[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 92 (Friday, June 20, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8316-S8317]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 POISON CONTROL CENTER ENHANCEMENT AND AWARENESS ACT AMENDMENTS OF 2003

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar No. 133, S. 686.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will state the bill by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 686) to provide assistance for poison prevention 
     and to stabilize the funding of regional poison control 
     centers.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill, 
which had been reported from the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 
and Pensions, with an amendment to strike all after the enacting clause 
and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
  [Strike the part shown in black brackets and insert the part shown in 
italic.]

                                 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. 6. 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.''.]

      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.

[[Page S8317]]

       ``(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. 6. 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)  Competitive Grant or Contract for Services.--The 
     Secretary may enter into a competitive grant or contract with 
     a university, academic center, or other appropriate 
     professional organization 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.''.

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee 
amendment be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read the third time 
and passed, the motion to reconsider laid upon the table, and that any 
statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The committee amendment in the nature of a substitute was agreed to.
  The bill (S. 686), as amended, was read the third time and passed.

                          ____________________