[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 151 (Tuesday, September 23, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9340-S9341]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     POISON CENTER SUPPORT, ENHANCEMENT, AND AWARENESS ACT OF 2008

  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the HELP 
Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. 2932, and the 
Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 2932) to amend the Public Health Service Act to 
     reauthorize the poison center national toll-free number, 
     national media campaign, and grant program to provide 
     assistance for poison prevention, sustain the funding of 
     poison centers, and enhance the public health of people of 
     the United States.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
substitute amendment which is at the desk be agreed to, the bill, as 
amended, be read three times and passed, the motions to reconsider be 
laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and that any 
statements relating to this measure be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 5639) was agreed to, as follows:

              (Purpose: To provide a complete substitute)

       Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
     following:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Poison Center Support, 
     Enhancement, and Awareness Act of 2008''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) Poison control centers are the primary defense of the 
     United States against injury and deaths from poisoning. 
     Twenty-four hours a day, the general public as well as health 
     care practitioners contact their local poison control centers 
     for help in diagnosing and treating victims of poisoning. In 
     2007, more than 4,000,000 calls were managed by poison 
     control centers providing ready and direct access for all 
     people of the United States, including many underserved 
     populations in the United States, with vital emergency public 
     health information and response.
       (2) Poisoning is the second most common form of 
     unintentional death in the United States. In any given year, 
     there will be between 3,000,000 and 5,000,000 poison 
     exposures. Sixty percent of these exposures will involve 
     children under the age of 6 who are exposed to toxins in 
     their home. Poisoning accounts for 285,000 hospitalizations, 
     1,200,000 days of acute hospital care, and more than 26,000 
     fatalities in 2005.
       (3) In 2008, the Harvard Injury Control Research Center 
     reported that poisonings from accidents and unknown 
     circumstances more than tripled in rate since 1990. In 2005, 
     the last year for which data are available, 26,858 people 
     died from accidental or unknown poisonings. This represents 
     an increase of 20,000 since 1990 and an increase of 2,400 
     between 2004 and 2005. Fatalities from poisoning are 
     increasing in the United States in near epidemic proportions. 
     The funding of programs to reverse this trend is needed now 
     more than ever.
       (4) In 2004, The Institute of Medicine of the National 
     Academy of Sciences recommended that ``Congress should amend 
     the current Poison Control Center Enhancement and Awareness 
     Act Amendments of 2003 to provide sufficient funding to 
     support the proposed Poison Prevention and Control System 
     with its national network of poison centers. Support for the 
     core activities at the current level of service is estimated 
     to require more than $100 million annually.''.
       (5) Sustaining 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. The 2004 Institute of 
     Medicine Report to Congress determined that for every $1 
     invested in the Nation's poison control centers $7 of health 
     care costs are saved. In 2005, direct Federal

[[Page S9341]]

     health care program savings totaled in excess of $525,000,000 
     as the result of poison control center public health 
     services.
       (6) More than 30 percent of the cost savings and financial 
     benefits of the Nation's network of poison control centers 
     are realized annually by Federal health care programs 
     (estimated to be more than $1,000,000,000), yet Federal 
     funding support (as demonstrated by the annual authorization 
     of $30,100,000 in Public Law 108-194) comprises less than 11 
     percent of the annual network expenditures of poison centers.
       (7) Real-time data collected from the Nation's certified 
     poison control centers can be an important source of 
     information for the detection, monitoring, and response for 
     contamination of the air, water, pharmaceutical, or food 
     supply.
       (8) In the event of a terrorist event, poison control 
     centers will be relied upon as a critical source for accurate 
     medical information and public health emergency response 
     concerning the treatment of patients who have had an exposure 
     to a chemical, radiological, or biological agent.

     SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION OF POISON CONTROL CENTERS NATIONAL 
                   TOLL-FREE NUMBER.

       Section 1271 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
     300d-71) is amended to read as follows:

     ``SEC. 1271. MAINTENANCE OF THE NATIONAL TOLL-FREE NUMBER.

       ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall provide coordination 
     and assistance to poison control centers for the 
     establishment of a nationwide toll-free phone number, and the 
     maintenance of such number, to be used to access such 
     centers.
       ``(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2009 to carry 
     out this section, and $700,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 
     through 2014 for the maintenance of the nationwide toll free 
     phone number under subsection (a).''.

     SEC. 4. REAUTHORIZATION OF NATIONWIDE MEDIA CAMPAIGN TO 
                   PROMOTE POISON CONTROL CENTER UTILIZATION.

       (a) In General.--Section 1272 of the Public Health Service 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 300d-72) is amended to read as follows:

     ``SEC. 1272. NATIONWIDE MEDIA CAMPAIGN TO PROMOTE POISON 
                   CONTROL CENTER UTILIZATION.

       ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall carry out, and 
     expand upon, a national media campaign to educate the public 
     and health care providers about poison prevention and the 
     availability of poison control center resources in local 
     communities and to conduct advertising campaigns concerning 
     the nationwide toll-free number established under section 
     1271(a).
       ``(b) Contract With Entity.--The Secretary may carry out 
     subsection (a) by entering into contracts with one or more 
     public or private entities, including nationally recognized 
     organizations in the field of poison control and national 
     media firms, for the development and implementation of a 
     nationwide poison prevention and poison control center 
     awareness campaign, which may include--
       ``(1) the development and distribution of poison prevention 
     and poison control center awareness materials;
       ``(2) television, radio, Internet, and newspaper public 
     service announcements; and
       ``(3) other activities to provide for public and 
     professional awareness and education.
       ``(c) Evaluation.--The Secretary shall--
       ``(1) establish baseline measures and benchmarks to 
     quantitatively evaluate the impact of the nationwide media 
     campaign carried out under this section; and
       ``(2) on an annual basis, prepare and submit to the 
     appropriate committees of Congress, an evaluation of the 
     nationwide media campaign.
       ``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section, such sums as 
     may be necessary for fiscal year 2009, and $800,000 for each 
     of fiscal years 2010 through 2014.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section 
     shall be effective on the date of the enactment of this Act 
     and shall apply to contracts entered into on or after January 
     1, 2009.

     SEC. 5. REAUTHORIZATION OF THE POISON CONTROL CENTER GRANT 
                   PROGRAM.

       (a) In General.--Section 1273 of the Public Health Service 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 300d-73) is amended to read as follows:

     ``SEC. 1273. MAINTENANCE OF THE POISON CONTROL CENTER GRANT 
                   PROGRAM.

       ``(a) Authorization of Program.--The Secretary shall award 
     grants to poison control centers certified under subsection 
     (c) (or granted a waiver under subsection (d)) and 
     professional organizations in the field of poison control for 
     the purposes of preventing, and providing treatment 
     recommendations for, poisonings and complying with the 
     operational requirements needed to sustain the certification 
     of the center under subsection (c).
       ``(b) Additional Uses of Funds.--In addition to the 
     purposes described in subsection (a), a poison center or 
     professional organization awarded a grant, contract, or 
     cooperative agreement under such subsection may also use 
     amounts received under such grant, contract, or cooperative 
     agreement--
       ``(1) to establish and evaluate best practices in the 
     United States for poison prevention, poison control center 
     outreach, and emergency and preparedness programs;
       ``(2) to research, develop, implement, revise, and 
     communicate standard patient management guidelines for 
     commonly encountered toxic exposures;
       ``(3) to improve national toxic exposure surveillance by 
     enhancing cooperative activities between poison control 
     centers in the United States and the Centers for Disease 
     Control and Prevention;
       ``(4) to develop, support, and enhance technology and 
     capabilities of professional organizations in the field of 
     poison control to collect national poisoning, toxic 
     occurrence, and related public health data;
       ``(5) to develop initiatives to foster the enhanced public 
     health utilization of national poison data collected by 
     organizations described in paragraph (4);
       ``(6) to support and expand the toxicologic expertise 
     within poison control centers; and
       ``(7) to improve the capacity of poison control centers to 
     answer high volumes of calls and respond during times of 
     national crisis or other public health emergencies.
       ``(c) Certification.--Except as provided in subsection (d), 
     the Secretary may award a grant to a poison control 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 requirements of subsection (c) with respect to 
     a noncertified poison control 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 case 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 of the date of the enactment of the Poison 
     Center Support, Enhancement, and Awareness Act of 2008.
       ``(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 
     expenditures maintained by the center for the fiscal year 
     preceding the fiscal year for which the grant is received.
       ``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section, $27,500,000 for 
     fiscal year 2009, and $28,600,000 for each of fiscal years 
     2010 through 2014. The Secretary may utilize not to exceed 8 
     percent of the amount appropriated under this preceding 
     sentence in each fiscal year for coordination, dissemination, 
     technical assistance, program evaluation, data activities, 
     and other program administration functions that do not 
     include grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements under 
     subsections (a) and (b), which are determined by the 
     Secretary to be appropriate for carrying out the program 
     under this section.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section 
     shall be effective as of the date of the enactment of this 
     Act and shall apply to grants made on or after January 1, 
     2009.

  The bill (S. 2932), as amended, was ordered to be engrossed for a 
third reading, was read the third time, and passed.

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