Concussion Awareness and Education Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 280 To provide for systemic research, treatment, prevention, awareness, and dis- semination of information with respect to sports-related and other concus- sions. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 8, 2019 Mrs. BEATTY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To provide for systemic research, treatment, prevention, awareness, and dissemination of information with respect to sports-related and other concussions. 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 ‘‘Concussion Awareness 4 and Education Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 6 The table of contents of this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title. Sec. 2. Table of contents. Sec. 3. Findings; purposes. Sec. 4. Surveillance of sports-related concussions. VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H280.IH H280 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 280 IH Sec. 5. Research. Sec. 6. Dissemination of information. Sec. 7. Concussion Research Commission. SEC. 3. FINDINGS; PURPOSES. 1 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as follows: 2 (1) There is currently no comprehensive system 3 for acquiring accurate data on the incidence of 4 sports- and recreation-related concussions across 5 youth age groups and sports. 6 (2) Overall, according to a report entitled 7 ‘‘Sports-Related Concussions in Youth: Improving 8 the Science, Changing the Culture’’, issued by the 9 National Academies in 2013, each year in the 10 United States, there are approximately 1.6 to 3.8 11 million sports- and recreation-related traumatic 12 brain injuries, including concussions and other head 13 injuries. These figures are based on conservative es- 14 timates. 15 (3) Between 2001 and 2009, the reported num- 16 ber of our youth ages 21 and under treated in an 17 emergency department for concussion and other non- 18 fatal sports and recreation-related traumatic brain 19 injuries increased from 150,000 to 250,000. 20 (4) Over the same time period between 2001 21 and 2009, the rate of emergency room visits for con- 22 cussive injuries increased by 57 percent. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H280.IH H280 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 280 IH (5) Yet, according to the National Academies 1 there currently is— 2 (A) a lack of data to accurately estimate 3 the incidence of sports-related concussions 4 across a variety of sports and for youth across 5 the pediatric age spectrum; and 6 (B) no comprehensive system for acquiring 7 accurate data on the incidence of sports- and 8 recreation-related concussions across all youth 9 age groups and sports. 10 (6) Currently, there are significant information 11 gaps in the proper protocol for diagnosis and treat- 12 ment of sports-related concussions and more re- 13 search desperately is needed. 14 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 15 (1) to increase awareness and knowledge about 16 concussions through development of, implementation 17 of, and evaluation of the effectiveness of, large-scale 18 collaborative efforts and research by entities includ- 19 ing, but not limited to, national sports associations, 20 State high school associations, trainers’ associations, 21 appropriate Federal entities, and other stakeholders 22 such as parents, coaches, and students; and 23 (2) to change the culture (including social 24 norms, attitudes, and behaviors) surrounding con- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H280.IH H280 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 280 IH cussions among elementary school youth and their 1 parents, coaches, sports officials, educators, trainers, 2 and health care professionals, taking into account 3 demographic variations across population groups, 4 where appropriate. 5 SEC. 4. SURVEILLANCE OF SPORTS-RELATED CONCUS- 6 SIONS. 7 Title III of the Public Health Service Act is amended 8 by inserting after section 317T of such Act (42 U.S.C. 9 247b–22) the following: 10 ‘‘SEC. 317U. SURVEILLANCE OF SPORTS-RELATED CONCUS- 11 SIONS. 12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 13 Human Services, acting through the Director of the Cen- 14 ters for Disease Control and Prevention, and taking into 15 account other Federal data collection efforts, shall— 16 ‘‘(1) establish and oversee a national system to 17 accurately determine the incidence of sports-related 18 concussions among youth; and 19 ‘‘(2) begin implementation of such system not 20 later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the 21 Concussion Awareness and Education Act of 2019. 22 ‘‘(b) DATA TO BE COLLECTED.—The data collected 23 under subsection (a) shall, to the extent feasible, include 24 each of the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H280.IH H280 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 280 IH ‘‘(1) The incidence of sports-related concussions 1 in individuals 5 through 21 years of age. 2 ‘‘(2) Demographic information of the injured 3 individuals, including age, sex, race, and ethnicity. 4 ‘‘(3) Pre-existing conditions of the injured indi- 5 viduals, such as attention deficit hyperactivity dis- 6 order and learning disabilities. 7 ‘‘(4) The concussion history of the injured indi- 8 viduals, such as the number and dates of prior con- 9 cussions. 10 ‘‘(5) The use of protective equipment and im- 11 pact monitoring devices. 12 ‘‘(6) The qualifications of personnel diagnosing 13 the concussions. 14 ‘‘(7) The cause, nature, and extent of the con- 15 cussive injury, including— 16 ‘‘(A) the sport or activity involved; 17 ‘‘(B) the recreational or competitive level 18 of the sport or activity involved; 19 ‘‘(C) the event type involved, including 20 whether it was practice or competition; 21 ‘‘(D) the impact location on the body; 22 ‘‘(E) the impact nature, such as contact 23 with a playing surface, another player, or equip- 24 ment; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H280.IH H280 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 280 IH ‘‘(F) signs and symptoms consistent with a 1 concussion.’’. 2 SEC. 5. RESEARCH. 3 Part B of title IV of the Public Health Service Act 4 (42 U.S.C. 284 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 5 the following: 6 ‘‘SEC. 409K. RESEARCH ON CONCUSSIONS IN YOUTH. 7 ‘‘Beginning not later than 1 year after the date of 8 enactment of the Concussion Awareness and Education 9 Act of 2019, the Director of NIH shall conduct or sup- 10 port— 11 ‘‘(1) research designed to inform the creation of 12 age-specific, evidence-based guidelines for the man- 13 agement of short- and long-term sequelae of concus- 14 sion in youth; 15 ‘‘(2) research on the effects of concussions and 16 repetitive head impacts on quality of life and the ac- 17 tivities of daily living; 18 ‘‘(3) research to identify predictors, and modi- 19 fiers of outcomes, of concussions in youth, including 20 the influence of socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, 21 sex, and comorbidities; and 22 ‘‘(4) research on age- and sex-related bio- 23 mechanical determinants of injury risk for concus- 24 sion in youth, including how injury thresholds are 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H280.IH H280 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 280 IH modified by the number of and time interval between 1 head impacts and concussions.’’. 2 SEC. 6. DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 4 Human Services, acting through the Director of the Cen- 5 ters for Disease Control and Prevention, shall develop and 6 disseminate to the public information regarding concus- 7 sions. 8 (b) ARRANGEMENTS WITH OTHER ENTITIES.—In 9 carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary may dissemi- 10 nate information through arrangements with nonprofit or- 11 ganizations, consumer groups, Federal, State, or local 12 agencies, or the media. 13 SEC. 7. CONCUSSION RESEARCH COMMISSION. 14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Con- 15 cussion Research Commission (referred to in this section 16 as the ‘‘Commission’’). 17 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 18 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Commission shall be 19 composed of the following nine members: 20 (A) Five shall be appointed by the Presi- 21 dent. 22 (B) One shall be appointed by the Speaker 23 of the House of Representatives. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H280.IH H280 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 280 IH (C) One shall be appointed by the minority 1 leader of the House of Representatives. 2 (D) One shall be appointed by the majority 3 leader of the Senate. 4 (E) One shall be appointed by the minority 5 leader of the Senate. 6 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—To be eligible for ap- 7 pointment under paragraph (1), an individual 8 shall— 9 (A) have experience with research, treat- 10 ment, and prevention with respect to all types 11 of concussive injuries; and 12 (B) be a leading medical or scientific ex- 13 pert, or an otherwise authoritatively qualified 14 expert, in one or more relevant fields. 15 (3) TERMS.—Each member of the Commission 16 shall be appointed for the life of the Commission. 17 (4) VACANCIES.—Any member appointed to fill 18 a vacancy occurring before the expiration of the 19 term for which the member’s predecessor was ap- 20 pointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of 21 that term. A member may serve after the expiration 22 of that member’s term until a successor has taken 23 office. A vacancy in the Commission shall be filled 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H280.IH H280 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 280 IH in the manner in which the original appointment was 1 made. 2 (5) NO PAY.—The members of the Commission 3 shall serve without pay. Members of the Commission 4 who are full-time officers or employees of the United 5 States or Members of Congress may not receive ad- 6 ditional pay, allowances, or benefits by reason of 7 their service on the Commission. 8 (6) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of the 9 Commission shall receive travel expenses, including 10 per diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with 11 applicable provisions under subchapter I of chapter 12 57 of title 5, United States Code. 13 (7) RESOURCES.—The Secretary shall ensure 14 that appropriate personnel, funding, and other re- 15 sources are provided to the Commission to carry out 16 its responsibilities. 17 (c) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at least 18 4 times each year. 19 (d) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon request 20 of the Commission, the head of any Federal department 21 or agency may detail, without reimbursement, any of the 22 personnel of that department or agency to the Commission 23 to assist in carrying out this section. 24 (e) STUDY.—The Commission shall— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H280.IH H280 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 280 IH (1) study the programs and activities conducted 1 pursuant to this Act; and 2 (2) based on the results of such programs and 3 activities, formulate systemic recommendations for 4 furthering the purposes of this Act, as described in 5 section 3(b). 6 (f) REVIEW OF NATIONAL ACADEMIES REPORT.— 7 The Commission shall review the report of the National 8 Academies entitled ‘‘Sports-Related Concussions in Youth: 9 Improving the Science, Changing the Culture’’ and rec- 10 ommend corrections or updates to such report, as the 11 Commission determines appropriate. 12 (g) REPORTING.— 13 (1) INTERIM REPORTS.—Every 6 months, the 14 Commission shall submit to the appropriate commit- 15 tees of Congress an interim report on the Commis- 16 sion’s activities. 17 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 36 months 18 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commis- 19 sion shall submit to the appropriate committees of 20 Congress, and make available to the public, a final 21 report on the results of the Commission’s study 22 under subsection (e) and review under subsection 23 (f). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H280.IH H280 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 280 IH (h) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate 1 upon the date of submission of the final report required 2 by subsection (g)(2), unless the Secretary of Health and 3 Human Services chooses to maintain the Commission be- 4 yond such date. 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H280.IH H280 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS