[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3986 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3986

 To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through 
the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and in 
   consultation with the Secretary of Education and the President's 
 Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition, to conduct a study on the 
    causes of deaths related to high school football and formulate 
                recommendations to prevent such deaths.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 5, 2015

 Mr. Richmond (for himself, Mr. Rush, and Mr. Abraham) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
    Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the 
 Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through 
the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and in 
   consultation with the Secretary of Education and the President's 
 Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition, to conduct a study on the 
    causes of deaths related to high school football and formulate 
                recommendations to prevent such deaths.

    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 ``High School Football Safety Study 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) As of October 27, 2015, seven high school football 
        players--Cam'ron Matthews, Roddrick Williams, Kenney Bui, Evan 
        Murray, Ben Hamm, Tyrell Cameron, and Andre Smith--have passed 
        away during calendar year 2015 from causes directly or 
        indirectly related to football, including head or neck trauma, 
        heat stroke, and dehydration.
            (2) According to the National Center for Catastrophic 
        Sports Injury Research, 1,207 high school football players have 
        passed away since 1931 from causes directly or indirectly 
        related to football.
            (3) Over the past several years, the negative health 
        effects of repeated head trauma have become clearer.
            (4) Protecting the Nation's children is one of the most 
        important responsibilities of parents and Members of Congress.

SEC. 3. STUDYING HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL DEATHS AND DEVELOPING 
              RECOMMENDATIONS TO PREVENT FUTURE TRAGEDIES.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services (in 
this section referred to as the ``Secretary''), acting through the 
Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and in 
consultation with the Secretary of Education and the President's 
Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition, shall conduct a study--
            (1) to more precisely identify the causes of deaths related 
        to high school football; and
            (2) to develop recommendations to prevent such deaths in 
        the future.
    (b) Soliciting Input.--In carrying out subsection (a), the 
Secretary shall seek input from nongovernmental entities, including 
organizations representing football coaches, athletic trainers, 
parents, and health care professionals.
    (c) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Congress and publish on the 
public Website of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality a 
report on the results of the study under subsection (a).
    (d) Contents.--The report under subsection (a) shall include--
            (1) a comprehensive review of research conducted on deaths 
        in high school football;
            (2) an evaluation of causes of deaths related to high 
        school football; and
            (3) recommendations on actions that can be taken by 
        schools, coaches, trainers, and governmental entities to 
        prevent high school deaths from occurring in the future, 
        including--
                    (A) measures to prevent life-threatening injury 
                from occurring;
                    (B) medical treatment protocols to treat these 
                injuries when they occur; and
                    (C) ways in which technology and data analytics can 
                be used to prevent serious injury and death.
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