I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 280 

To provide for systemic research, treatment, prevention, awareness, and dissemination of information with respect to sports-related and other concussions. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 8, 2019 

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

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To provide for systemic research, treatment, prevention, 

awareness, and dissemination of information with respect 

to sports-related and other concussions. 

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 ‘‘Concussion Awareness 

5 and Education Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 The table of contents of this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

Sec. 3. Findings; purposes. 

Sec. 4. Surveillance of sports-related concussions. 


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Sec. 5. Research. 

Sec. 6. Dissemination of information. 

Sec. 7. Concussion Research Commission. 

1 SEC. 3. FINDINGS; PURPOSES. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as follows: 

3 (1) There is currently no comprehensive system 

4 for acquiring accurate data on the incidence of 

5 sports- and recreation-related concussions across 

6 youth age groups and sports. 

7 (2) Overall, according to a report entitled 

8 ‘‘Sports-Related Concussions in Youth: Improving 

9 the Science, Changing the Culture’’, issued by the 

10 National Academies in 2013, each year in the 

11 United States, there are approximately 1.6 to 3.8 

12 million sports- and recreation-related traumatic 

13 brain injuries, including concussions and other head 

14 injuries. These figures are based on conservative es15 timates. 

16 (3) Between 2001 and 2009, the reported num17 ber of our youth ages 21 and under treated in an 

18 emergency department for concussion and other non19 fatal sports and recreation-related traumatic brain 

20 injuries increased from 150,000 to 250,000. 

21 (4) Over the same time period between 2001 

22 and 2009, the rate of emergency room visits for con23 cussive injuries increased by 57 percent. 


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1 (5) Yet, according to the National Academies 

2 there currently is— 

3 (A) a lack of data to accurately estimate 

4 the incidence of sports-related concussions 

5 across a variety of sports and for youth across 

6 the pediatric age spectrum; and 

7 (B) no comprehensive system for acquiring 

8 accurate data on the incidence of sports- and 

9 recreation-related concussions across all youth 

10 age groups and sports. 

11 (6) Currently, there are significant information 

12 gaps in the proper protocol for diagnosis and treat13 ment of sports-related concussions and more re14 search desperately is needed. 

15 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

16 (1) to increase awareness and knowledge about 

17 concussions through development of, implementation 

18 of, and evaluation of the effectiveness of, large-scale 

19 collaborative efforts and research by entities includ20 ing, but not limited to, national sports associations, 

21 State high school associations, trainers’ associations, 

22 appropriate Federal entities, and other stakeholders 

23 such as parents, coaches, and students; and 

24 (2) to change the culture (including social 

25 norms, attitudes, and behaviors) surrounding conVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Jan 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H280.IH H280

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1 cussions among elementary school youth and their 

2 parents, coaches, sports officials, educators, trainers, 

3 and health care professionals, taking into account 

4 demographic variations across population groups, 

5 where appropriate. 

6 SEC. 4. SURVEILLANCE OF SPORTS-RELATED CONCUS7 SIONS. 

8 Title III of the Public Health Service Act is amended 

9 by inserting after section 317T of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

10 247b–22) the following: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 317U. SURVEILLANCE OF SPORTS-RELATED CONCUS12 SIONS. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

14 Human Services, acting through the Director of the Cen15 ters for Disease Control and Prevention, and taking into 

16 account other Federal data collection efforts, shall— 

17 ‘‘(1) establish and oversee a national system to 

18 accurately determine the incidence of sports-related 

19 concussions among youth; and 

20 ‘‘(2) begin implementation of such system not 

21 later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the 

22 Concussion Awareness and Education Act of 2019. 

23 ‘‘(b) DATA TO BE COLLECTED.—The data collected 

24 under subsection (a) shall, to the extent feasible, include 

25 each of the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) The incidence of sports-related concussions 

2 in individuals 5 through 21 years of age. 

3 ‘‘(2) Demographic information of the injured 

4 individuals, including age, sex, race, and ethnicity. 

5 ‘‘(3) Pre-existing conditions of the injured indi6 viduals, such as attention deficit hyperactivity dis7 order and learning disabilities. 

8 ‘‘(4) The concussion history of the injured indi9 viduals, such as the number and dates of prior con10 cussions. 

11 ‘‘(5) The use of protective equipment and im12 pact monitoring devices. 

13 ‘‘(6) The qualifications of personnel diagnosing 

14 the concussions. 

15 ‘‘(7) The cause, nature, and extent of the con16 cussive injury, including— 

17 ‘‘(A) the sport or activity involved; 

18 ‘‘(B) the recreational or competitive level 

19 of the sport or activity involved; 

20 ‘‘(C) the event type involved, including 

21 whether it was practice or competition; 

22 ‘‘(D) the impact location on the body; 

23 ‘‘(E) the impact nature, such as contact 

24 with a playing surface, another player, or equip25 ment; and 


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1 ‘‘(F) signs and symptoms consistent with a 

2 concussion.’’. 

3 SEC. 5. RESEARCH. 

4 Part B of title IV of the Public Health Service Act 

5 (42 U.S.C. 284 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 409K. RESEARCH ON CONCUSSIONS IN YOUTH. 

8 ‘‘Beginning not later than 1 year after the date of 

9 enactment of the Concussion Awareness and Education 

10 Act of 2019, the Director of NIH shall conduct or sup11 port— 

12 ‘‘(1) research designed to inform the creation of 

13 age-specific, evidence-based guidelines for the man14 agement of short- and long-term sequelae of concus15 sion in youth; 

16 ‘‘(2) research on the effects of concussions and 

17 repetitive head impacts on quality of life and the ac18 tivities of daily living; 

19 ‘‘(3) research to identify predictors, and modi20 fiers of outcomes, of concussions in youth, including 

21 the influence of socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, 

22 sex, and comorbidities; and 

23 ‘‘(4) research on age- and sex-related bio24 mechanical determinants of injury risk for concus25 sion in youth, including how injury thresholds are 


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1 modified by the number of and time interval between 

2 head impacts and concussions.’’. 

3 SEC. 6. DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

5 Human Services, acting through the Director of the Cen6 ters for Disease Control and Prevention, shall develop and 

7 disseminate to the public information regarding concus8 sions. 

9 (b) ARRANGEMENTS WITH OTHER ENTITIES.—In 

10 carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary may dissemi11 nate information through arrangements with nonprofit or12 ganizations, consumer groups, Federal, State, or local 

13 agencies, or the media. 

14 SEC. 7. CONCUSSION RESEARCH COMMISSION. 

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Con16 cussion Research Commission (referred to in this section 

17 as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

18 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

19 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Commission shall be 

20 composed of the following nine members: 

21 (A) Five shall be appointed by the Presi22 dent. 

23 (B) One shall be appointed by the Speaker 

24 of the House of Representatives. 


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1 (C) One shall be appointed by the minority 

2 leader of the House of Representatives. 

3 (D) One shall be appointed by the majority 

4 leader of the Senate. 

5 (E) One shall be appointed by the minority 

6 leader of the Senate. 

7 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—To be eligible for ap8 pointment under paragraph (1), an individual 

9 shall— 

10 (A) have experience with research, treat11 ment, and prevention with respect to all types 

12 of concussive injuries; and 

13 (B) be a leading medical or scientific ex14 pert, or an otherwise authoritatively qualified 

15 expert, in one or more relevant fields. 

16 (3) TERMS.—Each member of the Commission 

17 shall be appointed for the life of the Commission. 

18 (4) VACANCIES.—Any member appointed to fill 

19 a vacancy occurring before the expiration of the 

20 term for which the member’s predecessor was ap21 pointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of 

22 that term. A member may serve after the expiration 

23 of that member’s term until a successor has taken 

24 office. A vacancy in the Commission shall be filled 


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1 in the manner in which the original appointment was 

2 made. 

3 (5) NO PAY.—The members of the Commission 

4 shall serve without pay. Members of the Commission 

5 who are full-time officers or employees of the United 

6 States or Members of Congress may not receive ad7 ditional pay, allowances, or benefits by reason of 

8 their service on the Commission. 

9 (6) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of the 

10 Commission shall receive travel expenses, including 

11 per diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with 

12 applicable provisions under subchapter I of chapter 

13 57 of title 5, United States Code. 

14 (7) RESOURCES.—The Secretary shall ensure 

15 that appropriate personnel, funding, and other re16 sources are provided to the Commission to carry out 

17 its responsibilities. 

18 (c) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at least 

19 4 times each year. 

20 (d) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon request 

21 of the Commission, the head of any Federal department 

22 or agency may detail, without reimbursement, any of the 

23 personnel of that department or agency to the Commission 

24 to assist in carrying out this section. 

25 (e) STUDY.—The Commission shall— 


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1 (1) study the programs and activities conducted 

2 pursuant to this Act; and 

3 (2) based on the results of such programs and 

4 activities, formulate systemic recommendations for 

5 furthering the purposes of this Act, as described in 

6 section 3(b). 

7 (f) REVIEW OF NATIONAL ACADEMIES REPORT.— 

8 The Commission shall review the report of the National 

9 Academies entitled ‘‘Sports-Related Concussions in Youth: 

10 Improving the Science, Changing the Culture’’ and rec11 ommend corrections or updates to such report, as the 

12 Commission determines appropriate. 

13 (g) REPORTING.— 

14 (1) INTERIM REPORTS.—Every 6 months, the 

15 Commission shall submit to the appropriate commit16 tees of Congress an interim report on the Commis17 sion’s activities. 

18 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 36 months 

19 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commis20 sion shall submit to the appropriate committees of 

21 Congress, and make available to the public, a final 

22 report on the results of the Commission’s study 

23 under subsection (e) and review under subsection 

24 (f). 


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1 (h) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate 

2 upon the date of submission of the final report required 

3 by subsection (g)(2), unless the Secretary of Health and 

4 Human Services chooses to maintain the Commission be5 yond such date. 

Æ 


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