Braeden’s Commission: Protect our Athletes from Exertional Heat Stroke

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4145 To establish a commission to prevent exertional heat stroke deaths among high school and collegiate athletes, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AUGUST 2, 2019 Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself and Mr. GOTTHEIMER) 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 within the jurisdiction of the com- mittee concerned A BILL To establish a commission to prevent exertional heat stroke deaths among high school and collegiate athletes, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘Braeden’s Commission: 4 Protect our Athletes from Exertional Heat Stroke’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4145.IH H4145 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 4145 IH (1) Deaths from exertional heat stroke are pre- 1 ventable. 2 (2) Exertional heat stroke is one of the leading 3 noncontact causes of death of young athletes. 4 (3) According to the 2018 National Center for 5 Catastrophic Sport Injury Research’s annual survey 6 of football injuries, since 1995, there have been 64 7 exertional heat stroke deaths in the sport of football 8 alone, and 60 of these occurred at the high school 9 and collegiate levels. 10 (4) Protective measures such as proper hydra- 11 tion, acclimatization prior to intense physical activ- 12 ity, and rapid recognition, rapid assessment, rapid 13 treatment, and rapid advanced care can prevent 14 exertional heat stroke deaths or hospitalizations pro- 15 vided that the protective measures are implemented 16 immediately when warranted. 17 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Com- 19 mission to Prevent Heat Stroke Deaths (in this Act re- 20 ferred to as ‘‘Braeden’s Commission’’). 21 (b) FACA.—Braeden’s Commission shall be subject 22 to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), 23 except as inconsistent with this Act. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4145.IH H4145 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 4145 IH SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP. 1 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—Braeden’s Com- 2 mission shall be composed of 12 members, consisting of— 3 (1) 6 members appointed by the President; 4 (2) 2 members appointed by the Speaker of the 5 House of Representatives; 6 (3) 1 member appointed by the minority leader 7 of the House of Representatives; 8 (4) 2 members appointed by the majority leader 9 of the Senate; and 10 (5) 1 member appointed by the minority leader 11 of the Senate. 12 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—Each member appointed pur- 13 suant to subsection (a) shall have experience in one or 14 more of the following areas: 15 (1) Sports medicine. 16 (2) Exertional heat stroke prevention. 17 (3) Student athlete health research. 18 (4) Legislation, including legislation involving 19 sports medicine. 20 (5) Emergency medicine. 21 (6) Pediatrics. 22 (7) Psychology and mental health. 23 (8) Forensic pathology or medical investigation 24 involving injury or fatality. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4145.IH H4145 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 4145 IH (9) Professional experience at an institution of 1 higher education (as defined in section 101(a) of the 2 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)), 3 with a focus on one or more of the other areas listed 4 in this subsection. 5 (c) DIVERSITY OF QUALIFICATIONS.—In making ap- 6 pointments to Braeden’s Commission under subsection 7 (a), the President and the congressional leaders specified 8 in subsection (a) shall strive to select individuals whose 9 qualifications (as described under subsection (b)) are not 10 already represented by other members of Braeden’s Com- 11 mission. 12 (d) APPOINTMENTS.—The appointments of the mem- 13 bers of Braeden’s Commission shall be made not later 14 than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 15 (e) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENTS; VACANCIES.—Each 16 member shall be appointed for the life of Braeden’s Com- 17 mission. Any vacancy in Braeden’s Commission shall not 18 affect its powers and shall be filled in the same manner 19 as the original appointment. 20 (f) CHAIRPERSON.—The President shall select a 21 Chairperson for Braeden’s Commission from among its 22 members. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4145.IH H4145 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 4145 IH SEC. 5. MEETINGS. 1 (a) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 60 days after 2 the date on which a majority of the members of Braeden’s 3 Commission have been appointed, Braeden’s Commission 4 shall hold its first meeting. 5 (b) TIMING.—Braeden’s Commission shall meet at 6 the call of the Chairperson. 7 (c) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of 8 Braeden’s Commission shall constitute a quorum. 9 SEC. 6. STUDY. 10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Braeden’s Commission shall con- 11 duct a study on exertional heat stroke among student ath- 12 letes at educational institutions across the United States. 13 (b) MATTERS TO BE STUDIED.—In conducting the 14 study under subsection (a), Braeden’s Commission shall 15 study— 16 (1) best practices for prevention, recognition, 17 and treatment of exertional heat stroke, as regarded 18 by leading experts in sports medicine and as detailed 19 in the 2015 National Athletic Trainers’ Association 20 Position Statement on Exertional Heat Illness; 21 (2) educational institution standards for pre- 22 vention, recognition, and treatment of exertional 23 heat stroke and related illnesses; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4145.IH H4145 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 4145 IH (3) whether athletic trainers and coaches have 1 been properly trained to recognize and treat cases of 2 exertional heat stroke; 3 (4) cases involving student athlete deaths and 4 hospitalizations due to exertional heat stroke, includ- 5 ing whether best practices were followed in such 6 cases by the educational institution involved; 7 (5) which organizations currently oversee the 8 implementation of best practices on exertional heat 9 stroke at educational institutions; 10 (6) emergency action plans in place at edu- 11 cational institutions and whether such action plans 12 are up-to-date or developed in consultation with local 13 emergency medical staff; 14 (7) the scope of all incidents of exertional heat 15 stroke among student athletes, including deter- 16 mining which educational institutions are following 17 best practices where such incidents occurred; 18 (8) the effectiveness of Federal, State, and local 19 policies and systems aimed at collecting accurate 20 data on exertional heat stroke fatalities, including 21 the identification of the most effective and least ef- 22 fective policies and systems; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4145.IH H4145 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 4145 IH (9) current barriers to preventing fatalities 1 from exertional heat stroke and methods to over- 2 come such barriers among student athletes; 3 (10) demographic trends or specific risk factors 4 that are predictive of or correlated with student ath- 5 lete exertional heat stroke and related illnesses such 6 as heat exhaustion; 7 (11) methods for improving data collection re- 8 lated to exertional heat stroke, such as methods to 9 increase interoperability between State and local 10 data systems or other data systems used to collect 11 information that may be related to exertional heat 12 stroke; 13 (12) current research and documentation, in- 14 cluding those currently being conducted by graduate 15 and doctoral students; 16 (13) recommendations from the National Ath- 17 letic Trainers’ Association’s position statements per- 18 taining to heat illnesses and emergency planning in 19 athletics; and 20 (14) recommendations with respect to best 21 practices for preventing exertional heat stroke from 22 the Inter-Association Task Force for Preventing 23 Sudden Death in Collegiate Conditioning Sessions. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4145.IH H4145 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 4145 IH SEC. 7. RECOMMENDATIONS AND REPORT. 1 (a) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Based on the study con- 2 ducted under section 6, Braeden’s Commission shall— 3 (1) develop recommendations for the purpose of 4 reducing fatalities from exertional heat stroke 5 among student athletes, including— 6 (A) a recommendation to implement a 7 comprehensive national strategy for such pur- 8 pose; and 9 (B) lessons, solutions, and necessary im- 10 provements related to such purpose; and 11 (2) develop guidelines for tracking certain types 12 of information to prevent fatalities from exertional 13 heat stroke among student athletes. 14 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 15 on which a majority of the members of Braeden’s Commis- 16 sion have been appointed, Braeden’s Commission shall 17 submit to the President and Congress a report con- 18 taining— 19 (1) the recommendations required under sub- 20 section (a); 21 (2) a detailed statement of the findings of 22 Braeden’s Commission related to the study con- 23 ducted under section 6; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4145.IH H4145 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 4145 IH (3) recommendations for legislation and admin- 1 istrative actions related to exertional heat stroke 2 among student athletes at educational institutions. 3 (c) EXTENSION.—The President may extend the date 4 on which the report required by subsection (b) must be 5 submitted by not more than 1 year. 6 (d) PUBLICATION.—In coordination with the Sec- 7 retary of Health and Human Services, Braeden’s Commis- 8 sion shall make the report under subsection (b) publicly 9 available on the website of the Department of Health and 10 Human Services. 11 SEC. 8. POWERS OF BRAEDEN’S COMMISSION. 12 (a) HEARINGS.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Braeden’s Commission may, 14 for the purpose of carrying out this Act, hold hear- 15 ings, sit and act at times and places, take testimony, 16 and receive evidence as Braeden’s Commission con- 17 siders appropriate. Braeden’s Commission may ad- 18 minister oaths or affirmations to witnesses appear- 19 ing before it. 20 (2) LOCATION.—The location of hearings under 21 paragraph (1) shall include— 22 (A) areas with high fatality rates related to 23 exertional heat stroke among student athletes; 24 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4145.IH H4145 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 4145 IH (B) areas that have shown a decrease in 1 fatalities from exertional heat stroke among 2 student athletes. 3 (3) SUBJECT.—Braeden’s Commission shall 4 hold hearings under paragraph (1)— 5 (A) to examine the Federal, State, and 6 local policies and available resources that affect 7 fatalities from exertional heat stroke among 8 student athletes; and 9 (B) to conduct other work related to the 10 study required under section 6. 11 (b) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—Braeden’s Com- 12 mission may secure directly from any Federal agency or 13 department information necessary to enable it to carry out 14 this Act. Upon request of the Chairperson of Braeden’s 15 Commission, the head of that Federal agency or depart- 16 ment shall furnish that information to Braeden’s Commis- 17 sion. 18 (c) MAILS.—Braeden’s Commission may use the 19 United States mails in the same manner and under the 20 same conditions as other Federal agencies and depart- 21 ments. 22 (d) GIFTS, BEQUESTS, AND DEVISES.—To the extent 23 or in the amounts made available in advance in appropria- 24 tions Acts, Braeden’s Commission may accept, use, and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4145.IH H4145 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 4145 IH dispose of gifts, bequests, or devises of services or prop- 1 erty, both real and personal, for the purpose of aiding or 2 facilitating the work of Braeden’s Commission. 3 SEC. 9. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS. 4 (a) DIRECTOR AND STAFF OF COMMISSION.— 5 (1) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—Braeden’s Com- 6 mission shall have an Executive Director who shall 7 be appointed by the Chairperson. 8 (2) STAFF.—With the approval of Braeden’s 9 Commission, the Chairperson may appoint additional 10 personnel as the Chairperson considers appropriate. 11 (3) TERMINATION.—The Chairperson of 12 Braeden’s Commission may, without regard to the 13 civil service laws and regulations, terminate the Ex- 14 ecutive Director and such other personnel as may be 15 necessary to enable Braeden’s Commission to per- 16 form its duties. 17 (4) COMPENSATION.— 18 (A) RATE OF PAY FOR THE EXECUTIVE DI- 19 RECTOR.—The Chairperson of Braeden’s Com- 20 mission may fix the pay of the Executive Direc- 21 tor of Braeden’s Commission without regard to 22 chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of 23 title 5, United States Code, relating to classi- 24 fication of positions and General Schedule pay 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4145.IH H4145 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 4145 IH rates, except that the rate of pay for the Execu- 1 tive Director may not exceed the rate payable 2 for level V of the Executive Schedule under sec- 3 tion 5316 of such title. 4 (B) RATE OF PAY FOR STAFF.—The 5 Chairperson of Braeden’s Commission may fix 6 the pay of additional personnel at rates not to 7 exceed the daily equivalent of the maximum an- 8 nual rate of basic pay for GS–15 of the General 9 Schedule. 10 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of Braeden’s 11 Commission shall receive travel expenses, including per 12 diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with applicable 13 provisions under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, 14 United States Code. 15 (c) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon request 16 of Braeden’s Commission, the head of any Federal agency 17 or department may detail, without reimbursement, any of 18 the personnel of that agency or department to Braeden’s 19 C [Text truncated for display. 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