[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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