary shall also use amounts
received under this section to--
(1) develop standard education programs;
(2) develop standard patient management protocols for
commonly encountered toxic exposures;
(3) improve and expand the poison control data collection
systems;
(4) improve national toxic exposure surveillance; and
(5) expand the physician/medical toxicologist supervision
of poison control centers.
(c) Certification.--Except as provided in subsection (d), the
Secretary may make a grant to a center under subsection (a) only if--
(1) the center has been certified by a professional
organization in the field of poison control, and the Secretary
has approved the organization as having in effect standards for
certification that reasonably provide for the protection of the
public health with respect to poisoning; or
(2) the center has been certified by a State government,
and the Secretary has approved the State government as having
in effect standards for certification that reasonably provide
for the protection of the public health with respect to
poisoning.
(d) Waiver of Certification Requirements.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary may grant a waiver of the
certification requirement of subsection (c) with respect to a
noncertified poison control center or a newly established
center that applies for a grant under this section if such
center can reasonably demonstrate that the center will obtain
such a certification within a reasonable period of time as
determined appropriate by the Secretary.
(2) Renewal.--The Secretary may only renew a waiver under
paragraph (1) for a period of 3 years.
(e) Supplement Not Supplant.--Amounts made available to a poison
control center under this section shall be used to supplement and not
supplant other Federal, State, local or private funds provided for such
center.
(f) Maintenance of Effort.--A poison control center, in utilizing
the proceeds of a grant under this section, shall maintain the
expenditures of the center for activities of the center at a level that
is not less than the level of such expenditures maintained by the
center for the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which the
grant is received.
(g) Matching Requirement.--The Secretary may impose a matching
requirement with respect to amounts provided under a grant under this
section if the Secretary determines appropriate.
(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section, $25,000,000 for each of the
fiscal years 2000 through 2004.
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