Breath of Fresh Air Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 136 To establish a grant program for nebulizers in elementary and secondary schools. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 4, 2021 Ms. JACKSON LEE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with- in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish a grant program for nebulizers in elementary and secondary schools. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Breath of Fresh Air 4 Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 The Congress finds as follows: 7 (1) 25,000,000 people, including 7,000,000 8 children, have asthma. 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Jan 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H136.IH H136 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 136 IH (2) Almost 13,000,000 people report having an 1 asthma attack in the past year and asthma accounts 2 for nearly 2,000,000 emergency department visits 3 each year. 4 (3) Every day in the United States— 5 (A) 30,000 people have an asthma attack; 6 and 7 (B) 11 people die from asthma. 8 (4) Nearly 5,000,000 asthma sufferers are 9 under 18 years of age, and 1 out of every 10 school- 10 aged children has asthma. 11 (5) Minorities are adversely affected by asthma, 12 as— 13 (A) African Americans are 3 times more 14 likely to die from asthma; and 15 (B) Hispanics may have an elevated risk 16 for exposure to air pollution since a dispropor- 17 tionate number live in areas failing to meet one 18 or more national standards for air pollutants. 19 (It is estimated that 80 percent of Hispanics 20 live in areas that failed to meet one United 21 States Environmental Protection Agency air 22 quality standard, compared to 65 percent of Af- 23 rican Americans and 57 percent of Whites.) 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:23 Jan 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H136.IH H136 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 136 IH SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM FOR NEBULIZERS. 1 (a) PROGRAM REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Edu- 2 cation shall carry out a program under which the Sec- 3 retary makes grants to local educational agencies, to be 4 used by the local educational agencies for one or both of 5 the following: 6 (1) To purchase nebulizers for use in elemen- 7 tary and secondary schools served by the local edu- 8 cational agency. 9 (2) To provide training to enable elementary 10 and secondary schools served by the local edu- 11 cational agency to meet the requirements of sub- 12 section (d)(1), but only if nebulizers are already in 13 use at such schools or are acquired through this pro- 14 gram. 15 (b) ELIGIBILITY.— 16 (1) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.—To be el- 17 igible to receive a grant under this section, a local 18 educational agency shall submit an application to 19 the Secretary at such time, in such form, and con- 20 taining such information as the Secretary may re- 21 quire. 22 (2) ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS.— 23 To be eligible to receive a nebulizer through a grant 24 under this section, a school may be any public or 25 private school served by the local educational agency, 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Jan 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H136.IH H136 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 136 IH except that an internet- or computer-based commu- 1 nity school is not eligible. 2 (c) MATCHING FUNDS REQUIRED.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 4 grant under this section, the local educational agen- 5 cy must provide matching funds from non-Federal 6 sources equal to not less than 25 percent of the 7 amount of the grant. 8 (2) WAIVER.—The Secretary shall waive the re- 9 quirement of paragraph (1) for a local educational 10 agency if the number of children counted under sec- 11 tion 1124(c)(1)(A) of the Elementary and Secondary 12 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6333(c)(1)(A)) is 13 20 percent or more of the total number of children 14 aged 5 to 17, inclusive, served by the local edu- 15 cational agency. 16 (d) TRAINING AND COORDINATION REQUIRED.—A 17 local educational agency that receives a grant under this 18 section shall demonstrate that, for each elementary and 19 secondary school at which the nebulizers are to be used— 20 (1) there is a full-time certified school nurse on 21 staff; 22 (2) the school has the trained personnel and 23 other resources necessary to use the nebulizers; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Jan 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H136.IH H136 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 136 IH (3) local paramedics and other emergency serv- 1 ices personnel are notified where on school grounds 2 the nebulizers are to be located; 3 (4) the nebulizer will be integrated into the 4 school’s emergency response plan or procedures; and 5 (5) the school has procedures in place to ensure 6 that parents are notified of the availability of the 7 nebulizers, how to provide their child’s prescription 8 asthma medication to the school, and how to author- 9 ize use of a nebulizer to assist their child when 10 medically appropriate. 11 (e) PRIORITY.—In making grants under this section, 12 the Secretary shall give priority to local educational agen- 13 cies— 14 (1) having jurisdiction over a geographic area 15 with respect to which the Director of the Centers for 16 Disease Control and Prevention has determined that 17 the prevalence of asthma is at least 10 percent high- 18 er than the national average; 19 (2) that do not already have at least one 20 nebulizer in each school served by the local edu- 21 cational agency; 22 (3) that serve schools at which a significant 23 number of students, staff, and visitors are present 24 on school grounds during a typical day; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:23 Jan 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H136.IH H136 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 136 IH (4) that have not received funds under the 1 Rural Access to Emergency Devices Act (42 U.S.C. 2 254c note). 3 (f) ESEA DEFINITIONS.—The terms used in this sec- 4 tion shall have the meanings given to such terms in section 5 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 6 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 7 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 8 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 9 such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 10 2016 through 2021. 11 SEC. 4. CONSTRUCTION. 12 Nothing in this Act shall be construed— 13 (1) to create liability for use of a nebulizer or 14 affect liability for such use that exists under other 15 law; or 16 (2) to supersede a State law regulating nursing. 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Jan 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H136.IH H136 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS