[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 46 (Friday, March 21, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4286-S4287]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DeWINE (for himself, Mrs. Murray, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. 
        Breaux, Mr. Bingaman, and Mr. Inouye):
  S. 686. A bill to provide assistance for poison prevention and to 
stabilize the funding of regional poison control centers; to the 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I am pleased to join with my colleagues--
Senators Murray, Landrieu, Breaux, Bingaman, and Inouye--to introduce 
the Poison Control Center Awareness and Enhancement Act of 2003. Our 
bill is designed to help make certain that the vital work of our 
nation's poison control centers continues.
  Many of us--as parents and grandparents--have experienced the 
terrifying situation when a child accidentally swallows something 
potentially toxic. Fortunately, local poison control centers--many of 
them located at children's hospitals--work around the clock to answer 
questions from parents and to field phone calls from others about 
possible poisonings. Today, we also have in place a national, toll-free 
poison control telephone number--and that number is 1-800-222-1222--
that automatically connects callers to specially trained nurses, 
pharmacists, and doctors at the closest local poison center.
  This phone number went into effect as a result of legislation I 
helped get signed into law a few years ago. And now, as parents of 
eight children and now grandparents of eight, my wife, Fran, and I can 
tell you that we rest a bit easier knowing that in the case of a 
possible poisoning, all we need to do is call a toll free, 1-800 
telephone number to get in contact with the nearest poison control 
center. Any parents, anywhere--whether they are in their own hometown 
or in another state on vacation--can call the 1-800 number, 24 hours a 
day, 7 days a week in the event of a poisoning.
  There are over 70 poison control centers nationwide--three in my home 
State of Ohio. These centers have fielded over one million phone calls 
just since January 2002, answering questions about poisonous, drug 
abuse, product contents, substance identification interactions, and 
adverse reactions. They can answer questions and concerns about what 
would typically be called poisonous products--things like cleaners and 
bleach. This is the most common poison exposure for children, who 
typically ingest household products, such as cosmetics and personal 
care products, cleaning substances, pain relievers, foreign bodies, and 
plants.
  But poison control centers can also answer questions about products 
that people may not think are poisonous, like prescribed medicines or 
over-the-counter medications. Maybe someone mixed medications or 
misread a label and took too much of the medicine by accident. Poison 
control centers can answer caller questions and direct the caller to 
seek medical attention if necessary.
  I remember very clearly a time when Fran and I needed to call the 
local poison control center. As we were wrapping up our annual Ice 
Cream Social at our home in Cedarville, our then two year-old 
granddaughter, Isabelle, fell into a bucket of cleaning solution. We 
feared that she may have swallowed some of the solution and immediately 
called the poison control center. We were very lucky. The trained 
health care professional at the local poison center explained that all 
we needed to do was rinse Isabelle off and have her drink some water. 
The quick response of the poison control center provided rapid, easy 
answers to our questions--a process that has become even easier since 
the toll-free hotline began operating.
  A young child, like Isabelle, is representative of most poisoning 
cases; however, adults often face situations necessitating information 
and help from poison control centers. Take the example of what occurred 
in Marysville, OH. Thirty workers in a manufacturing plant in 
Marysville were victims of gas exposure. Twenty of these workers went 
to Union Memorial Hospital. The hospital contacted the poison center, 
after which these patients were given oxygen and later discharged that 
same day. Ten others went to a different hospital that did not call a 
poison center. These patients were not released until the next day, 
even though their symptoms did not differ from the other 20 workers. 
The national hotline will help cut-down on situations like that in 
Marysville.

[[Page S4287]]

  Our Nation's poison control centers handle an average of one poison 
exposure every 15 seconds. These centers are critical to our 
communities--especially now during this time of war and uncertainty. 
Parents are already anxious about the safety of their children, and 
with the potential anthrax scares or chemical or biologic scares, 
poison control centers can provide information to parents and help 
relieve some of their concerns.
  The bill we are introducing today would provide the continued funding 
needed to ensure that the national toll-free number continues to 
operate, taking phone calls and helping families across the country. We 
must continue to increase the accessibility and effectiveness of our 
nation's poison control centers, as well as cement their existence for 
future generations. With this bill, we are not just making an 
investment in poison control; rather, we are making it easier to keep 
our children, friends, and ourselves safer and healthier.
  I encourage my colleagues to remember the hotline number--it could 
save a life: 1-800-222-1222.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 686

       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 Control Center 
     Enhancement and Awareness Act Amendments of 2003''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Section 2 of the Poison Control Enhancement and Awareness 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 14801) is amended to read as follows:

     ``SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       ``Congress finds the following:
       ``(1) Poison control centers are our Nation's primary 
     defense against injury and deaths from poisoning. Twenty-four 
     hours a day, the general public as well as health care 
     practitioners contact their local poison centers for help in 
     diagnosing and treating victims of poisoning and other toxic 
     exposures.
       ``(2) Poisoning is the third most common form of 
     unintentional death in the United States. In any given year, 
     there will be between 2,000,000 and 4,000,000 poison 
     exposures. More than 50 percent of these exposures will 
     involve children under the age of 6 who are exposed to toxic 
     substances in their home. Poisoning accounts for 285,000 
     hospitalizations, 1,200,000 days of acute hospital care, and 
     13,000 fatalities annually.
       ``(3) Stabilizing the funding structure and increasing 
     accessibility to poison control centers will promote the 
     utilization of poison control centers, and reduce the 
     inappropriate use of emergency medical services and other 
     more costly health care services.
       ``(4) The tragic events of September 11, 2001, and the 
     anthrax cases of October 2001, have dramatically changed our 
     Nation. During this time period, poison centers in many areas 
     of the country were answering thousands of additional calls 
     from concerned residents. Many poison centers were relied 
     upon as a source for accurate medical information about the 
     disease and the complications resulting from prophylactic 
     antibiotic therapy.
       ``(5) The 2001 Presidential Task Force on Citizen 
     Preparedness in the War on Terrorism recommended that the 
     Poison Control Centers be used as a source of public 
     information and public education regarding potential 
     biological, chemical, and nuclear domestic terrorism.
       ``(6) The increased demand placed upon poison centers to 
     provide emergency information in the event of a terrorist 
     event involving a biological, chemical, or nuclear toxin will 
     dramatically increase call volume.''.

     SEC. 3. MAINTENANCE OF A NATIONAL TOLL FREE NUMBER.

       Section 4 of the Poison Control Enhancement and Awareness 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 14803) is amended--
       (1) by striking the section heading and inserting the 
     following:

     ``SEC. 4. MAINTENANCE OF A NATIONAL TOLL-FREE NUMBER.'';

     and
       (2) in subsection (c), by inserting ``and $2,000,000 for 
     each of fiscal years 2005 through 2009'' after ``2004''.

     SEC. 4. NATIONWIDE MEDIA CAMPAIGN.

       Section 5 of the Poison Control Enhancement and Awareness 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 14804) is amended--
       (1) by striking the section heading and inserting the 
     following:

     ``SEC. 5. NATIONWIDE MEDIA CAMPAIGN TO PROMOTE POISON CONTROL 
                   CENTER UTILIZATION.'';

     and
       (2) in subsection (c), by inserting ``and $1,500,000 for 
     each of fiscal years 2005 through 2009'' after ``2004''.

     SEC. 5. POISON CONTROL CENTER GRANT PROGRAM.

       Section 6 of the Poison Control Enhancement and Awareness 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 14805) is amended--
       (1) by striking the section heading and inserting the 
     following:

     ``SEC. 6. MAINTENANCE OF THE POISON CONTROL CENTER GRANT 
                   PROGRAM.'';

       (2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:
       ``(b) Other Improvements.--The Secretary shall also use 
     amounts received under this section to--
       ``(1) develop standardized poison prevention and poison 
     control promotion programs;
       ``(2) develop standard patient management guidelines for 
     commonly encountered toxic exposures;
       ``(3) improve and expand the poison control data collection 
     systems;
       ``(4) improve national toxic exposure surveillance;
       ``(5) expand the toxicologic expertise within poison 
     control centers; and
       ``(6) improve the capacity of poison control centers to 
     answer high volumes of calls during times of national crisis;
       (3) by striking subsection (d)(2) and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(2) Renewal.--The Secretary may renew a waiver under 
     paragraph (1).
       ``(3) Limitation.--In no instance may the sum of the number 
     of years for a waiver under paragraph (1) and a renewal under 
     paragraph (2) exceed 5 years. The preceding sentence shall 
     take effect as if enacted on February 25, 2000.''; and
       (4) in subsection (h), by inserting ``and $30,000,000 for 
     each of fiscal years 2005 through 2009'' after ``2004''.

     SEC. 7. NATIONWIDE TOXICOSURVEILLANCE OF POISON CENTER DATA 
                   TO PROMOTE HAZARD DETECTION.

       The Poison Control Enhancement and Awareness Act (42 U.S.C. 
     14801 et seq) is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``SEC. 7. NATIONWIDE TOXICOSURVEILLANCE OF POISON CENTER DATA 
                   TO PROMOTE HAZARD DETECTION.

       ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall assist in the 
     implementation and maintenance of continuous national 
     toxicosurveillance of poison control center data to detect 
     new hazards from household products, pharmaceuticals, 
     traditionally abused drugs, and other toxic substances.
       ``(b) Contract for Services.--The Secretary may enter into 
     a contract with appropriate professional organizations for 
     the collection and analysis of poison center data described 
     in subsection (a) in real time.
       ``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section, $2,500,000 for 
     each of fiscal years 2005 through 2009.''.
      By Mrs. BOXER:
  S. 687. A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to prohibit the 
concurrent deployment to combat zones of both military spouses of 
military families with minor children, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Armed Services.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, today I am introducing legislation to 
require that the Secretary of Defense issue regulations that would 
prevent a mother and father of minor children from being deployed to a 
combat zone at the same time.
  Under my legislation, the Secretary of Defense would have 15 days to 
implement this policy by issuing regulations that would include the 
definition of what comprises a combat zone.
  As we wage war against Iraq, it is important that we work to ensure 
that a child will never have to endure the pain of losing both parents 
during wartime. Military families sacrifice so much to serve our 
Nation. We should do everything we can to ensure their children are not 
orphaned.
  I hope my colleagues will support this legislation.
                                 ______