II 

Calendar No. 585 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1902 

[Report No. 109–323] 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize funding for the establishment of a program on children and the media within the Centers 

for Disease Control and Prevention to study the role and impact of 

electronic media in the development of children. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 20, 2005 

Mr. LIEBERMAN (for himself, Mr. BROWNBACK, Mrs. CLINTON, Mr. 

SANTORUM, Mr. DURBIN, and Mr. BAYH) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

SEPTEMBER 5, 2006 

Reported by Mr. ENZI, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize funding 

for the establishment of a program on children and the 

media within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study the role and impact of electronic media 

in the development of children. 


bajohnson on PROD1PC77 with BILLS
2 

•S 1902 RS 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Children and Media 

5 Research Advancement Act’’ or the ‘‘CAMRA Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find8 ings: 

9 (1) Congress has recognized the important role 

10 of electronic media in children’s lives when it passed 

11 the Children’s Television Act of 1990 (Public Law 

12 101–437) and the Telecommunications Act of 1996 

13 (Public Law 104–104), both of which documented 

14 public concerns about how electronic media products 

15 influence children’s development. 

16 (2) Congress has held hearings over the past 

17 several decades to examine the impact of specific 

18 types of media products such as violent television, 

19 movies, and video games on children’s and adoles20 cents’ health and development. These hearings and 

21 other public discussions about the role of media in 

22 children’s and adolescents’ development require be23 havioral and social science research to inform the 

24 policy deliberations. 


bajohnson on PROD1PC77 with BILLS
3 

•S 1902 RS 

1 (3) There are important gaps in our knowledge 

2 about the role of electronic media and in particular, 

3 the newer interactive digital media, in children’s and 

4 adolescents’ healthy development. The consequences 

5 of very early screen usage by babies and toddlers on 

6 children’s cognitive growth are not yet understood, 

7 nor has a research base been established on the psy8 chological consequences of high definition interactive 

9 media and other format differences for child and ad10 olescent viewers. 

11 (4) Studies have shown that children who pri12 marily watch educational shows on television during 

13 their preschool years are significantly more success14 ful in school 10 years later even when critical con15 tributors to the child’s environment are factored in, 

16 including their household income, parent’s education, 

17 and intelligence. 

18 (5) The early stages of childhood are a critical 

19 formative period for development. Virtually every as20 pect of human development is affected by the envi21 ronments and experiences that one encounters dur22 ing his or her early childhood years, and media expo23 sure is an increasing part of every child’s social and 

24 physical environment. 


bajohnson on PROD1PC77 with BILLS
4 

•S 1902 RS 

1 (6) As of the late 1990’s, just before the Na2 tional Institute of Child Health and Human Devel3 opment funded 5 studies on the role of sexual mes4 sages in the media on children’s and adolescents’ 

5 sexual attitudes and sexual practices, a review of re6 search in this area found only 15 studies ever con7 ducted in the United States on this topic, even dur8 ing a time of growing concerns about HIV infection. 

9 (7) In 2001, a National Academy of Sciences 

10 study group charged with studying Internet pornog11 raphy exposure on youth found virtually no lit12 erature about how much children and adolescents 

13 were exposed to Internet pornography or how such 

14 content impacts their development. 

15 (8) In order to develop strategies that maximize 

16 the positive and minimize the negative effects of 

17 each medium on children’s physical, cognitive, social, 

18 and emotional development, it would be beneficial to 

19 develop a research program that can track the media 

20 habits of young children and their families over time 

21 using valid and reliable research methods. 

22 (9) Research about the impact of the media on 

23 children and adolescents is not presently supported 

24 through one primary programmatic effort. The re25 sponsibility for directing the research is distributed 


bajohnson on PROD1PC77 with BILLS
5 

•S 1902 RS 

1 across disparate agencies in an uncoordinated fash2 ion, or is overlooked entirely. The lack of any cen3 tralized organization for research minimizes the 

4 value of the knowledge produced by individual stud5 ies. A more productive approach for generating valu6 able findings about the impact of the media on chil7 dren and adolescents would be to establish a single, 

8 well-coordinated research effort with primary respon9 sibility for directing the research agenda. 

10 (10) Due to the paucity of research about elec11 tronic media, educators and others interested in im12 plementing electronic media literacy initiatives do 

13 not have the evidence needed to design, implement, 

14 or assess the value of these efforts. 

15 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to enable 

16 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to— 

17 (1) examine the role and impact of electronic 

18 media in children’s and adolescents’ cognitive, social, 

19 emotional, physical, and behavioral development; and 

20 (2) provide for a report to Congress containing 

21 the empirical evidence and other results produced by 

22 the research funded through grants under this Act. 


bajohnson on PROD1PC77 with BILLS
6 

•S 1902 RS 

1 SEC. 3. RESEARCH ON THE ROLE AND IMPACT OF ELEC2 TRONIC MEDIA IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF 

3 CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS. 

4 Part P of title III of the Public Health Service Act 

5 (42 U.S.C. 280g et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 399O. RESEARCH ON THE ROLE AND IMPACT OF 

8 ELECTRONIC MEDIA IN THE DEVELOPMENT 

9 OF CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Centers for 

11 Disease Control and Prevention (referred to in this section 

12 as the ‘Director’) shall enter into appropriate arrange13 ments with the National Academy of Science in collabora14 tion with the Institute of Medicine to establish an inde15 pendent panel of experts to review, synthesize and report 

16 on research, theory, and applications in the social, behav17 ioral, and biological sciences and to establish research pri18 orities regarding the positive and negative roles and im19 pact of electronic media use, including television, motion 

20 pictures, DVD’s, interactive video games, and the Inter21 net, and exposure to that content and medium on youth 

22 in the following core areas of child and adolescent develop23 ment: 

24 ‘‘(1) COGNITIVE.—The role and impact of 

25 media use and exposure in the development of chil26 dren and adolescents within such cognitive areas as 


bajohnson on PROD1PC77 with BILLS
7 

•S 1902 RS 

1 language development, attention span, problem solv2 ing skills (such as the ability to conduct multiple 

3 tasks or ‘multitask’), visual and spatial skills, read4 ing, and other learning abilities. 

5 ‘‘(2) PHYSICAL.—The role and impact of media 

6 use and exposure on children’s and adolescents’ 

7 physical coordination, diet, exercise, sleeping and 

8 eating routines, and other areas of physical develop9 ment. 

10 ‘‘(3) SOCIO-BEHAVIORAL.—The influence of 

11 interactive media on children’s and adolescents’ fam12 ily activities and peer relationships, including indoor 

13 and outdoor play time, interaction with parents, con14 sumption habits, social relationships, aggression, 

15 prosocial behavior, and other patterns of develop16 ment. 

17 ‘‘(b) PILOT PROJECTS.—During the first year in 

18 which the National Academy of Sciences panel is summa19 rizing the data and creating a comprehensive research 

20 agenda in the children and adolescents and media area 

21 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall provide for the 

22 conduct of initial pilot projects to supplement and inform 

23 the panel in its work. Such pilot projects shall consider 

24 the role of media exposure on— 


bajohnson on PROD1PC77 with BILLS
8 

•S 1902 RS 

1 ‘‘(1) cognitive and social development during in2 fancy and early childhood; and 

3 ‘‘(2) the development of childhood and adoles4 cent obesity, particularly as a function of media ad5 vertising and sedentary lifestyles that may co-occur 

6 with heavy media diets. 

7 ‘‘(c) RESEARCH PROGRAM.—Upon completion of the 

8 review under subsection (a), the Director of the Centers 

9 for Disease Control and Prevention shall develop and im10 plement a program that funds additional research deter11 mined to be necessary by the panel under subsection (a) 

12 concerning the role and impact of electronic media in the 

13 cognitive, physical, and socio-behavioral development of 

14 children and adolescents with a particular focus on the 

15 impact of factors such as media content, format, length 

16 of exposure, age of child or adolescent, and nature of pa17 rental involvement. Such program shall include extramural 

18 and intramural research and shall support collaborative ef19 forts to link such research to other Department of Health 

20 and Human Services research investigations on early child 

21 health and development. 

22 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to receive 

23 a grant under this section, an entity shall— 

24 ‘‘(1) prepare and submit to the Director an ap25 plication at such time, in such manner, and conVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:32 Sep 06, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1902.RS S1902

bajohnson on PROD1PC77 with BILLS
9 

•S 1902 RS 

1 taining such information as the Director may re2 quire; and 

3 ‘‘(2) agree to use amounts received under the 

4 grant to carry out activities that establish or imple5 ment a research program relating to the effects of 

6 media on children and adolescents pursuant to 

7 guidelines developed by the Director relating to con8 sultations with experts in the area of study. 

9 ‘‘(e) USE OF FUNDS RELATING TO THE MEDIA’S

10 ROLE IN THE LIFE OF A CHILD OR ADOLESCENT.—An 

11 entity shall use amounts received under a grant under this 

12 section to conduct research concerning the social, cog13 nitive, emotional, physical, and behavioral development of 

14 children or adolescents as related to electronic mass 

15 media, including the areas of— 

16 ‘‘(1) television; 

17 ‘‘(2) motion pictures; 

18 ‘‘(3) DVD’s; 

19 ‘‘(4) interactive video games; 

20 ‘‘(5) the Internet; and 

21 ‘‘(6) cell phones. 

22 ‘‘(f) REPORTS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) REPORT TO DIRECTOR.—Not later than 12 

24 months after the date of enactment of this section, 


bajohnson on PROD1PC77 with BILLS
10 

•S 1902 RS 

1 the panel under subsection (a) shall submit the re2 port required under such subsection to the Director. 

3 ‘‘(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 

4 December 31, 2011, the Director shall prepare and 

5 submit to the Committee on Health, Education, 

6 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, and Committee 

7 on Education and the Workforce of the House of 

8 Representatives a report that— 

9 ‘‘(A) summarizes the empirical evidence 

10 and other results produced by the research 

11 under this section in a manner that can be un12 derstood by the general public; 

13 ‘‘(B) places the evidence in context with 

14 other evidence and knowledge generated by the 

15 scientific community that address the same or 

16 related topics; and 

17 ‘‘(C) discusses the implications of the col18 lective body of scientific evidence and knowledge 

19 regarding the role and impact of the media on 

20 children and adolescents, and makes rec21 ommendations on how scientific evidence and 

22 knowledge may be used to improve the healthy 

23 developmental and learning capacities of chil24 dren and adolescents. 


bajohnson on PROD1PC77 with BILLS
11 

•S 1902 RS 

1 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this sec3 tion— 

4 ‘‘(1) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

5 ‘‘(2) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

6 ‘‘(3) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

7 ‘‘(4) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; and 

8 ‘‘(5) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2010.’’. 

9 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

10 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Children and Media Re11 search Advancement Act’’ or the ‘‘CAMRA Act’’. 

12 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

13 It is the purpose of this Act to enable the Centers for 

14 Disease Control and Prevention to— 

15 (1) examine the role and positive and negative 

16 impact of electronic media in children’s and adoles17 cents’ cognitive, social, emotional, physical, and be18 havioral development; and 

19 (2) provide for a report to Congress containing 

20 the empirical evidence and other results produced by 

21 the research funded through grants under this Act. 


bajohnson on PROD1PC77 with BILLS
12 

•S 1902 RS 

1 SEC. 3. RESEARCH ON THE ROLE AND IMPACT OF ELEC2 TRONIC MEDIA IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF 

3 CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS. 

4 Part P of title III of the Public Health Service Act 

5 (42 U.S.C. 280g et seq.) is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating the second section 399O (re7 lating to grants to foster public health responses to 

8 domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and 

9 stalking) as section 399P; and 

10 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 399Q. RESEARCH ON THE ROLE AND IMPACT OF 

12 ELECTRONIC MEDIA IN THE DEVELOPMENT 

13 OF CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS. 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap15 propriations, the Secretary, acting through the Director of 

16 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (referred to 

17 in this section as the ‘Director’), shall enter into a contract 

18 with the National Academy of Science or another appro19 priate entity to review, synthesize, and report on research, 

20 and establish research priorities, regarding the roles and 

21 impact of electronic media (including television, motion 

22 pictures, DVD’s, interactive video games, digital music, the 

23 Internet, and cell phones) and exposures to such media on 

24 youth in the following core areas of development: 

25 ‘‘(1) COGNITIVE.—Cognitive areas such as lan26 guage development, attention span, problem solving 


bajohnson on PROD1PC77 with BILLS
13 

•S 1902 RS 

1 skills (such as the ability to conduct multiple tasks or 

2 ‘multitask’), visual and spatial skills, reading, and 

3 other learning abilities. 

4 ‘‘(2) PHYSICAL.—Physical areas such as physical 

5 coordination, diet, exercise, sleeping and eating rou6 tines. 

7 ‘‘(3) SOCIO-BEHAVIORAL.—Socio-behavioral 

8 areas such as family activities and peer relationships 

9 including indoor and outdoor play time, interactions 

10 with parents, consumption habits, social relation11 ships, aggression, and positive social behavior. 

12 ‘‘(b) RESEARCH PROGRAM.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Taking into account the re14 port provided for under subsection (a), the Secretary, 

15 acting through the Director and in coordination with 

16 the Director of the National Institutes of Health, 

17 shall, subject to the availability of appropriations, 

18 award grants for research concerning the role and im19 pact of electronic media on the cognitive, physical, 

20 and socio-behavioral development of youth. 

21 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The research provided for 

22 under paragraph (1) shall comply with the following 

23 requirements: 

24 ‘‘(A) Such research shall focus on the im25 pact of factors such as media content (whether 


bajohnson on PROD1PC77 with BILLS
14 

•S 1902 RS 

1 direct or indirect), format, length of exposure, 

2 age of youth, venue, and nature of parental in3 volvement. 

4 ‘‘(B) Such research shall not duplicate other 

5 Federal research activities. 

6 ‘‘(C) For purposes of such research, elec7 tronic media shall include television, motion pic8 tures, DVD’s, interactive video games, digital 

9 music, the Internet, and cell phones. 

10 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to re11 ceive a grant under this subsection, an entity shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) prepare and submit to the Director an 

13 application at such time, in such manner, and 

14 containing such information as the Director 

15 shall require; and 

16 ‘‘(B) agree to use amounts received under 

17 the grant to carry out activities as described in 

18 this subsection. 

19 ‘‘(c) REPORTS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) REPORT TO THE DIRECTOR.—Not later 

21 than 15 months after the date of the enactment of this 

22 section, the report provided for under subsection (a) 

23 shall be submitted to the Director and to the appro24 priate committees of Congress. 


bajohnson on PROD1PC77 with BILLS
15 

•S 1902 RS 

1 ‘‘(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than De2 cember 31, 2012, the Secretary, acting through the 

3 Director, shall prepare and submit to the appropriate 

4 committees of Congress a report that— 

5 ‘‘(A) synthesizes the results of— 

6 ‘‘(i) research carried out under the 

7 grant program under subsection (b); and 

8 ‘‘(ii) other related research, including 

9 research conducted by the private or public 

10 sector and other Federal entities; and 

11 ‘‘(B) outlines existing research gaps in light 

12 of the information described in subparagraph 

13 (A). 

14 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

15 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, such 

16 sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2007 

17 through 2012.’’. 


bajohnson on PROD1PC77 with BILLS
Calendar No. 585 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1902 

[Report No. 109

–323] 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorment of children. and impact of electronic media in the develop- Disease Control and Prevention to study the role on children and the media within the Centers for ize funding for the establishment of a program 

SEPTEMBER 5, 2006 

Reported with an amendment 


bajohnson on PROD1PC77 with BILLS