II 110th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 948 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 21, 2007 Mr. Lieberman (for himself, Mr. Brownback, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Durbin, and Mr. Casey) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize funding for the establishment of a program on children and the media within the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to study the role and impact of electronic media in the development of children.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Children and Media Research Advancement Act or the CAMRA Act.

2.

Purpose

It is the purpose of this Act to enable the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to— (1)examine the role and impact, both positive and negative, of electronic media in children’s and adolescents’ cognitive, social, emotional, physical, and behavioral development; and (2)provide for a report to Congress containing the empirical evidence and other results produced by the research funded through grants under this Act.

3.

Research on the role and impact of electronic media in the development of children and adolescents

Subpart 7 of part C of title IV of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 285g et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

452H.

Research on the role and impact of electronic media in the development of children and adolescents

(a)

In General

Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Institute), shall enter into a contract with the National Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with the Institute of Medicine or another appropriate entity to review, synthesize, and report on research, and establish research priorities, regarding the roles and impact of electronic media (including television, motion pictures, DVD’s, interactive video games, digital music, the Internet, and cell phones) and exposures to such media on youth in the following core areas of development: (1)

Cognitive

Cognitive areas such as language development, attention span, problem solving skills (such as the ability to conduct multiple tasks or multitask), visual and spatial skills, reading, and other learning abilities. (2)

Physical

Physical areas such as physical coordination, diet, exercise, sleeping and eating routines. (3)

Socio-behavioral

Socio-behavioral areas such as family activities and peer relationships including indoor and outdoor play time, interactions with parents, consumption habits, social relationships, aggression, and positive social behavior. (b)

Research Program

(1)

In general

Taking into account the report provided for under subsection (a), the Secretary, acting through the Director, shall, subject to the availability of appropriations, award grants for research concerning the role and impact of electronic media on the cognitive, physical, and socio-behavioral development of youth. (2)

Requirements

The research provided for under paragraph (1) shall comply with the following requirements: (A)Such research shall focus on the impact of factors such as media content (whether direct or indirect), format, length of exposure, age of youth, venue, and nature of parental involvement. (B)Such research shall not duplicate other Federal research activities. (C)For purposes of such research, electronic media shall include television, motion pictures, DVD’s, interactive video games, digital music, the Internet, and cell phones. (3)

Eligible entities

To be eligible to receive a grant under this subsection, an entity shall— (A)prepare and submit to the Director an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Director shall require; and (B)agree to use amounts received under the grant to carry out activities as described in this subsection. (c)

Reports

(1)

Report to the director

Not later than 15 months after the date of the enactment of this section, the report provided for under subsection (a) shall be submitted to the Director and to the appropriate committees of Congress. (2)

Report to congress

Not later than December 31, 2013, the Secretary, acting through the Director, shall prepare and submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report that— (A)synthesizes the results of— (i)research carried out under the grant program under subsection (b); and (ii)other related research, including research conducted by the private or public sector and other Federal entities; and (B)outlines existing research gaps in light of the information described in subparagraph (A). (d)

Authorization of Appropriations

There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2009, $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2010, $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2011, and $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2012.

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