II

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 170

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide a comprehensive program

for the prevention of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 5, 1995

Mr. DASCHLE (for himself, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. CAMPBELL, Mr. KERRY, Mr.

REID, and Mr. INOUYE) introduced the following bill; which was read

twice and referred to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources

A BILL

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide a comprehensive program for the prevention of Fetal Alcohol

Syndrome, and for other purposes.

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 ‘‘Comprehensive Fetal

5 Alcohol Syndrome Prevention Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds that—
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1 (1) Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is the leading

2 known cause of mental retardation, and it is 100

3 percent preventable;

4 (2) each year, more than 5,000 infants are born

5 in the United States with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome,

6 suffering irreversible physical and mental damage;

7 (3) thousands more infants are born each year

8 with Fetal Alcohol Effects, which are lesser, though

9 still serious, alcohol-related birth defects;

10 (4) Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol

11 Effects are national problems which can impact any

12 child, family, or community, but their threat to

13 American Indians and Alaska Natives is especially

14 alarming;

15 (5) in some American Indian communities,

16 where alcohol dependency rates reach 50 percent

17 and above, the chances of a newborn suffering Fetal

18 Alcohol Syndrome or Fetal Alcohol Effects are 30

19 times greater than national averages;

20 (6) in addition to the immeasurable toll on chil21 dren and their families, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and

22 Fetal Alcohol Effects pose extraordinary financial

23 costs to the Nation, including the costs of health

24 care, education, foster care, job training, and gen25 eral support services for affected individuals;
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1 (7) as a reliable comparison, delivery and care

2 costs are four times greater for infants who were ex3 posed to illicit substances than for infants with no

4 indication of substance exposure, and over a lifetime,

5 health care costs for one Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

6 child are estimated to be at least $1,400,000;

7 (8) researchers have determined that the possi8 bility of giving birth to a baby with Fetal Alcohol

9 Syndrome or Fetal Alcohol Effects increases in pro10 portion to the amount and frequency of alcohol

11 consumed by a pregnant woman, and that stopping

12 alcohol consumption at any point in the pregnancy

13 reduces the risks and the emotional, physical, and

14 mental consequences of alcohol exposure to the baby;

15 and

16 (9) we know of no safe dose of alcohol during

17 pregnancy, or of any safe time to drink during preg18 nancy, thus, it is in the best interest of the Nation

19 for the Federal Government to take an active role in

20 encouraging all women to abstain from alcohol con21 sumption during pregnancy.

22 SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

23 It is the purpose of this Act to establish, within the

24 Department of Health and Human Services, a comprehen-
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1 sive program to help prevent Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and

2 Fetal Alcohol Effects nationwide. Such program shall—

3 (1) coordinate, support, and conduct basic and

4 applied epidemiologic research concerning Fetal Al5 cohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects;

6 (2) coordinate, support, and conduct national,

7 State, and community-based public awareness, pre8 vention, and education programs on Fetal Alcohol

9 Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects; and

10 (3) foster coordination among all Federal agen11 cies that conduct or support Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

12 and Fetal Alcohol Effects research, programs, and

13 surveillance and otherwise meet the general needs of

14 populations actually or potentially impacted by Fetal

15 Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects.

16 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.

17 Title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.

18 241 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end thereof the

19 following new part:

20 ‘‘PART O—FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME

21 PREVENTION PROGRAM

22 ‘‘SEC. 399G. ESTABLISHMENT OF FETAL ALCOHOL SYN23 DROME PREVENTION PROGRAM.

24 ‘‘(a) FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME PREVENTION PRO25 GRAM.—The Secretary shall establish a comprehensive
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1 Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects preven2 tion program that shall include—

3 ‘‘(1) an education and public awareness pro4 gram to—

5 ‘‘(A) support, conduct, and evaluate the ef6 fectiveness of—

7 ‘‘(i) training programs concerning the

8 prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of

9 Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol

10 Effects;

11 ‘‘(ii) prevention and education pro12 grams, including school health education

13 and school-based clinic programs for

14 school-age children, concerning Fetal Alco15 hol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects;

16 and

17 ‘‘(iii) public and community awareness

18 programs concerning Fetal Alcohol Syn19 drome and Fetal Alcohol Effects;

20 ‘‘(B) provide technical and consultative as21 sistance to States, Indian tribal governments,

22 local governments, scientific and academic insti23 tutions, and nonprofit organizations concerning

24 the programs referred to in subparagraph (A);

25 and
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1 ‘‘(C) award grants to, and enter into coop2 erative agreements and contracts with, States,

3 Indian tribal governments, local governments,

4 scientific and academic institutions, and non5 profit organizations for the purpose of—

6 ‘‘(i) evaluating the effectiveness, with

7 particular emphasis on the cultural com8 petency and age-appropriateness, of pro9 grams referred to in subparagraph (A);

10 ‘‘(ii) providing training in the preven11 tion, diagnosis, and treatment of Fetal Al12 cohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects;

13 ‘‘(iii) educating school-age children,

14 including pregnant and high-risk youth,

15 concerning Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and

16 Fetal Alcohol Effects, with priority given

17 to programs that are part of a sequential,

18 comprehensive school health education pro19 gram; and

20 ‘‘(iv) increasing public and community

21 awareness concerning Fetal Alcohol Syn22 drome and Fetal Alcohol Effects through

23 culturally competent projects, programs,

24 and campaigns, and improving the under25 standing of the general public and targeted
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1 groups concerning the most effective inter2 vention methods to prevent fetal exposure

3 to alcohol;

4 ‘‘(2) an applied epidemiologic research and pre5 vention program to—

6 ‘‘(A) support and conduct research on the

7 causes, mechanisms, diagnostic methods, treat8 ment, and prevention of Fetal Alcohol Syn9 drome and Fetal Alcohol Effects;

10 ‘‘(B) provide technical and consultative as11 sistance and training to States, Tribal govern12 ments, local governments, scientific and aca13 demic institutions, and nonprofit organizations

14 engaged in the conduct of—

15 ‘‘(i) Fetal Alcohol Syndrome preven16 tion and early intervention programs; and

17 ‘‘(ii) research relating to the causes,

18 mechanisms, diagnosis methods, treatment,

19 and prevention of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

20 and Fetal Alcohol Effects; and

21 ‘‘(C) award grants to, and enter into coop22 erative agreements and contracts with, States,

23 Indian tribal governments, local governments,

24 scientific and academic institutions, and non25 profit organizations for the purpose of—
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1 ‘‘(i) conducting innovative demonstra2 tion and evaluation projects designed to

3 determine effective strategies, including

4 community-based prevention programs and

5 multicultural education campaigns, for pre6 venting and intervening in fetal exposure

7 to alcohol;

8 ‘‘(ii) improving and coordinating the

9 surveillance and ongoing assessment meth10 ods implemented by such entities and the

11 Federal Government with respect to Fetal

12 Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Ef13 fects;

14 ‘‘(iii) developing and evaluating effec15 tive age-appropriate and culturally com16 petent prevention programs for children,

17 adolescents, and adults identified as being

18 at-risk of becoming chemically dependent

19 on alcohol and associated with or develop20 ing Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Al21 cohol Effects; and

22 ‘‘(iv) facilitating coordination and col23 laboration among Federal, State, local gov24 ernment, Indian tribal, and community-
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1 based Fetal Alcohol Syndrome prevention

2 programs;

3 ‘‘(3) a basic research program to support and

4 conduct basic research on services and effective pre5 vention treatments and interventions for pregnant

6 alcohol-dependent women and individuals with Fetal

7 Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects;

8 ‘‘(4) a procedure for disseminating the Fetal

9 Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects diag10 nostic criteria developed pursuant to section 705 of

11 the ADAMHA Reorganization Act (42 U.S.C. 485n

12 note) to health care providers, educators, social

13 workers, child welfare workers, and other individ14 uals; and

15 ‘‘(5) the establishment, in accordance with sub16 section (b), of an interagency task force on Fetal Al17 cohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects to foster

18 coordination among all Federal agencies that con19 duct or support Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal

20 Alcohol Effects research, programs, and surveillance,

21 and otherwise meet the general needs of populations

22 actually or potentially impacted by Fetal Alcohol

23 Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects.

24 ‘‘(b) INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE.—
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1 ‘‘(1) MEMBERSHIP.—The Task Force estab2 lished pursuant to paragraph (5) of subsection (a)

3 shall—

4 ‘‘(A) be chaired by the Secretary or a des5 ignee of the Secretary, and staffed by the Ad6 ministration; and

7 ‘‘(B) include representatives from all rel8 evant agencies and offices within the Depart9 ment of Health and Human Services, the De10 partment of Agriculture, the Department of

11 Education, the Department of Defense, the De12 partment of the Interior, the Department of

13 Justice, the Department of Veterans Affairs,

14 the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms,

15 the Federal Trade Commission, and any other

16 relevant Federal agency.

17 ‘‘(2) FUNCTIONS.—The Task Force shall—

18 ‘‘(A) coordinate all Federal programs and

19 research concerning Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

20 and Fetal Alcohol Effects, including programs

21 that—

22 ‘‘(i) target individuals, families, and

23 populations identified as being at risk of

24 acquiring Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and

25 Fetal Alcohol Effects; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) provide health, education, treat2 ment, and social services to infants, chil3 dren, and adults with Fetal Alcohol Syn4 drome and Fetal Alcohol Effects;

5 ‘‘(B) coordinate its efforts with existing

6 Department of Health and Human Services

7 task forces on substance abuse prevention and

8 maternal and child health; and

9 ‘‘(C) report on a biennial basis to the Sec10 retary and relevant committees of Congress on

11 the current and planned activities of the partici12 pating agencies.

13 ‘‘SEC. 399H. ELIGIBILITY.

14 ‘‘To be eligible to receive a grant, or enter into a co15 operative agreement or contract under this part, an entity

16 shall—

17 ‘‘(1) be a State, Indian tribal government, local

18 government, scientific or academic institution, or

19 nonprofit organization; and

20 ‘‘(2) prepare and submit to the Secretary an

21 application at such time, in such manner, and con22 taining such information as the Secretary may pre23 scribe, including a description of the activities that

24 the entity intends to carry out using amounts re25 ceived under this part.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 399I. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

3 this part, such sums as are necessary for each of the fiscal

4 years 1995 through 1998.’’.

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