[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 168 (Wednesday, November 19, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H11574-H11577]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
POISON CONTROL CENTER ENHANCEMENT AND AWARENESS ACT AMENDMENTS OF 2003
Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
Senate bill (S. 686) to provide assistance for poison prevention and to
stabilize the funding of regional poison control centers, as amended.
The Clerk read 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.
The 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. AMENDMENT TO PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT.
Title XII of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300d
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Part G--Poison Control
``SEC. 1271. MAINTENANCE OF A NATIONAL TOLL-FREE NUMBER.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall provide coordination
and assistance to regional poison control centers for the
establishment of a nationwide toll-free phone number to be
used to access such centers.
``(b) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall
be construed as prohibiting the establishment or continued
operation of any privately funded nationwide toll-free phone
number used to provide advice and other assistance for
poisonings or accidental exposures.
``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this section $2,000,000 for
each of the fiscal years 2000 through 2009. Funds
appropriated under this subsection shall not be used to fund
any toll-free phone number described in subsection (b).
[[Page H11575]]
``SEC. 1272. NATIONWIDE MEDIA CAMPAIGN TO PROMOTE POISON
CONTROL CENTER UTILIZATION.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish a national
media campaign to educate the public and health care
providers about poison prevention and the availability of
poison control resources in local communities and to conduct
advertising campaigns concerning the nationwide toll-free
number established under section 1271.
``(b) Contract With Entity.--The Secretary may carry out
subsection (a) by entering into contracts with 1 or more
nationally recognized media firms for the development and
distribution of monthly television, radio, and newspaper
public service announcements.
``(c) Evaluation.--The Secretary shall--
``(1) establish baseline measures and benchmarks to
quantitatively evaluate the impact of the nationwide media
campaign established under this section; and
``(2) prepare and submit to the appropriate congressional
committees an evaluation of the nationwide media campaign on
an annual basis.
``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section
$600,000 for each of fiscal years 2000 through 2005 and such
sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2006
through 2009.
``SEC. 1273. MAINTENANCE OF THE POISON CONTROL CENTER GRANT
PROGRAM.
``(a) Regional Poison Control Centers.--The Secretary shall
award grants to certified regional poison control centers for
the purposes of achieving the financial stability of such
centers, and for preventing and providing treatment
recommendations for poisonings.
``(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, including, at the Secretary's discretion, by
assisting the poison control centers to improve data
collection activities;
``(4) improve national toxic exposure surveillance by
enhancing activities at the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry;
``(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.
``(c) Certification.--Except as provided in subsection (d),
the Secretary may make a grant to a center under subsection
(a) only if--
``(1) the center has been certified by a professional
organization in the field of poison control, and the
Secretary has approved the organization as having in effect
standards for certification that reasonably provide for the
protection of the public health with respect to poisoning; or
``(2) the center has been certified by a State government,
and the Secretary has approved the State government as having
in effect standards for certification that reasonably provide
for the protection of the public health with respect to
poisoning.
``(d) Waiver of Certification Requirements.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary may grant a waiver of the
certification requirement of subsection (c) with respect to a
noncertified poison control center or a newly established
center that applies for a grant under this section if such
center can reasonably demonstrate that the center will obtain
such a certification within a reasonable period of time as
determined appropriate by the Secretary.
``(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.
``(e) Supplement Not Supplant.--Amounts made available to a
poison control center under this section shall be used to
supplement and not supplant other Federal, State, or local
funds provided for such center.
``(f) Maintenance of Effort.--A poison control center, in
utilizing the proceeds of a grant under this section, shall
maintain the expenditures of the center for activities of the
center at a level that is not less than the level of such
expenditures maintained by the center for the fiscal year
preceding the fiscal year for which the grant is received.
``(g) Matching Requirement.--The Secretary may impose a
matching requirement with respect to amounts provided under a
grant under this section if the Secretary determines
appropriate.
``(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section
$25,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2000 through 2004
and $27,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2009.
``SEC. 1274. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
``Nothing in this part may be construed to ease any
restriction in Federal law applicable to the amount or
percentage of funds appropriated to carry out this part that
may be used to prepare or submit a report.''.
SEC. 4. CONFORMING AMENDMENT.
The Poison Control Center Enhancement and Awareness Act (42
U.S.C. 14801 et seq.) is hereby repealed.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Bilirakis) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis).
General Leave
Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on S. 686.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Florida?
There was no objection.
Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 686, the Poison Control
Center Enhancement and Awareness Act amendments.
This bill, Mr. Speaker, amends the Poison Control Enhancement and
Awareness Act to provide additional assistance for poison prevention
and to stabilize the funding of regional poison control centers.
I would like to extend my thanks first to my colleague, the gentleman
from Michigan (Mr. Upton), for all of his work on this important
legislation and also add to that list the gentleman from New York (Mr.
Towns), who has been very interested in this subject for a long time,
the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Barton), Senator DeWine, and, of course,
the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown) and the others who have been so
very cooperative.
Poisoning is the third most common form of unintentional death in the
United States. Many of these exposures involve children. Poison control
centers are a primary defense against injury and death from poisoning.
In the events since September 11, poison centers have taken on the
additional role, Mr. Speaker, of providing medical information about
biological, chemical, and nuclear domestic terrorism. S. 686 would
authorize funds to maintain national toll-free poison control hotlines
and the Poison Control Center Grant Program. Additionally, the
legislation would create a nationwide media campaign to promote poison
control center utilization and to allow the Secretary to assist in the
implementation and maintenance of continuous national surveillance of
poison control center data to detect new hazards from toxic substances,
household products and pharmaceuticals.
{time} 1645
I urge my colleagues, Mr. Speaker, to support this important
legislation that the Senate has passed.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I want to thank my colleagues, the gentleman from New York (Mr.
Towns), my friend, and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton), for
their hard work on this bill, as well as my friend and colleague, the
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), with whom we have worked so
well.
Every day these specially trained staff of pharmacists and nurses at
poison control centers across the country field calls from frantic
parents concerned that their child ingested a poisonous substance. They
field calls from an elderly couple with questions about whether one
medication might cause an adverse reaction if taken with another; and
as the events of September 11 and the cases of anthrax have shown us,
poison control centers field calls from concerned residents uncertain
about the danger they have been exposed to.
Handling an average of one poison exposure call every 15 seconds
across the country, these men and women answer questions about
poisonings, about drug abuse, about product contents, about adverse
reactions.
Legislation we are considering today will enhance the work of poison
control centers through improved maintenance of a national toll-free
number that is linked to regional poison control centers. This bill
will help promote the nationwide media campaign to promote
[[Page H11576]]
poison control center utilization. If a person has a problem, they need
to know whom to call and they need to know the number, and they need to
know that they are reliable. Every parent, every baby-sitter, every
coworker, every household, and every office should know how to contact
the poison control center closest to them.
This bill from the gentleman from New York (Mr. Towns) and the
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton) will help develop standardized
prevention and poison control centers and will improve national
surveillance of toxic exposures. It will improve the collection of data
to help detect new hazards, including those found in our homes.
Mr. Speaker, every year roughly 120 children under 14 needlessly die
from unintentional poisoning, 120 children under the age of 14. The
bill we are considering today can save the lives of many of them. It is
an important step towards reversing that trend and saving more children
from poison exposure.
I urge my colleagues to support S. 686.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he might require to
the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton), the father of this act.
Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good chairman who has been
instrumental in getting this important piece of legislation to the
floor. Again, he has done yeoman's work with so many others here in
this body.
Mr. Speaker, as the lead sponsor of the bipartisan House version of
the Poison Control Center Enhancement and Awareness Act Amendments of
2003, it is my pleasure to help manage this bill, S. 686, the Senate
version of the legislation on the floor today.
What we are doing today is taking up the Senate-passed bill and
inserting updated language from our bill. We are doing so because we
determined that it was the best way to expedite the final passage of
this much-needed legislation reauthorizing and strengthening our
Federal commitment to ensuring that our Nation's poison control centers
can continue to provide life-saving services to all of our
constituents, particularly in these last throes of this session of the
Congress.
I want to take this opportunity to particularly acknowledge Senator
DeWine's tremendous leadership on this legislation in the other body
and to thank our original cosponsor and colleague, the gentleman from
New York (Mr. Towns), who is on the floor; the gentleman from Louisiana
(Mr. Tauzin), committee chairman; and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr.
Dingell), the ranking member; the gentleman from Florida (Mr.
Bilirakis), the House subcommittee chairman; the gentleman from Ohio
(Mr. Brown), the ranking member; and also for the many staff who have
helped. I am grateful for their hard work, particularly Cheryl Jaeger
and John Ford, and for the assistance that we have received from the
American Association of Poison Control Centers and Jane Williams on my
staff who helped shepherd this through so many juggernauts; and if we
had a parking place for the staff member of the month in front of the
Capitol, her name would be the first inscribed on that plate.
Mr. Speaker, poison control centers provide vital, very cost-
effective services to the American public. Each year, more than 2
million poisonings are reported to poison control centers throughout
this country. More than 90 percent of these poisonings occur in the
home, and 50 percent of poisoning victims are children under the age of
6. For every dollar spent on poison control services, we save $7 in
medical costs. We prevent a nightmare from happening in virtually any
house that uses the phone number and uses these particular facilities.
The horrific events of 9/11 and the anthrax cases the next month
brought home the vital role that our Nation's poison control centers
must be prepared to play in the event of further terrorist attacks. The
2001 Presidential Task Force on Citizen Preparedness in the War on
Terrorism recommended that poison control centers be used as a source
of public information and public education regarding potential
biological, chemical, and nuclear domestic terrorism.
Mr. Speaker, the passage and enactment of this bill will ensure that
our Nation's poison control centers have the resources that they need
to fulfill their vital mission as the first line of defense against
accidental poisonings and the response to biological, chemical, and
nuclear terrorism. I ask that all of the Members join us in voting for
this legislation. It will indeed save lives for many Americans.
Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman
from New York (Mr. Towns), who has worked so hard on this bill.
Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking the
gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Tauzin), the chairman of the committee;
the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell), the ranking member; of
course, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), the Subcommittee on
Health chair; and of course, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown), the
ranking member; and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton), who worked
very closely with me and also the gentleman from California (Mr.
Waxman).
Poison control centers have always had broad bipartisan support, and
I was delighted once again to join my good friend, the gentleman from
Michigan (Mr. Upton), in sponsoring the House version of the
reauthorization.
The role of these centers in basic public health care continues to
grow. For example, the Academy of Pediatrics recently urged parents to
contact the local poison control centers rather than using the time-
honored method of inducing vomiting in children where poisoning is
suspected. Our action today will ensure that poison control centers
will be there to answer the call for those frightened parents.
Continued strong Federal funding will help to establish new centers
as well. This effort is particularly critical at a time when we are
increasingly concerned about poison being used as an element of
bioterrorism. That is why, Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that language was
included to ensure that funds under this bill would go directly to the
centers for their work and not diverted to costly and unnecessary
studies.
I would like to thank the committee leadership and committee staff on
both sides of the aisle for moving this legislation expeditiously, and
I would urge our Senate colleagues to ensure that the bill is passed
with the House modifications prior to our adjournment.
As a result of what we are doing here today, the lives of people will
be saved. Not only that, we will save a lot of money because it is
cost-productive.
Many times we have youngsters in particular who end up in the
emergency room, and it costs a whole lot more to treat a person in the
emergency room than to pick up the phone and call the poison control
center and for them to tell that mother who has already panicked that
all they have to do is take this and let their son or daughter go to
sleep. Therefore, I am excited about this because it is cost-saving,
and that is something that we should not forget. Anywhere, anytime we
can cut corners and save lives at the same time, then I think we should
not hesitate to do it.
Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he might consume to
the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Barton).
Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I want to start off by commending
my good friend from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis) for his excellent
leadership on this and my friends on the Democratic side, the gentleman
from Ohio (Mr. Brown) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Towns) and
the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell).
The very fact that we have this Poison Control Center Enhancement and
Awareness Act Amendments on the floor is helping to depoison the
atmosphere of this House. It is good to be on the floor this afternoon
working with our friends on the other side of the aisle instead of
throwing bricks back and forth. So the very fact that we are bringing
this piece of legislation to the floor is helping depoison the
atmosphere in the House.
This is a piece of legislation that builds on what was done back in
1999 when we authorized these poison control centers. Former Senator
Dave Karnes, a former White House Fellow friend of mine from Nebraska,
called me on this piece of legislation several weeks ago, asked if I
would touch base with the House leadership and encourage them to move
it, as it had already
[[Page H11577]]
passed the Senate and was awaiting floor time.
I went to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Tauzin) and the gentleman
from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), and they were very willing to put this on
a fast track; and, again, I want to thank the gentleman from Florida
(Mr. Bilirakis) for making this part of the package of the bill that is
on the floor this afternoon.
There are somewhere between 2 million and 4 million poison exposures
each year to our Nation's children. Thankfully, in many cases of those
cases, it does not end up in a catastrophic situation; but
unfortunately, on occasion, it does.
The bill before us today, when the President signs it, is going to
minimize the possibility or the probability that those exposures will
result in a catastrophic situation. As a father of three children, when
they were at home, we took advantage of many of the programs that are
in this act in terms of labeling our household goods and chemicals and
medicines so that our younger children saw the little smiley face
turned upside down, the little green poison control, and of course, it
had the message on it and the phone number to call locally or
regionally if one had a problem.
So I rise in strong support of this. I am assured that we are going
to have bipartisan endorsement; and, again, I want to thank the
leadership for their strong work, and on our side the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Bilirakis) and on the Democrat side, the gentleman from
New York (Mr. Towns) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown) for their
excellent work.
Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers. I think the
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis) has one. Mr. Speaker, I reserve
the balance of my time.
Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I would say that the gentleman from Texas
(Mr. Barton) was here earlier, before even the votes. He wanted to
really speak on this subject because he has a great interest in it, and
I appreciate that interest.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he might consume to the gentleman
from North Carolina (Mr. Hayes).
Mr. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, I want to give my thanks to the gentleman
from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), the subcommittee chairman, and the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Towns) for their help and leadership on
this vital legislation; and I rise in strong support of S. 686, the
Poison Control Enhancement and Awareness Act, and urge my colleagues to
enthusiastically support final passage. As a cosponsor of the House
version of H.R. 1819, I am pleased we are considering this critical
legislation for approval today.
Mr. Speaker, the Poison Control Enhancement and Awareness Act
provides essential support to our Nation's poison control centers. A
critical component of the legislation would reauthorize a grant program
to keep our poison control centers running and prepared for everyday
emergencies.
This grant program is vital for the Carolinas Poison Center, which
serves all of North Carolina. Carolinas Poison Center provides life-
saving help to parents whose children have swallowed something
dangerous, physicians who have unexplained illnesses, hospital
emergency rooms which know what the toxic exposure was to a patient but
need instructions on how to treat it, and many others in need of
critical information about toxic exposure. Carolinas Poison Center's
ability to continue these essential services depends on the
continuation of the essential grant program as provided in Senate 686,
which funds approximately one-fourth of its budget.
The tragic events of September 11 and the anthrax cases of October
2001 have dramatically changed our Nation. During this time, the
Carolinas Poison Center, as well as poison centers throughout the
country, answered thousands of additional calls from concerned
residents. The Carolinas Poison Center was utilized by many citizens as
the primary source for accurate medical information about anthrax and
other potential bioterrorism diseases but also for the complications
resulting from prophylactic antibiotic therapy.
{time} 1700
Poison control centers throughout the country have become critical
sources of local, State and regional bioterrorism response and
information in cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control. The
Carolinas Poison Center recently completed an analysis of the 2000-2002
human exposure and information call volume, as well as reported human
exposure clinical effects in order to determine daily volume and
effects baselines, and threshold limits for detection of possible
biochemical and disease outbreaks. These results were reported to State
public health officials, and software capabilities that enabled
Carolinas Poison Control Center were funded, in part, by Federal Prison
Control Center grant funds.
Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleagues on the Committee on Energy and
Commerce for their work on this critical legislation, and our
leadership for helping to move it forward today. I urge my colleagues
to join me in securing passage for this essential legislation.
Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Sweeney). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 686, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of
those present have voted in the affirmative.
Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
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