[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1199 Reported in Senate (RS)]

<DOC>





                                                       Calendar No. 138
116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1199

To amend the Public Health Service Act to revise and extend the poison 
                        center network program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 11, 2019

 Mrs. Murray (for herself and Mr. Burr) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

                              July 9, 2019

              Reported by Mr. Alexander, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
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,

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``Poison Center Network 
Enhancement Act of 2019''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. NATIONAL TOLL-FREE NUMBER.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Section 1271 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
300d-71) is amended--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) in the section heading, by inserting before 
        the period the following: ``and other communication 
        capabilities'';</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 
        following:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(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</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(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.'';</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection 
        (c);</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) by inserting after subsection (a) the 
        following:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(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</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) in subsection (c), as so redesignated--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) by striking ``2015 through 2019'' and 
                inserting ``2020 through 2024''; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (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)''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 3. NATIONWIDE MEDIA CAMPAIGN.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Section 1272 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
300d-72) is amended--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) in the section heading, by striking 
        ``nationwide media campaign to promote'' and inserting 
        ``promoting'';</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) in subsection (a)--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) by inserting ``and support outreach 
                to'' after ``educate'';</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) by striking ``poison prevention'' and 
                inserting ``poisoning and toxic exposure prevention''; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) by striking ``established under'' and 
                inserting ``and other available communication 
                technologies established, implemented, or maintained 
                under'';</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) in subsection (b)--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 
                by striking ``nationwide poison prevention'' and 
                inserting ``nationwide poisoning and toxic exposure 
                prevention''; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (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'';</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) by striking subsection (c);</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection 
        (c); and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) in subsection (c) (as so redesignated), by 
        striking ``2015 through 2019'' and inserting ``2020 through 
        2024''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 4. MAINTENANCE OF PROGRAM.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Section 1273 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
300d-73) is amended--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ``and toxic 
        exposures'' after ``poisonings'';</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) in subsection (b)--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) in paragraph (1)--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) by striking ``for poison'' and 
                        inserting ``for poisoning and toxic exposure''; 
                        and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) by striking ``and 
                        preparedness'' and inserting ``preparedness and 
                        response'';</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) in paragraph (3)--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) by striking ``United States 
                        and'' and inserting ``United States,''; 
                        and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) by inserting before the 
                        semicolon the following: ``, and other 
                        government agencies as determined to be 
                        appropriate and nonduplicative by the 
                        Secretary''; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) in paragraph (8), by striking 
                ``calls'' and inserting ``contacts'';</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) in subsection (d), by striking paragraph (3) 
        and inserting the following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) Limitation.--In no case may the sum of the 
        number of years for a waiver under this subsection exceed 5 
        years. 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) for up to 2 years.'';</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) by striking subsection (f) and inserting the 
        following:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(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.'';</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) In subsection (g), by striking ``2015 through 
        2019'' and inserting ``2020 through 2024''; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) by adding at the end the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(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--
</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(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);</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) a description of trends in volume of 
        contacts to poison control centers;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) a description of trends in poisonings and 
        toxic exposures reported to poison control centers, as 
        applicable and appropriate;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(4) an assessment of the impact of the public 
        awareness campaign, including any geographic 
        variations;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(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;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(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</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(7) the number of and reason for any waivers 
        provided under subsection (d).''.</DELETED>

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).''.
                                                       Calendar No. 138

116th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                                S. 1199

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To amend the Public Health Service Act to revise and extend the poison 
                        center network program.

_______________________________________________________________________

                              July 9, 2019

                       Reported with an amendment