[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 135 (Friday, December 8, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11828-S11830]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              PREEMIE ACT

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Chair now 
lay before the Senate the House message to accompany S. 707.
  The Chair laid before the Senate a message from the House of 
Representatives, as follows:

                                 S. 707

       Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 707) entitled 
     ``An Act to reduce preterm labor and delivery and the risk of 
     pregnancy-related deaths and complications due to pregnancy, 
     and to reduce infant mortality caused by prematurity'', do 
     pass with the following amendment:
       Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Prematurity Research 
     Expansion and Education for Mothers who deliver Infants Early 
     Act'' or the ``PREEMIE Act''.

     SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

       It the purpose of this Act to--
       (1) reduce rates of preterm labor and delivery;
       (2) work toward an evidence-based standard of care for 
     pregnant women at risk of preterm labor or other serious 
     complications, and for infants born preterm and at a low 
     birthweight; and
       (3) reduce infant mortality and disabilities caused by 
     prematurity.

     SEC. 3. RESEARCH RELATING TO PRETERM LABOR AND DELIVERY AND 
                   THE CARE, TREATMENT, AND OUTCOMES OF PRETERM 
                   AND LOW BIRTH-WEIGHT INFANTS.

       (a) General Expansion of CDC Research.--Section 301 of the 
     Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 241 et seq.) is amended 
     by adding at the end the following:
       ``(e) The Secretary, acting through the Director of the 
     Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall expand, 
     intensify, and coordinate the activities of the Centers for 
     Disease Control and Prevention with respect to preterm labor 
     and delivery and infant mortality.''.
       (b) Studies on Relationship Between Prematurity and Birth 
     Defects.--
       (1) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human 
     Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for 
     Disease Control and Prevention, shall, subject to the 
     availability of appropriations, conduct ongoing 
     epidemiological studies on the relationship between 
     prematurity, birth defects, and developmental disabilities.
       (2) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the 
     Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the 
     Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 
     shall submit to the appropriate com1nittees of Congress 
     reports concerning the progress and any results of studies 
     conducted under paragraph (1).
       (c) Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring Survey.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary of Health and Human 
     Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for 
     Disease Control and Prevention, shall establish systems for 
     the collection of maternal-infant clinical and biomedical 
     information, including electronic health records, electronic 
     databases, and biobanks, to link with the Pregnancy Risk 
     Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) and other 
     epidemiological studies of prematurity in order to track 
     pregnancy outcomes and prevent preterm birth.
       (2) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out paragraph (1)$3,000,000 for 
     each of fiscal years 2007 through 2011.
       (d) Evaluation of Existing Tools and Measures.--The 
     Secretary of Health and Human Services shall review existing 
     tools and measures to ensure that such tools and measures 
     include information related to the known risk factors of low 
     birth weight and preterm birth.
       (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section, except for 
     subsection (c),

[[Page S11829]]

     $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2011.

     SEC. 4. PUBLIC AND HEALTH CARE PROVIDER EDUCATION AND SUPPORT 
                   SERVICES.

       Part P of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 
     U.S.C. 280g et seq.) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating the second section 399O (relating to 
     grants to foster public health responses to domestic 
     violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking) as 
     section 399P; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:

     ``SEC. 399Q. PUBLIC AND HEALTH CARE PROVIDER EDUCATION AND 
                   SUPPORT SERVICES.

       ``(a) In General.--The Secretary, directly or through the 
     awarding of grants to public or private nonprofit entities, 
     may conduct demonstration projects for the purpose of 
     improving the provision of information on prematurity to 
     health professionals and other health care providers and the 
     public and improving the treatment and outcomes for babies 
     born preterm.
       ``(b) Activities.--Activities to be carried out under the 
     demonstration project under subsection (a) may include the 
     establishment of--
       ``(1) programs to test and evaluate various strategies to 
     provide information and education to health professionals, 
     other health care providers, and the public concerning--
       ``(A) the signs of preterm labor, updated as new research 
     results become available;
       ``(B) the screening for and the treating of infections;
       ``(c) counseling on optimal weight and good nutrition, 
     including folic acid;
       ``(D) smoking cessation education and counseling;
       ``(E) stress management; and
       ``(F) appropriate prenatal care;
       ``(2) programs to improve the treatment and outcomes for 
     babies born premature, including the use of evidence-based 
     standards of care by health care professionals for pregnant 
     women at risk of preterm labor or other serious complications 
     and for infants born preterm and at a low birthweight;
       ``(3) programs to respond to the informational needs of 
     families during the stay of an infant in a neonatal intensive 
     care unit, during the transition of the infant to the home, 
     and in the event of a newborn death; and
       ``(4) such other programs as the Secretary determines 
     appropriate to achieve the purpose specified in subsection 
     (a).
       ``(c) AUTHORIZATION of APPROPRIATIONS.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for 
     each of fiscal years 2007 through 2011.''.

     SEC. 5. INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COUNCIL ON PREMATURITY AND 
                   LOW BIRTHWEIGHT.

       (a) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this section to 
     stimulate multidisciplinary research, scientific exchange, 
     and collaboration among the agencies of the Department of 
     Health and Human Services and to assist the Department in 
     targeting efforts to achieve the greatest advances toward the 
     goal of reducing prematurity and low birthweight.
       (b) Establishment.--The Secretary of Health and Human 
     Services shall establish an Interagency Coordinating Council 
     on Prematurity and Low Birthweight (referred to in this 
     section as the Council) to carry out the purpose of this 
     section.
       (c) Composition.--The Council shall be composed of members 
     to be appointed by the Secretary, including representatives 
     of the agencies of the Department of Health and Human 
     Services.
       (d) Activities.--The Council shall--
       (1) annually report to the Secretary of Health and Human 
     Services and Congress on current Departmental activities 
     relating to prematurity and low birthweight;
       (2) carry out other activities determined appropriate by 
     the Secretary of Health and Human Services; and
       (3) oversee the coordination of the implementation of this 
     Act.

     SEC. 6. SURGEON GENERAL'S CONFERENCE ON PRETERM BIRTH.

       (a) Convening of Conference.--Not later than 1 year after 
     the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health 
     and Human Services, acting through the Surgeon General of the 
     Public Health Service, shall convene a con- ference on 
     preterm birth.
       (b) Purpose of Conference.--The purpose of the conference 
     convened under subsection (a) shall be to--
       (1) increase awareness of preterm birth as a serious, 
     common, and costly public health problem in the United 
     States;
       (2) review the findings and reports issued by the 
     Interagency Coordinating Council, key stakeholders, and any 
     other relevant entities; and
       (3) establish an agenda for activities in both the public 
     and private sectors that will speed the identification of, 
     and treatments for, the causes of and risk factors for 
     preterm labor and delivery.
       (c) Report.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services 
     shall submit to the Congress and make available to the public 
     a report on the agenda established under subsection (b)(3), 
     including recommendations for activities in the public and 
     private sectors that will speed the identification of, and 
     treatments for, the causes of and risk factors for preterm 
     labor and delivery.
       (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section (other than 
     subsection (c)) $125,000.

     SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE OF CERTAIN HEAD START REGULATIONS.

       Section 1310.12(a) of title 45 of the Code of Federal 
     Regulations (October 1, 2004) shall not be effective until 
     June 30, 2007, or 60 days after the date of the enactment of 
     a statute that authorizes appropriations for fiscal year 2007 
     to carry out the Head Start Act, whichever date is earlier.
  (At the request of Mr. Reid, the following statement was ordered to 
be printed in the Record.)
 Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today to speak in support of 
the passage of the Prematurity Research Expansion and Education for 
Mothers who deliver Infants Early Act, the PREEMIE Act. This 
legislation which I introduced with Senator Lamar Alexander passed 
unanimously in the Senate last August and I am pleased to inform my 
colleagues that after working with the House on some modifications to 
the bill, it has now passed in both Chambers.
  The PREEMIE Act takes a big step toward understanding the causes of 
premature birth and how to prevent it. Specifically, the bill 
authorizes approximately $65 million over 5 years to expand and 
intensify activities at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
with respect to preterm births and infant mortality, to study the 
relationship between prematurity and birth defects, to carry out a 
public and health care provider education and supportive services 
effort, to authorize an Interagency Coordinating Council on Prematurity 
and Low Birthweight, and to convene a Surgeon General's Conference on 
Preterm Birth which will make recommendations to the public and private 
sectors on ways to better identify and treat the causes of and risk 
factors for preterm labor and delivery.
  This is not the same bill the Senate passed unanimously. To begin 
with, this bill authorizes $26 million less than the bill the Senate 
passed last August. This is due in large part to the removal of 
authorizations for multidisciplinary research underway at the National 
Institutes of Health. It is my hope that despite these changes, the NIH 
will continue this vital research in order to better understand the 
role DNA plays in prematurity and to improve maternal and fetal health 
outcomes.
  Nearly 1 out of every 8 babies in the U.S. is born prematurely--that 
is more than 1,300 babies each day and more than 500,000 each year. 
According to recent data, in 2002 the infant mortality rate actually 
increased for the first time since 1958. Much of this increase is 
attributable to infant death in the first month of life, of which 
prematurity is the leading cause.
  Although we know some risk factors associated with prematurity such 
as advanced age of the mother, smoking, and certain chronic diseases, 
the cause of nearly 50 percent of all premature births is still 
unknown. Prematurity has been linked to such long-term health problems 
as cerebral palsy, chronic lung disease, and vision and hearing loss.
  According to a recent report by the Institute of Medicine, medical 
care costs due to prematurity and low birth weight were $16.9 billion 
in 2005, $33,200 per preterm infant. The March of Dimes estimates that 
about half of preterm birth medical care costs were paid for by 
Medicaid. For employers, health care costs for a premature baby during 
the first year of life average $41,610 compared to $2,830 for a full-
term baby. However, none of these numbers can quantify the emotional 
toll a premature birth takes on a family.
  That is why the PREEMIE bill is so essential. This legislation will 
go a long way toward helping families during what can be the most 
difficult moments of their baby's life and will help us better 
understand and prevent premature births in the future.
  I conclude by thanking Senator Alexander for his leadership on this 
legislation. He has been a terrific partner in this effort and I look 
forward to working with him in the 110th Congress. I also thank 
Chairman Enzi and Ranking Member Kennedy and their staffs for making 
the passage of the PREEMIE Act a priority this Congress. Lastly, I 
would to recognize Page Kranbuhl of Senator Alexander's staff for her 
work on this legislation as well as Emil Wigode, Carolyn Doyle and Jo 
Merrill of the March of Dimes who have stood with us every step of the 
way.
  Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate concur in the 
House amendment, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table, and any 
statements be printed in the Record.

[[Page S11830]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________