[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5749 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5749

   To amend the Public Health Service Act with regard to research on 
                    asthma, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 27, 2023

 Mrs. Dingell (for herself, Mr. Valadao, Ms. Blunt Rochester, and Mr. 
 Fitzpatrick) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Public Health Service Act with regard to research on 
                    asthma, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Elijah E. Cummings Family Asthma 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) According to the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention, in 2020 nearly 25,300,000 people in the United 
        States had been diagnosed with asthma, including an estimated 
        4,200,000 children.
            (2) According to the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention, asthma is more common among Black Americans, Native 
        individuals (American Indians/Alaska Natives), Puerto Ricans, 
        and people of multiple races compared to non-Hispanic white 
        individuals.
            (3) According to the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention, among children, males have higher rates of asthma 
        than females, and in adults, women have higher rates of asthma 
        than men. Individuals living below the poverty threshold also 
        had significantly higher rates of asthma in 2020 than 
        individuals living above the poverty threshold.
            (4) According to the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention, in 2020 more than 4,100 people in the United States 
        died from asthma. The rate of mortality from asthma is higher 
        among African Americans and women.
            (5) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report 
        that asthma accounted for approximately 183,000 
        hospitalizations and 1,600,000 visits to hospital emergency 
        departments in 2016.
            (6) According to the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention, the annual cost of asthma to the United States is 
        approximately $81,900,000,000, including $3,000,000,000 in 
        indirect costs from missed days of school and work.
            (7) According to the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention, more than 7,900,000 school days and 10,900,000 
        workdays are missed annually as a result of asthma.
            (8) Asthma episodes can be triggered by both outdoor air 
        pollution and indoor air pollution, including pollutants such 
        as cigarette smoke and combustion by-products. Asthma episodes 
        can also be triggered by indoor allergens such as animal 
        dander, mold, cockroaches, and rodents, and outdoor allergens 
        such as pollen.
            (9) Public health interventions and medical care in 
        accordance with existing guidelines have been proven effective 
        in the treatment and management of asthma. Better asthma 
        management could reduce the numbers of emergency department 
        visits and hospitalizations due to asthma. Studies published in 
        medical journals, including the Journal of Asthma and The 
        Journal of Pediatrics, have shown that better asthma management 
        results in improved asthma outcomes at a lower cost. However, 
        research published in Preventing Chronic Disease has shown gaps 
        in consistent and comprehensive coverage of guidelines-based 
        asthma care across State Medicaid programs.
            (10) The high health and financial burden caused by asthma 
        underscores the importance of adherence to the National Asthma 
        Education and Prevention Program Guidelines of the National 
        Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Increasing adherence to 
        guidelines-based care and resulting patient management 
        practices will enhance the quality of life for patients with 
        asthma and decrease asthma-related morbidity and mortality.
            (11) In 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention reported that less than half of people with asthma 
        reported receiving self-management training for their asthma. 
        More education about triggers, proper treatment, and asthma 
        management methods is needed.
            (12) 27 States do not receive funding through the National 
        Asthma Control Program of the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention. Without this funding, State health departments have 
        a limited capacity to improve the reach, quality, effectiveness 
        and sustainability of asthma control services, conduct 
        comprehensive adult and pediatric surveillance, and to reduce 
        asthma morbidity, mortality, and disparities.
            (13) The alarming rise in the prevalence of asthma, its 
        adverse effect on school attendance and productivity, and its 
        cost for hospitalizations and emergency room visits, highlight 
        the importance of public health interventions, including 
        increasing awareness of asthma as a chronic illness, its 
        symptoms, the role of both indoor and outdoor environmental 
        factors that exacerbate the disease, and other factors that 
        affect its exacerbations and severity. The goals of the Federal 
        Government and its partners in the nonprofit and private 
        sectors should include reducing the number and severity of 
        asthma attacks, asthma's financial burden, and the health 
        disparities associated with asthma.

SEC. 3. ASTHMA-RELATED ACTIVITIES OF THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL 
              AND PREVENTION.

    Section 317I of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247b-10) 
is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 317I. ASTHMA-RELATED ACTIVITIES OF THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE 
              CONTROL AND PREVENTION.

    ``(a) Program for Providing Information and Education to the 
Public.--The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention and the Director of the National Center 
for Environmental Health, shall collaborate with State and local health 
departments to conduct activities regarding asthma, including the 
provision of information and education to the public regarding asthma, 
including--
            ``(1) deterring the harmful consequences of uncontrolled 
        asthma; and
            ``(2) disseminating health education and information 
        regarding prevention of asthma episodes and strategies for 
        managing asthma.
    ``(b) Development of State Strategic Plans for Asthma Control.--The 
Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention, shall collaborate with State and local health 
departments to develop State strategic plans for asthma control 
incorporating public health responses to reduce the burden of asthma, 
particularly regarding disproportionately affected populations.
    ``(c) Compilation of Data.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary, acting through the 
        Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 
        collaboration with State and local health departments, shall--
                    ``(A) conduct asthma surveillance activities to 
                collect data on the prevalence and severity of asthma, 
                the effectiveness of public health asthma 
                interventions, and the quality of asthma management, 
                including--
                            ``(i) collection of data on or among people 
                        with asthma to monitor the impact on health and 
                        quality of life;
                            ``(ii) surveillance of health care 
                        facilities; and
                            ``(iii) collection of data from electronic 
                        health records or other electronic 
                        communications; and
                    ``(B) compile and annually publish data regarding--
                            ``(i) the prevalence of childhood asthma;
                            ``(ii) the child mortality rate of asthma;
                            ``(iii) the number of hospital admissions 
                        and emergency department visits by children 
                        associated with asthma nationally, 
                        disaggregated by State, age, sex, race, and 
                        ethnicity;
                            ``(iv) the prevalence of adult asthma;
                            ``(v) the adult mortality rate of asthma; 
                        and
                            ``(vi) the number of hospital admissions 
                        and emergency department visits by adults 
                        associated with asthma nationally, 
                        disaggregated by State, age, sex, race, and 
                        ethnicity.
            ``(2) Data privacy.--None of the data collected, compiled, 
        or published under paragraph (1) may contain individually 
        identifiable information.
            ``(3) Ensuring comparability.--The Secretary, acting 
        through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention, in collaboration with State and local health 
        departments, shall ensure that the data described in paragraph 
        (1) are collected and compiled using a consistent methodology 
        so as to maximize the comparability of results.
    ``(d) Collaboration With Nonprofits.--The Director of the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention may collaborate with national, 
State, and local nonprofit organizations to provide information and 
education about asthma.
    ``(e) Reports to Congress.--Not later than 3 years after the date 
of enactment of the Elijah E. Cummings Family Asthma Act, and 2 years 
thereafter, the Secretary shall, in collaboration with patient groups, 
nonprofit organizations, medical societies, and other relevant 
governmental and nongovernmental entities, submit to Congress a report 
that--
            ``(1) catalogs, with respect to asthma prevention, 
        management, and surveillance--
                    ``(A) the activities of the Federal Government, 
                including an assessment of the progress of the Federal 
                Government and States, with respect to achieving the 
                goals of the Healthy People 2030 initiative; and
                    ``(B) the activities of other entities that 
                participate in the program under this section, 
                including nonprofit organizations, patient advocacy 
                groups, and medical societies; and
            ``(2) makes recommendations for the future direction of 
        asthma-related activities, in consultation with researchers 
        from the National Institutes of Health and other member bodies 
        of the Asthma Disparities Subcommittee, including--
                    ``(A) a description of how the Federal Government 
                may improve its response to asthma, including 
                identifying any barriers that may exist;
                    ``(B) a description of how the Federal Government 
                may continue, expand, and improve its private-public 
                partnerships with respect to asthma, including 
                identifying any barriers that may exist;
                    ``(C) the identification of steps that may be taken 
                to reduce the--
                            ``(i) morbidity, mortality, and overall 
                        prevalence of asthma;
                            ``(ii) financial burden of asthma on 
                        society;
                            ``(iii) burden of asthma on 
                        disproportionately affected areas, particularly 
                        those in medically underserved populations (as 
                        defined in section 330(b)(3)); and
                            ``(iv) burden of asthma as a chronic 
                        disease that can be worsened by environmental 
                        exposures;
                    ``(D) the identification of programs and policies 
                that have achieved the steps described in subparagraph 
                (C), and steps that may be taken to expand such 
                programs and policies to benefit larger populations; 
                and
                    ``(E) recommendations for future research and 
                interventions.
    ``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section, 
there is authorized to be appropriated $70,000,000 for the period of 
fiscal years 2024 through 2028.''.
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