[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 793 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.793

                       One Hundred Tenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Thursday,
            the third day of January, two thousand and eight


                                 An Act


 
 To provide for the expansion and improvement of traumatic brain injury 
                                programs.

    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 ``Traumatic Brain Injury Act of 
2008''.
SEC. 2. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATING TO RESTRUCTURING.
    Part J of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
280b et seq.) is amended--
        (1) by redesignating the section 393B (42 U.S.C. 280b-1c) 
    relating to the use of allotments for rape prevention education, as 
    section 393A and moving such section so that it follows section 
    393;
        (2) by redesignating existing section 393A (42 U.S.C. 280b-1b) 
    relating to prevention of traumatic brain injury, as section 393B; 
    and
        (3) by redesignating the section 393B (42 U.S.C. 280b-1d) 
    relating to traumatic brain injury registries, as section 393C.
SEC. 3. TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY PROGRAMS OF THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE 
CONTROL AND PREVENTION.
    (a) Prevention of Traumatic Brain Injury.--Clause (ii) of section 
393B(b)(3)(A) of the Public Health Service Act, as so redesignated, (42 
U.S.C. 280b-1b) is amended by striking ``from hospitals and trauma 
centers'' and inserting ``from hospitals and emergency departments''.
    (b) National Program for Traumatic Brain Injury Surveillance and 
Registries.--Section 393C of the Public Health Service Act, as so 
redesignated, (42 U.S.C. 280b et seq.) is amended--
        (1) in the section heading, by inserting ``surveillance and'' 
    after ``national program for traumatic brain injury''; and
        (2) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 
    by striking ``may make grants'' and all that follows through ``to 
    collect data concerning--'' and inserting ``may make grants to 
    States or their designees to develop or operate the State's 
    traumatic brain injury surveillance system or registry to determine 
    the incidence and prevalence of traumatic brain injury and related 
    disability, to ensure the uniformity of reporting under such system 
    or registry, to link individuals with traumatic brain injury to 
    services and supports, and to link such individuals with academic 
    institutions to conduct applied research that will support the 
    development of such surveillance systems and registries as may be 
    necessary. A surveillance system or registry under this section 
    shall provide for the collection of data concerning--''.
    (c) Report.--Section 393C of the Public Health Service Act (as so 
redesignated) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of the 
Traumatic Brain Injury Act of 2008, the Secretary, acting through the 
Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the 
Director of the National Institutes of Health and in consultation with 
the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, shall 
submit to the relevant committees of Congress a report that contains 
the findings derived from an evaluation concerning activities and 
procedures that can be implemented by the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention to improve the collection and dissemination of 
compatible epidemiological studies on the incidence and prevalence of 
traumatic brain injury in individuals who were formerly in the 
military. The report shall include recommendations on the manner in 
which such agencies can further collaborate on the development and 
improvement of traumatic brain injury diagnostic tools and 
treatments.''.
SEC. 4. STUDY ON TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY.
    Part J of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
280b et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 393C, as so 
redesignated, the following:
``SEC. 393C-1. STUDY ON TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY.
    ``(a) Study.--The Secretary, acting through the Director of the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with respect to paragraph 
(1) and in consultation with the Director of the National Institutes of 
Health and other appropriate entities with respect to paragraphs (2), 
(3), and (4), may conduct a study with respect to traumatic brain 
injury for the purpose of carrying out the following:
        ``(1) In collaboration with appropriate State and local health-
    related agencies--
            ``(A) determining the incidence of traumatic brain injury 
        and prevalence of traumatic brain injury related disability and 
        the clinical aspects of the disability in all age groups and 
        racial and ethnic minority groups in the general population of 
        the United States, including institutional settings, such as 
        nursing homes, correctional facilities, psychiatric hospitals, 
        child care facilities, and residential institutes for people 
        with developmental disabilities; and
            ``(B) reporting national trends in traumatic brain injury.
        ``(2) Identifying common therapeutic interventions which are 
    used for the rehabilitation of individuals with such injuries, and, 
    subject to the availability of information, including an analysis 
    of--
            ``(A) the effectiveness of each such intervention in 
        improving the functioning, including return to work or school 
        and community participation, of individuals with brain 
        injuries;
            ``(B) the comparative effectiveness of interventions 
        employed in the course of rehabilitation of individuals with 
        brain injuries to achieve the same or similar clinical outcome; 
        and
            ``(C) the adequacy of existing measures of outcomes and 
        knowledge of factors influencing differential outcomes.
        ``(3) Identifying interventions and therapies that can prevent 
    or remediate the development of secondary neurologic conditions 
    related to traumatic brain injury.
        ``(4) Developing practice guidelines for the rehabilitation of 
    traumatic brain injury at such time as appropriate scientific 
    research becomes available.
    ``(b) Dates Certain for Reports.--If the study is conducted under 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall, not later than 3 years after the 
date of the enactment of the Traumatic Brain Injury Act of 2008, submit 
to Congress a report describing findings made as a result of carrying 
out such subsection (a).
    ``(c) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term 
`traumatic brain injury' means an acquired injury to the brain. Such 
term does not include brain dysfunction caused by congenital or 
degenerative disorders, nor birth trauma, but may include brain 
injuries caused by anoxia due to trauma including near drowning. The 
Secretary may revise the definition of such term as the Secretary 
determines necessary.''.
SEC. 5. TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY PROGRAMS OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF 
HEALTH.
    Section 1261 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300d-61) 
is amended--
        (1) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ``Labor and Human 
    Resources'' and inserting ``Health, Education, Labor, and 
    Pensions'';
        (2) in subparagraph (D) of subsection (d)(4), by striking 
    ``head brain injury'' and inserting ``brain injury''; and
        (3) in subsection (i), by inserting ``, and such sums as may be 
    necessary for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 2012'' before 
    the period at the end.
SEC. 6. TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY PROGRAMS OF THE HEALTH RESOURCES AND 
SERVICES ADMINISTRATION.
    (a) State Grants for Demonstration Projects Regarding Traumatic 
Brain Injury.--Section 1252 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
300d-52) is amended--
        (1) in subsection (a)--
            (A) by striking ``may make grants to States'' and inserting 
        ``may make grants to States and American Indian consortia''; 
        and
            (B) by striking ``health and other services'' and inserting 
        ``rehabilitation and other services'';
        (2) in subsection (b)--
            (A) in paragraphs (1), (3)(A)(i), (3)(A)(iii), and 
        (3)(A)(iv), by striking the term ``State'' each place such term 
        appears and inserting the term ``State or American Indian 
        consortium''; and
            (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``recommendations to the 
        State'' and inserting ``recommendations to the State or 
        American Indian consortium'';
        (3) in subsection (c)(1), by striking the term ``State'' each 
    place such term appears and inserting ``State or American Indian 
    consortium'';
        (4) in subsection (e), by striking ``A State that received'' 
    and all that follows through the period and inserting ``A State or 
    American Indian consortium that received a grant under this section 
    prior to the date of the enactment of the Traumatic Brain Injury 
    Act of 2008 may complete the activities funded by the grant.'';
        (5) in subsection (f)--
            (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting ``and American 
        Indian Consortium'' after ``State'';
            (B) in paragraph (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph 
        (A), paragraph (1)(E), paragraph (2)(A), paragraph (2)(B), 
        paragraph (3) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), 
        paragraph (3)(E), and paragraph (3)(F), by striking the term 
        ``State'' each place such term appears and inserting ``State or 
        American Indian consortium''; and
            (C) in clause (ii) of paragraph (1)(A), by striking 
        ``children and other individuals'' and inserting ``children, 
        youth, and adults'';
        (6) in subsection (h)--
            (A) by striking ``Not later than 2 years after the date of 
        the enactment of this section, the Secretary'' and inserting 
        ``Not less than biennially, the Secretary'';
            (B) by striking ``Commerce of the House of Representatives, 
        and to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources'' and 
        inserting ``Energy and Commerce of the House of 
        Representatives, and to the Committee on Health, Education, 
        Labor, and Pensions''; and
            (C) by inserting ``and section 1253'' after ``programs 
        established under this section,'';
        (7) by amending subsection (i) to read as follows:
    ``(i) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
        ``(1) The terms `American Indian consortium' and `State' have 
    the meanings given to those terms in section 1253.
        ``(2) The term `traumatic brain injury' means an acquired 
    injury to the brain. Such term does not include brain dysfunction 
    caused by congenital or degenerative disorders, nor birth trauma, 
    but may include brain injuries caused by anoxia due to trauma. The 
    Secretary may revise the definition of such term as the Secretary 
    determines necessary, after consultation with States and other 
    appropriate public or nonprofit private entities.''; and
        (8) in subsection (j), by inserting ``, and such sums as may be 
    necessary for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 2012'' before 
    the period.
    (b) State Grants for Protection and Advocacy Services.--Section 
1253 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300d-53) is amended--
        (1) in subsections (d) and (e), by striking the term 
    ``subsection (i)'' each place such term appears and inserting 
    ``subsection (l)'';
        (2) in subsection (g), by inserting ``each fiscal year not 
    later than October 1,'' before ``the Administrator shall pay'';
        (3) by redesignating subsections (i) and (j) as subsections (l) 
    and (m), respectively;
        (4) by inserting after subsection (h) the following:
    ``(i) Data Collection.--The Administrator of the Health Resources 
and Services Administration and the Commissioner of the Administration 
on Developmental Disabilities shall enter into an agreement to 
coordinate the collection of data by the Administrator and the 
Commissioner regarding protection and advocacy services.
    ``(j) Training and Technical Assistance.--
        ``(1) Grants.--For any fiscal year for which the amount 
    appropriated to carry out this section is $6,000,000 or greater, 
    the Administrator shall use 2 percent of such amount to make a 
    grant to an eligible national association for providing for 
    training and technical assistance to protection and advocacy 
    systems.
        ``(2) Definition.--In this subsection, the term `eligible 
    national association' means a national association with 
    demonstrated experience in providing training and technical 
    assistance to protection and advocacy systems.
    ``(k) System Authority.--In providing services under this section, 
a protection and advocacy system shall have the same authorities, 
including access to records, as such system would have for purposes of 
providing services under subtitle C of the Developmental Disabilities 
Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000.''; and
        (5) in subsection (l) (as redesignated by this subsection) by 
    striking ``2002 through 2005'' and inserting ``2009 through 2012''.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.