I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1539 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize a program for early 

detection, diagnosis, and treatment regarding deaf and hard-of-hearing 

newborns, infants, and young children. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 15, 2017 

Mr. GUTHRIE (for himself and Ms. MATSUI) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize a 

program for early detection, diagnosis, and treatment 

regarding deaf and hard-of-hearing newborns, infants, 

and young children. 

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 ‘‘Early Hearing Detec5 tion and Intervention Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds as follows: 


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1 (1) Deaf and hard-of-hearing newborns, infants, 

2 and young children require access to specialized 

3 early intervention providers and programs in order 

4 to help them meet their linguistic and cognitive po5 tential. 

6 (2) Families of deaf and hard-of-hearing 

7 newborns, infants, and young children benefit from 

8 comprehensive early intervention programs that as9 sist them in supporting their child’s development in 

10 all domains. 

11 (3) Best practices principles for early interven12 tion for deaf and hard-of-hearing newborns, infants, 

13 and young children have been identified in a range 

14 of areas, including listening and spoken language 

15 and visual and signed language acquisition, family16 to-family support, support from individuals who are 

17 deaf or hard-of-hearing, progress monitoring, and 

18 others. 

19 (4) Effective hearing screening and early inter20 vention programs must be in place to identify hear21 ing levels in deaf and hard-of-hearing newborns, in22 fants, and young children so that they may access 

23 appropriate early intervention programs in a timely 

24 manner. 


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1 SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION OF PROGRAM FOR EARLY DE2 TECTION, DIAGNOSIS, AND TREATMENT RE3 GARDING DEAF AND HARD-OF-HEARING 

4 NEWBORNS, INFANTS, AND YOUNG CHIL5 DREN. 

6 Section 399M of the Public Health Service Act (42 

7 U.S.C. 280g–1) is amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 399M. EARLY DETECTION, DIAGNOSIS, AND TREAT9 MENT REGARDING DEAF AND HARD-OF10 HEARING NEWBORNS, INFANTS, AND YOUNG 

11 CHILDREN. 

12 ‘‘(a) HEALTH RESOURCES AND SERVICES ADMINIS13 TRATION.—The Secretary, acting through the Adminis14 trator of the Health Resources and Services Administra15 tion, shall make awards of grants or cooperative agree16 ments to develop statewide newborn, infant, and young 

17 childhood hearing screening, diagnosis, evaluation, and 

18 intervention programs and systems, and to assist in the 

19 recruitment, retention, education, and training of qualified 

20 personnel and health care providers (including education 

21 and training of family members) for the following pur22 poses: 

23 ‘‘(1) To develop and monitor the efficacy of 

24 statewide programs and systems for hearing screen25 ing of newborns, infants, and young children, 

26 prompt evaluation and diagnosis of newborns, inVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Mar 20, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1539.IH H1539

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1 fants, and young children referred from screening 

2 programs, and appropriate educational, audiological, 

3 medical, and communications (or language acquisi4 tion) interventions (including family support) for 

5 newborns, infants, and young children identified as 

6 deaf or hard-of-hearing, consistent with the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(A) Early intervention includes referral 

9 to, and delivery of, information and services by 

10 organizations such as schools and agencies (in11 cluding community, consumer, and family-based 

12 agencies), medical homes for children, and 

13 other programs under part C of the Individuals 

14 with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 

15 1431 et seq.), which offer programs specifically 

16 designed to meet the unique language and com17 munication needs of deaf and hard-of-hearing 

18 newborns, infants, and young children. 

19 ‘‘(B) Information provided to parents shall 

20 be accurate, comprehensive, and, where appro21 priate, evidence-based, allowing families to 

22 make important decisions for their children in 

23 a timely way, including decisions relating to all 

24 possible assistive hearing technologies (such as 

25 hearing aids, cochlear implants, and 


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1 osseointegrated devices) and communication 

2 modalities (such as oral and visual communica3 tions and language acquisition services and pro4 grams). 

5 ‘‘(C) Programs and systems under this 

6 paragraph shall offer mechanisms that foster 

7 family-to-family and deaf and hard-of-hearing 

8 consumer-to-family supports. 

9 ‘‘(2) To continue to provide technical support to 

10 States, through one or more technical resource cen11 ters, to assist in further developing and enhancing 

12 State early hearing detection and intervention pro13 grams. 

14 ‘‘(3) To identify or develop efficient models 

15 (educational and medical) to ensure that newborns, 

16 infants, and young children who are identified 

17 through screening as deaf or hard-of-hearing receive, 

18 as appropriate, follow-up by qualified early interven19 tion providers, qualified health care providers, or 

20 medical homes for children and referrals to early 

21 intervention services (including special education and 

22 related services, as appropriate) under part C of the 

23 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 

24 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.). State agencies shall be encourVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Mar 20, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1539.IH H1539

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1 aged to effectively increase the rate of such follow2 up and referral. 

3 ‘‘(b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, DATA MANAGEMENT, 

4 AND APPLIED RESEARCH.— 

5 ‘‘(1) CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND

6 PREVENTION.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 

8 through the Director of the Centers for Disease 

9 Control and Prevention, shall make awards of 

10 grants or cooperative agreements to provide 

11 technical assistance to State agencies or des12 ignated entities of States— 

13 ‘‘(i) for the development, mainte14 nance, and improvement of data tracking 

15 and surveillance systems on newborn, in16 fant, and young childhood hearing screen17 ing, audiologic evaluations, medical evalua18 tions, language-acquisition evaluations, and 

19 intervention services; 

20 ‘‘(ii) to conduct applied research re21 lated to services and outcomes; 

22 ‘‘(iii) to provide technical assistance 

23 related to newborn, infant, and young 

24 childhood hearing screening, evaluation, 


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1 and intervention programs, and informa2 tion systems; 

3 ‘‘(iv) to ensure high-quality moni4 toring of hearing screening, evaluation, 

5 and intervention programs and systems for 

6 newborns, infants, and young children; and 

7 ‘‘(v) to coordinate developing stand8 ardized procedures for data management 

9 and assessing program and cost effective10 ness. 

11 ‘‘(B) USE OF AWARDS.—The awards under 

12 subparagraph (A) may be used— 

13 ‘‘(i) to provide technical assistance on 

14 data collection and management; 

15 ‘‘(ii) to study and report on the costs 

16 and effectiveness of newborn, infant, and 

17 young childhood hearing screening, evalua18 tion, diagnosis, intervention programs, and 

19 systems in order to address issues of im20 portance to State and national policy mak21 ers; 

22 ‘‘(iii) to collect data and report on 

23 newborn, infant, and young childhood 

24 hearing screening, evaluation, diagnosis, 

25 and intervention programs and systems 


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1 that can be used for applied research, pro2 gram evaluation, and policy development; 

3 ‘‘(iv) to identify the causes and risk 

4 factors for congenital hearing loss; 

5 ‘‘(v) to study the effectiveness of new6 born, infant, and young childhood hearing 

7 screening, audiologic evaluations, medical 

8 evaluations, and intervention programs and 

9 systems by assessing the health, intellec10 tual and social developmental, cognitive, 

11 and hearing status of children at school 

12 age; and 

13 ‘‘(vi) to promote the integration, link14 age, and interoperability of data regarding 

15 early hearing loss and multiple sources to 

16 increase information exchanges between 

17 clinical care and public health, including 

18 the ability of States and territories to ex19 change and share data. 

20 ‘‘(2) NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH.—The 

21 Director of the National Institutes of Health, acting 

22 through the Director of the National Institute on 

23 Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, 

24 shall, for purposes of this section, continue a pro25 gram of research and development on the efficacy of 


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1 new screening techniques and technology, including 

2 clinical studies of screening methods, studies on the 

3 efficacy of intervention, and related research. 

4 ‘‘(c) COORDINATION AND COLLABORATION.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out programs 

6 under this section, the Administrator of the Health 

7 Resources and Services Administration, the Director 

8 of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 

9 and the Director of the National Institutes of Health 

10 shall collaborate and consult with— 

11 ‘‘(A) other Federal agencies; 

12 ‘‘(B) State and local agencies, including 

13 agencies responsible for early intervention serv14 ices (including special education and related 

15 services, as appropriate) pursuant to title V of 

16 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 701 et seq.) 

17 (Maternal and Child Health Services Block 

18 Grant), title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 

19 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) (Medicaid Early and Peri20 odic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment Pro21 gram), title XXI of the Social Security Act (42 

22 U.S.C. 1397aa et seq.) (State Children’s Health 

23 Insurance Program), and part C of the Individ24 uals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 

25 1431 et seq.); 


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1 ‘‘(C) consumer groups of, and that serve, 

2 individuals who are deaf and hard-of-hearing 

3 and their families; 

4 ‘‘(D) appropriate national medical and 

5 other health and education specialty organiza6 tions; 

7 ‘‘(E) individuals who are deaf or hard-of8 hearing and their families; 

9 ‘‘(F) other qualified professional personnel 

10 who are proficient in deaf or hard-of-hearing 

11 children’s language and who possess the special12 ized knowledge, skills, and attributes needed to 

13 serve deaf and hard-of-hearing newborns, in14 fants, young children, and their families; 

15 ‘‘(G) third-party payers and managed-care 

16 organizations; and 

17 ‘‘(H) related commercial industries. 

18 ‘‘(2) POLICY DEVELOPMENT.—The Adminis19 trator of the Health Resources and Services Admin20 istration, the Director of the Centers for Disease 

21 Control and Prevention, and the Director of the Na22 tional Institutes of Health shall coordinate and col23 laborate on recommendations for policy development 

24 at the Federal and State levels and with the private 

25 sector, including consumer, medical, and other 


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1 health and education professional-based organiza2 tions, with respect to newborn and infant hearing 

3 screening, evaluation, diagnosis, and intervention 

4 programs and systems. 

5 ‘‘(3) STATE EARLY DETECTION, DIAGNOSIS, 

6 AND INTERVENTION PROGRAMS AND SYSTEMS; DATA

7 COLLECTION.—The Administrator of the Health Re8 sources and Services Administration and the Direc9 tor of the Centers for Disease Control and Preven10 tion shall coordinate and collaborate in assisting 

11 States— 

12 ‘‘(A) to establish newborn, infant, and 

13 young childhood hearing screening, evaluation, 

14 diagnosis, and intervention programs and sys15 tems under subsection (a); and 

16 ‘‘(B) to develop a data collection system 

17 under subsection (b)(1). 

18 ‘‘(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION; RELIGIOUS ACCOM19 MODATION.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to 

20 preempt or prohibit any State law, including State laws 

21 that do not require the screening for hearing loss of 

22 newborns, infants, or young children of any parent who 

23 objects to the screening on the grounds that such screen24 ing conflicts with the parent’s religious beliefs. 

25 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 


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1 ‘‘(1) The term ‘audiologic’, when used in con2 nection with evaluation, means procedures— 

3 ‘‘(A) to assess the status of the auditory 

4 system; 

5 ‘‘(B) to establish the site of the auditory 

6 disorder, the type and degree of hearing loss, 

7 and the potential effects of hearing loss on com8 munication; and 

9 ‘‘(C) to identify appropriate treatment and 

10 referral options, including— 

11 ‘‘(i) linkage to State agencies coordi12 nating the programs under part C of the 

13 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 

14 (20 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.) or other appro15 priate agencies; 

16 ‘‘(ii) medical evaluation; 

17 ‘‘(iii) hearing aid or sensory aid as18 sessment; 

19 ‘‘(iv) audiologic rehabilitation treat20 ment; and 

21 ‘‘(v) referral to national and local con22 sumer, self-help, family, and education or23 ganizations, and other family-centered 

24 services. 

25 ‘‘(2) The term ‘early intervention’ means— 


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1 ‘‘(A) providing appropriate services for a 

2 child who is deaf or hard-of-hearing, including 

3 nonmedical services; and 

4 ‘‘(B) ensuring the family of such child is— 

5 ‘‘(i) provided comprehensive, con6 sumer-oriented information about the full 

7 range of family support, training, informa8 tion services, and language acquisition in 

9 oral and visual modalities; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) given the opportunity to consider 

11 and obtain the full range of such appro12 priate services, educational and program 

13 placements, and other options for the child 

14 from highly qualified providers. 

15 ‘‘(3) The term ‘medical evaluation’ means key 

16 components performed by a physician, including his17 tory, examination, and medical decisionmaking fo18 cused on symptomatic and related body systems for 

19 the purpose of diagnosing the etiology of hearing 

20 loss and related physical conditions, and for identi21 fying appropriate treatment and referral options. 

22 ‘‘(4) The term ‘medical intervention’ means the 

23 process by which a physician provides medical diag24 nosis and direction for medical or surgical treatment 


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1 options for hearing loss or other medical disorders 

2 associated with hearing loss. 

3 ‘‘(5) The term ‘newborn, infant, and young 

4 childhood hearing screening’ means objective physio5 logic procedures to detect possible hearing loss and 

6 to identify newborns, infants, and young children up 

7 to the age of three who require further audiologic 

8 evaluations and medical evaluations. 

9 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) STATEWIDE NEWBORN, INFANT, AND

11 YOUNG CHILDHOOD HEARING SCREENING, EVALUA12 TION AND INTERVENTION PROGRAMS AND SYS13 TEMS.—For the purpose of carrying out subsection 

14 (a), there are authorized to be appropriated to the 

15 Health Resources and Services Administration 

16 $17,800,000 for each of fiscal years 2018 through 

17 2022. 

18 ‘‘(2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, DATA MANAGE19 MENT, AND APPLIED RESEARCH; CENTERS FOR DIS20 EASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION.—For the purpose 

21 of carrying out subsection (b)(1), there are author22 ized to be appropriated to the Centers for Disease 

23 Control and Prevention $10,800,000 for each of fis24 cal years 2018 through 2022. 


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1 ‘‘(3) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, DATA MANAGE2 MENT, AND APPLIED RESEARCH; NATIONAL INSTI3 TUTE ON DEAFNESS AND OTHER COMMUNICATION

4 DISORDERS.—No additional funds are authorized to 

5 be appropriated for the purpose of carrying out sub6 section (b)(2). Such subsection shall be carried out 

7 using funds which are otherwise authorized (under 

8 section 402A or other provisions of law) to be appro9 priated for such purpose.’’. 

Æ 


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