[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 115 (Thursday, July 11, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4743-S4744]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 2421. Mr. BENNET (for himself and Mr. Boozman) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 4638, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2025 for military activities
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military
personnel strengths for such fiscal
[[Page S4744]]
year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as
follows:
At the end of subtitle H of title X, insert the following:
SEC. 1095. PREEMIE REAUTHORIZATION ACT.
(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the
``PREEMIE Reauthorization Act of 2024''.
(b) Research Relating to Preterm Labor and Delivery and the
Care, Treatment, and Outcomes of Preterm and Low Birthweight
Infants.--
(1) In general.--Section 3(e) of the Prematurity Research
Expansion and Education for Mothers who deliver Infants Early
Act (42 U.S.C. 247b-4f(e)) is amended by striking ``fiscal
years 2019 through 2023'' and inserting ``fiscal years 2024
through 2028''.
(2) Technical correction.--Effective as if included in the
enactment of the PREEMIE Reauthorization Act of 2018 (Public
Law 115-328), section 2 of such Act is amended, in the matter
preceding paragraph (1), by striking ``Section 2'' and
inserting ``Section 3''.
(c) Interagency Working Group.--Section 5(a) of the PREEMIE
Reauthorization Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-328) is amended
by striking ``The Secretary of Health and Human Services, in
collaboration with other departments, as appropriate, may
establish'' and inserting ``Not later than 18 months after
the date of the enactment of the PREEMIE Reauthorization Act
of 2024, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in
collaboration with other departments, as appropriate, shall
establish''.
(d) Study on Preterm Births.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services
shall enter into appropriate arrangements with the National
Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine under which
the National Academies shall--
(A) not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, convene a committee of experts in maternal health
to study premature births in the United States; and
(B) upon completion of the study under subparagraph (A)--
(i) approve by consensus a report on the results of such
study;
(ii) include in such report--
(I) an assessment of each of the topics listed in paragraph
(2);
(II) the analysis required by paragraph (3); and
(III) the raw data used to develop such report; and
(iii) not later than 24 months after the date of enactment
of this Act, transmit such report to--
(I) the Secretary of Health and Human Services;
(II) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives; and
(III) the Committee on Finance and the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate.
(2) Assessment topics.--The topics listed in this paragraph
are each of the following:
(A) The financial costs of premature birth to society,
including--
(i) an analysis of stays in neonatal intensive care units
and the cost of such stays;
(ii) long-term costs of stays in such units to society and
the family involved post-discharge; and
(iii) health care costs for families post-discharge from
such units (such as medications, therapeutic services, co-
payments for visits, and specialty equipment).
(B) The factors that impact preterm birth rates.
(C) Opportunities for earlier detection of premature birth
risk factors, including--
(i) opportunities to improve maternal and infant health;
and
(ii) opportunities for public health programs to provide
support and resources for parents in-hospital, in non-
hospital settings, and post-discharge.
(3) Analysis.--The analysis required by this paragraph is
an analysis of--
(A) targeted research strategies to develop effective
drugs, treatments, or interventions to bring at-risk
pregnancies to term;
(B) State and other programs' best practices with respect
to reducing premature birth rates; and
(C) precision medicine and preventative care approaches
starting early in the life course (including during
pregnancy) with a focus on behavioral and biological
influences on premature birth, child health, and the
trajectory of such approaches into adulthood.
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