I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7689 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health 

and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for 

Disease Control and Prevention, to support research and programmatic 

efforts that will build on previous research on the effects of adverse 

childhood experiences. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 20, 2020 

Mrs. MCBATH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through 

the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention, to support research and programmatic efforts that will build on previous research on the effects 

of adverse childhood experiences. 

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; FINDINGS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Improving Data Collection for Adverse Childhood Experi6 ences Act’’. 

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1 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

2 (1) Certain negative events, circumstances, or 

3 maltreatment to which children may be exposed, 

4 known as adverse childhood experiences, are associ5 ated with negative health outcomes. 

6 (2) Childhood psychological, physical, or sexual 

7 abuse; household challenges such as violence, sub8 stance use, mental illness, separation or divorce, or 

9 incarceration of a family member; and emotional or 

10 physical neglect have been shown to negatively im11 pact a person’s long-term health and wellbeing. 

12 (3) Adverse childhood experiences and associ13 ated conditions such as living in under-resourced or 

14 racially segregated neighborhoods, frequently mov15 ing, experiencing food insecurity, and other insta16 bility can cause toxic stress, a prolonged activation 

17 of the stress-response system. 

18 (4) Experiencing one or more adverse childhood 

19 experiences is associated with higher risks of some 

20 of the leading causes of death and disability in the 

21 United States. 

22 (5) More than half of all Americans have expe23 rienced one or more adverse childhood experiences. 

24 (6) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre25 vention has recognized adverse childhood experiences 

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1 as a major public health concern and made it a pri2 ority area for focus in the National Center for In3 jury Prevention and Control at the Centers for Dis4 ease Control and Prevention. 

5 (7) Further research is needed to better define 

6 adverse childhood experiences, understand the causal 

7 pathway between adverse childhood experiences and 

8 physical health outcomes, and identify protective fac9 tors against adverse childhood experiences and their 

10 effects, in order to inform and improve current pro11 grams and future efforts to promote public health. 

12 (8) Evidence-based prevention and mitigation 

13 strategies to address adverse childhood experiences 

14 have been identified, but efforts are needed to facili15 tate implementation in communities. 

16 SEC. 2. SUPPORTING RESEARCH ON ADVERSE CHILDHOOD 

17 EXPERIENCES. 

18 Part J of title III of the Public Health Service Act 

19 (42 U.S.C. 280b et seq.) is amended by inserting after 

20 section 393D (42 U.S.C. 280b–1f) the following: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 393E. SUPPORTING RESEARCH ON PREVENTING OR 

22 REMEDIATING ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPE23 RIENCES. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 

25 the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and PreVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:05 Aug 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7689.IH H7689
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1 vention, may, in cooperation with the States, collect and 

2 report data on adverse childhood experiences through the 

3 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, the Youth 

4 Risk Behavior Surveillance System, or other relevant pub5 lic health surveys or questionnaires to contribute to a lon6 gitudinal study that— 

7 ‘‘(1) builds on previous literature, including the 

8 seminal CDC–Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood 

9 Experiences (ACE) Study, on the biology and neuro10 science of childhood adversity that establishes the 

11 links between adverse childhood experiences and neg12 ative outcomes; 

13 ‘‘(2) that focuses on elements not included in 

14 the study referred to in paragraph (1), including— 

15 ‘‘(A) the inclusion of a diverse nationally 

16 representative sample of participants; 

17 ‘‘(B) the strength of the relationship be18 tween individual, specific adverse childhood ex19 periences and negative health outcomes; 

20 ‘‘(C) the intensity and frequency of adverse 

21 childhood experiences; 

22 ‘‘(D) the relative strength of particular 

23 risk and protective factors; and 

24 ‘‘(E) the effect of social, economic, and 

25 community conditions on health and well-being. 

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1 ‘‘(b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may, 

2 directly or through awards of grants or contracts to public 

3 or non-profit private entities, provide technical assistance 

4 with respect to the collection and reporting of data as de5 scribed in subsection (a). 

6 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

7 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

8 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2026.’’. 

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