[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 83 (Tuesday, May 14, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H3029-H3031]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES FOR CHILDREN REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2024

  Mr. BUCSHON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 6960) to amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize 
the Emergency Medical Services for Children program.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 6960

       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 ``Emergency Medical Services 
     for Children Reauthorization Act of 2024''.

     SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF GRANTS FOR EMERGENCY MEDICAL 
                   SERVICES FOR CHILDREN.

       Section 1910(d) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
     300w-9(d)) is amended by striking ``and $22,334,000 for each 
     of fiscal years 2020 through 2024'' and inserting 
     ``$22,334,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024, and 
     $24,334,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Edwards). Pursuant to the rule, the 
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Bucshon) and the gentleman from New Jersey 
(Mr. Pallone) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Indiana.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BUCSHON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material in the Record on the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Indiana?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BUCSHON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6960, the Emergency Medical 
Services for Children Reauthorization Act led by Representative Carter.
  Recent data from the Health Resources and Services Administration 
suggests that emergency departments with high pediatric readiness have 
lower mortality rates among children with critical illness. This data 
also found that more than 1,400 pediatric deaths may have been avoided 
had all the surveyed emergency departments been well prepared.
  H.R. 6960 reauthorizes the Emergency Medical Services for Children 
program,

[[Page H3030]]

which provides support to States and schools of medicine to expand and 
improve emergency care for children.
  This bill will continue support for this critical program and help 
prevent avoidable pediatric deaths. I encourage my colleagues to 
support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6960, the Emergency Medical 
Services for Children Reauthorization Act sponsored by Representatives 
Castor and Carter.
  The Emergency Medical Services for Children program works in 
communities across the country to improve the quality of pediatric 
medical care. We know that children have unique needs in emergency 
situations and that treating children requires specialized skills, 
training, and equipment.
  The Emergency Medical Services for Children Reauthorization Act will 
reauthorize this important program. This bill will allow the program to 
continue supporting improvements such as adding child-appropriate 
equipment in ambulances and emergency departments, providing training 
to paramedics and first responders, and improving the systems that 
allow for efficient and effective pediatric emergency medical care. The 
program also funds research to set the standards for pediatric 
emergency care and to assess the current capabilities of healthcare 
systems.
  Now, this program has been a success. It has helped to reduce 
pediatric injury-related death rates by more than 40 percent since it 
began four decades ago.

                              {time}  1445

  This bill will ensure that the program can continue building on this 
work for another 5 years, so I hope my colleagues will join me in this 
effort to strengthen and expand emergency medical services for children 
in each State.
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage all my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 
6960, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BUCSHON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Carter).
  Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of 
my bill, H.R. 6960, the Emergency Medical Services for Children 
Reauthorization Act of 2024.
  As a healthcare professional serving in Congress, my goal is to 
increase the accessibility, affordability, and quality of healthcare 
for all patients, including children. That is why I am proud to sponsor 
the bipartisan Emergency Medical Services for Children Reauthorization 
Act, which will improve emergency care for children.
  This bill reauthorizes the Emergency Medical Services for Children 
program, which focuses on addressing the unique needs of children in 
emergency medical systems with the ultimate goal of reducing the 
prevalence of morbidity and mortality in children. For nearly four 
decades, the Emergency Medical Services for Children program has been 
the only Federal grant program specifically focused on addressing the 
needs of children in emergency medical systems.
  As we know today, children have special healthcare needs. Whether 
children require emergency care following a car crash or when falling 
ill in the middle of the night with nowhere else to turn, our emergency 
medical system needs to have staff trained to treat children. A major 
part of that is providing the resources to equip healthcare 
professionals with the right size medical tools.
  As a pharmacist, I understand how critical it is that children 
receive care that is specialized to their unique needs. That is why I 
am proud to be leading the reauthorization of the Emergency Medical 
Services for Children program, which has proven to be an effective 
approach for saving America's children.
  The authorization of the Emergency Medical Services for Children 
program is set to lapse on September 30 if Congress does not 
reauthorize it. That is why we are strongly urging Congress to 
reauthorize this program through 2029 without any disruption to it.
  I thank Representatives Castor, Joyce, and Schrier for working with 
me on this important issue, and I urge my colleagues to support this 
legislation.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Castor), the Democratic sponsor of the 
bill and ranking member of our O&I Subcommittee.
  Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Pallone for yielding 
the time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6960, the Emergency Medical 
Services for Children Reauthorization Act. I am proud to lead the 
effort with the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter), my good friend.
  Mr. Speaker, children and adolescents require unique emergency care, 
and Congress can ensure the best medical outcomes when we pass this 
reauthorization.
  In Congress, I serve as the co-chair of the Children's Health Care 
Caucus, where we focus on the unique healthcare needs of our kids, and 
that includes care in times of emergency. That is why this bill is so 
important.
  It is a bipartisan, bicameral bill that would reauthorize EMSC for 
another 5 years at increased funding levels. It passed the House Energy 
and Commerce Committee unanimously earlier in the year.
  It has worked for 40 years to improve care for young patients, saving 
lives and improving health outcomes. It really is one of the 
cornerstones of pediatric care across America because it gives all 
providers a playbook for the best ways to treat children in an 
emergency every day and in every State and territory.
  My local providers in Florida are leading the way. In Florida, EMSC 
has served 4.3 million children and their families, providing resources 
to 320 EMS agencies and 335 emergency departments. When that monster 
storm, Hurricane Ian, slammed into the State in 2022, it resulted in 
the evacuation of 81 critically ill neonatal and pediatric patients 
from local hospitals. We knew then that the transport vehicles were 
properly equipped for children thanks to Florida EMSC Safe Transport. 
Using EMSC funding, the Florida EMSC Disaster Response Committee has 
also developed a pediatric mass-casualty triage tool. They have 
distributed it across the State.
  Florida EMSC was able to develop and distribute more than 2,300 
communications cards for children who speak Spanish or Haitian Creole, 
or who may be nonverbal, to help healthcare professionals communicate 
with them directly during an emergency.

  The results speak for themselves. Nationally, pediatric injury-
related death rates have decreased by more than 40 percent because of 
this initiative. That is why it is important to reauthorize it today.
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage a ``yes'' vote.
  Mr. BUCSHON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Joyce).
  Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, there is a saying in the medical field that children are 
not just small adults. Children have unique medical needs, and ensuring 
that they receive the correct care from the moment that an ambulance is 
called is critical in helping to save individual lives.
  For decades, the Emergency Medical Services for Children 
Reauthorization Act has helped to protect some of the most vulnerable 
members of society when they are in need. Any parent or grandparent who 
has a child who is sick will tell you that making sure that they can 
recover is the most important thing in their world.
  Reauthorizing the EMSC program will help provide tailored medical 
equipment, increase training materials for paramedics and EMTs, and 
develop educational materials that cover every aspect of pediatric 
emergency care.
  Since this program was first enacted, pediatric injury-related death 
rates have fallen by more than 40 percent, and we can only hope and 
pray that this recovery rate continues to fall.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this vital 
legislation.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to 
close.
  Mr. Speaker, we need to reauthorize this program. It is successful in 
reducing pediatric injury-related deaths, so it should be reauthorized 
for another 5 years.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

[[Page H3031]]

  

  Mr. BUCSHON. Mr. Speaker, I encourage a ``yes'' vote on this bill, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Bucshon) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 6960.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. BUCSHON. 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, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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