[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1199 Engrossed in Senate (ES)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1199
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To amend the Public Health Service Act to revise and extend the poison
center network program.
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 Center Network Enhancement
Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL TOLL-FREE NUMBER.
Section 1271 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300d-71)
is amended--
(1) in the section heading, by inserting before the period
the following: ``and other communication capabilities''; and
(2) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:
``(a) In General.--The Secretary--
``(1) shall provide coordination and assistance to poison
control centers for the establishment and maintenance of a
nationwide toll-free phone number, to be used to access such
centers; and
``(2) may provide coordination and assistance to poison
control centers and consult with professional organizations for
the establishment, implementation, and maintenance of other
communication technologies to be used to access such
centers.'';
(3) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c);
(4) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
``(b) Routing Contacts With Poison Control Centers.--Not later than
18 months after the date of enactment of the Poison Center Network
Enhancement Act of 2019, the Secretary shall coordinate with the
Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, to the extent
technically and economically feasible, to ensure that communications
with the national toll-free number are routed to the appropriate poison
control center based on the physical location of the contact rather
than the area code of the contact device.''; and
(5) in subsection (c), as so redesignated--
(A) by striking ``2015 through 2019'' and inserting
``2020 through 2024''; and
(B) by striking ``maintenance of the nationwide
toll free phone number under subsection (a)'' and
inserting ``establishment, implementation, and
maintenance activities carried out under subsections
(a) and (b)''.
SEC. 3. NATIONWIDE MEDIA CAMPAIGN.
Section 1272 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300d-72)
is amended--
(1) in the section heading, by striking ``nationwide media
campaign to promote'' and inserting ``promoting'';
(2) in subsection (a)--
(A) by inserting ``and support outreach to'' after
``educate'';
(B) by striking ``poison prevention'' and inserting
``poisoning and toxic exposure prevention''; and
(C) by striking ``established under'' and inserting
``and other available communication technologies
established, implemented, or maintained under'';
(3) in subsection (b)--
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by
striking ``nationwide poison prevention'' and inserting
``nationwide poisoning and toxic exposure prevention'';
and
(B) in paragraph (1), by striking ``poison
prevention and poison control center'' and inserting
``poisoning and toxic exposure prevention awareness
materials, applicable public health emergency
preparedness and response information, and poison
control center'' after ``distribution of''; and
(4) by striking subsection (c);
(5) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (c); and
(6) in subsection (c) (as so redesignated), by striking
``2015 through 2019'' and inserting ``2020 through 2024''.
SEC. 4. MAINTENANCE OF PROGRAM.
Section 1273 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300d-73)
is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by inserting ``and toxic exposures''
after ``poisonings''; and
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) by striking ``for poison'' and
inserting ``for poisoning and toxic exposure'';
and
(ii) by striking ``and preparedness'' and
inserting ``preparedness and response'';
(B) in paragraph (3)--
(i) by striking ``United States and'' and
inserting ``United States,''; and
(ii) by inserting before the semicolon the
following: ``, and other government agencies as
determined to be appropriate and nonduplicative
by the Secretary''; and
(C) in paragraph (8), by striking ``calls'' and
inserting ``contacts'';
(3) in subsection (d) , by striking paragraph (3) and
inserting the following:
``(3) Limitation.--
``(A) In general.--The sum of the number of years
for a waiver under paragraph (1) and a renewal under
paragraph (2) may not exceed 5 years.
``(B) Public health emergency.--Notwithstanding any
previous waivers, in the case of a poison control
center whose accreditation is affected by a public
health emergency declared pursuant to section 319, the
Secretary may, as the circumstances of the emergency
reasonably require, provide a waiver under paragraph
(1) or a renewal under paragraph (2), not to exceed 2
years. The Secretary may require quarterly reports and
other information related to such a waiver or renewal
under this paragraph.'';
(4) by striking subsection (f) and inserting the following:
``(f) Maintenance of Effort.--With respect to activities for which
a grant is awarded under this section, the Secretary may require that
poison control centers agree to maintain the expenditures of the center
for such activities at a level that is not less than the level of
expenditures maintained by the center for the fiscal year preceding the
fiscal year for which the grant is received.'';
(5) In subsection (g), by striking ``2015 through 2019''
and inserting ``2020 through 2024''; and
(6) by adding at the end the following:
``(h) Biennial Report to Congress.--Not later than 2 years after
the date of enactment of the Poison Center Network Enhancement Act of
2019, and every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and
Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives a
report concerning the operations of, and trends identified by, the
Poison Control Network. Such report shall include--
``(1) descriptions of the activities carried out pursuant
to sections 1271, 1272, and 1273, and the alignment of such
activities with the purposes provided under subsection (a);
``(2) a description of trends in volume of contacts to
poison control centers;
``(3) a description of trends in poisonings and toxic
exposures reported to poison control centers, as applicable and
appropriate;
``(4) an assessment of the impact of the public awareness
campaign, including any geographic variations;
``(5) a description of barriers, if any, preventing poison
control centers from achieving the purposes and programs under
this section and sections 1271 and 1272;
``(6) a description of the standards for accreditation
described in subsection (c), including any variations in those
standards, and any efforts to create and maintain consistent
standards across organizations that accredit poison control
centers; and
``(7) the number of and reason for any waivers provided
under subsection (d).''.
Passed the Senate July 22, 2019.
Attest:
Secretary.
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1199
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To amend the Public Health Service Act to revise and extend the poison
center network program.