[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 74 (Monday, May 19, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S6614]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               CLARIFICATION OF SECTION 307 OF H.R. 1298

  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, as chairman of the Health, Education, Labor 
and Pensions Committee, I want to clarify for the record the intent of 
Section 307 of H.R. 1298, which we debated and passed a few nights ago. 
Section 307 amends the Public Health Service Act to provide the 
Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the 
authority to ensure that health programs using injection equipment also 
work to ensure the safety of injections.
  This section specifies only that when injections are involved in 
medical treatment programs of the U.S. Government, CDC should work hard 
to ensure that injection safety is maximized, including the use of 
single-use needles and training of health care workers in injection 
safety.
  Since Federal law prohibits Federal funds from being used to provide 
needles to illegal drug users, I want to make clear that nothing in 
this section ought to be interpreted to suggest a change in that 
policy. Since the activities in this section fall under the 
jurisdiction of the HELP Committee, we will be monitoring the program 
with great interest.

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