[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4335 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4335

  To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for a program of 
    screenings and education regarding children with sudden cardiac 
                         arrhythmia syndromes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 11, 2004

 Mrs. McCarthy of New York (for herself, Mr. King of New York, and Mr. 
   Israel) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for a program of 
    screenings and education regarding children with sudden cardiac 
                         arrhythmia syndromes.

    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 ``Teague Ryan Sudden Child Cardiac 
Arrhythmia Syndromes Screening and Education Act of 2004''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Each month between 250 and 600 young people in the 
        United States die suddenly and unexpectedly from cardiac 
        arrhythmia syndromes.
            (2) These syndromes include long Q-T syndrome, hypertrophic 
        cardiomyopathy, arrhymogenic right ventricular dysplasia, and 
        others.
            (3) Long Q-T syndrome is more common in the United States 
        than childhood leukemia.
            (4) Most cardiac arrhythmia syndromes that cause sudden 
        death in the young are identifiable through screenings.
            (5) Once diagnosed, these syndromes are treatable, and 
        individuals with these conditions can have normal life spans 
        and life-styles.

SEC. 2. SCREENINGS AND EDUCATION REGARDING CHILDREN WITH SUDDEN CARDIAC 
              ARRHYTHMIA SYNDROMES.

    Part B of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 243 
et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 317S the following 
section:

``SEC. 317T. SCREENINGS AND EDUCATION REGARDING CHILDREN WITH SUDDEN 
              CARDIAC ARRHYTHMIA SYNDROMES.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the Director of 
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, may make awards of 
grants or contracts to States, political subdivisions of States, and 
other public or nonprofit private entities, such as the Cardiac 
Arrhythmias Research and Education Foundation, for the purpose of 
carrying out programs--
            ``(1) to screen children for sudden cardiac arrhythmia 
        syndromes;
            ``(2) to provide referrals for medical services regarding 
        such syndromes; and
            ``(3) to provide education on such syndromes to health 
        professionals and the general public, including education on 
        screening methods.
    ``(b) Priority in Making Awards.--In making awards under subsection 
(a), the Secretary shall give priority--
            ``(1) to screenings and referrals under such subsection 
        for--
                    ``(A) children under the age of 6; and
                    ``(B) children who participate in, or intend to 
                participate in, organized sports; and
            ``(2) to educational activities under such subsection that 
        are directed toward parents of children described in paragraph 
        (1) and health professionals who commonly provide medical care 
        for such children.
    ``(c) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary may provide technical 
assistance to grantees under subsection (a) with respect to the 
planning, development, and operation of programs under such subsection. 
The Secretary may provide such technical assistance directly or through 
grants or contracts.
    ``(d) Evaluations.--The Secretary, directly or through grants or 
contracts, shall provide for evaluations of programs under subsection 
(a) in order to determine the quality and effectiveness of the 
programs.
    ``(e) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term 
`children' means individuals under the age of 19.
    ``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--For the purpose of carrying 
out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $20,000,000 
for fiscal year 2005, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 
fiscal years 2006 through 2009.''.
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