I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 172

To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out 

programs regarding the prevention and management of asthma, allergies, 

and related respiratory problems, to establish a tax credit regarding 

pest control and indoor air quality and climate control services for 

multifamily residential housing in low-income communities, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 4, 2005

Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined 

by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 

within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL

To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

to carry out programs regarding the prevention and management of asthma, allergies, and related respiratory 

problems, to establish a tax credit regarding pest control 

and indoor air quality and climate control services for 

multifamily residential housing in low-income communities, 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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Asthma Awareness, 

3 Education and Treatment Act of 2005’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 The Congress finds as follows: 

6 (1) Asthma is a chronic lung condition that af7 fects an estimated 14,600,000 Americans, including 

8 4,800,000 children. 

9 (2) An estimated 40,000,000 to 50,000,000 

10 Americans suffer from allergies, including allergic 

11 asthma. 

12 (3) Asthma is the most common chronic res13 piratory disease of children, accounting for 25 per14 cent of school absenteeism, and is the third leading 

15 cause of preventable hospitalizations. 

16 (4) During the period 1980 through 1994 the 

17 prevalence of pediatric asthma increased by 72 per18 cent, and the percentage of preschool children with 

19 asthma increased by 160 percent. 

20 (5) The prevalence of asthma is greater in 

21 women than in men (5.6 percent of women as com22 pared to 5.1 percent of men). 

23 (6) Asthma has a disparate impact on low in24 come families, i.e, a family of four with an income 

25 of less than $17,650. In households with an annual 

26 income of less than $10,000, 79.2 of 1,000 individ-
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1 uals who are under the age of 45 have asthma, while 

2 in families with an annual income of between 

3 $20,000 and $35,000, 53.6 of 1,000 individuals 

4 under the age of 45 have asthma. 

5 (7) In 1997, more than 5,000 Americans died 

6 from asthma attacks. During the period 1993 

7 through 1995, the average number of deaths from 

8 asthma for African Americans was 38.5 deaths per 

9 million individuals, while the average for Caucasians 

10 was 15.1 deaths per million. 

11 (8) Asthma is estimated to cost the United 

12 States over $12,000,000,000 annually and the rise 

13 in the prevalence of asthma will lead to higher costs 

14 in the future. 

15 (9) African Americans are five times more like16 ly than other segments of the population to seek 

17 care for asthma at an emergency room. 

18 (10) The asthma death rate is four times high19 er among African American children and two times 

20 higher among all African Americans. 

21 (11) Exercise improves the physical and psycho22 logical well-being of children. Children with asthma 

23 require treatment programs that are tailored to their 

24 unique needs because in some instances, exercise can 

25 trigger negative response among asthmatics. 
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1 SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR PROJECTS FOR ASTHMA-RELATED AC2 TIVITIES FOR LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES. 

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

4 Human Services (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Sec5 retary’’) may make grants to public and nonprofit private 

6 entities for the purpose of carrying out projects to provide 

7 for individuals in low-income communities—

8 (1) screenings and referrals regarding asthma, 

9 allergies, and related respiratory problems in accord10 ance with subsection (b); 

11 (2) information and education regarding such 

12 conditions in accordance with subsection (c); and 

13 (3) workshops regarding such conditions that 

14 are provided for parents, teachers, physical edu15 cation instructors, school nurses, school counselors, 

16 athletic coaches, and other individuals who serve in 

17 supervisory roles of children in such communities. 

18 (b) SCREENINGS AND REFERRALS.—The Secretary 

19 shall ensure that screenings and referrals regarding asth20 ma, allergies, and related respiratory problems under sub21 section (a) are comprehensive, and that the settings in 

22 which the screenings and referrals are provided include—

23 (1) traditional medical settings such as hos24 pitals, health clinics, and the offices of physicians; 

25 and 
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1 (2) nontraditional settings for the provision of 

2 such services, such as nurseries, elementary and sec3 ondary schools, community centers, public housing 

4 units, volunteer organizations, convenience stores, 

5 local governmental offices, day care centers, sites 

6 that offer nutrition-related services for women, in7 fants, and children, and governmental offices that 

8 provide cash assistance for low-income individuals. 

9 (c) INFORMATION AND EDUCATION.—The Secretary 

10 shall ensure that information and education on asthma, 

11 allergies, and related respiratory problems under sub12 section (a) is provided in accordance with the following: 

13 (1) The information and education is provided 

14 in the language and cultural context that is most ap15 propriate for the individuals for whom the informa16 tion and education is intended. 

17 (2) The information and education includes in18 formation and education to increase understanding 

19 on the following: 

20 (A) The symptoms of the conditions. 

21 (B) Preventing the conditions. 

22 (C) Monitoring and managing the condi23 tions, including—
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1 (i) avoiding circumstances that may 

2 cause asthma attacks or other respiratory 

3 problems; and 

4 (ii) being aware of appropriate medi5 cation options, such as the need as appro6 priate to keep in one’s possession an asth7 ma inhaler. 

8 (D) The importance of developing a treat9 ment plan that permits asthmatic children to 

10 regularly engage in sports and other physical 

11 activities. 

12 (3) The settings in which the information and 

13 education are provided include traditional settings 

14 such as the settings described in subsection (b)(1) 

15 and nontraditional settings such as the settings de16 scribed in subsection (b)(2). 

17 (d) EVALUATIONS OF PROJECTS.—The Secretary 

18 shall (directly or through contract) provide for the evalua19 tion of projects carried under subsection (a), including—

20 (1) determining the number of low income chil21 dren and adults who have received screenings and 

22 referrals through the projects; 

23 (2) determining the extent to which the projects 

24 have had an effect on the manner in which individ25 uals served by the projects prevent and manage 
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1 asthma, allergies, and related respiratory problems; 

2 and 

3 (3) evaluating the effectiveness of materials 

4 used in providing information and education. 

5 (e) INCLUSION IN PROJECT OF LOCAL COMMUNITY6 BASED ORGANIZATION.—A condition for the receipt of a 

7 grant under subsection (a) is that—

8 (1) the applicant for the grant be a community9 based organization that provides services in the low10 income community in which the project under such 

11 subsection is to be carried out; or 

12 (2) the applicant for the grant demonstrate to 

13 the Secretary that one or more representatives from 

14 such an organization will play a substantial role in 

15 carrying out the project. 

16 (f) APPLICATION FOR GRANT.—The Secretary may 

17 make a grant under subsection (a) only if an application 

18 for the grant is submitted to the Secretary and the appli19 cation is in such form, is made in such manner, and con20 tains such agreements, assurances, and information as the 

21 Secretary determines to be necessary to carry out this sec22 tion. 

23 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the 

24 purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized 

25 to be appropriated $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2006, and 
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1 such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 

2 2007 through 2010. 

3 SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN TO PROVIDE ASTHMA4 RELATED INFORMATION. 

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

6 Human Services (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Sec7 retary’’) may make awards of contracts to provide for a 

8 national media campaign to provide to the public and 

9 health care providers information on asthma, allergies, 

10 and related respiratory problems, with priority given to the 

11 occurrence of such conditions in children. Funds for the 

12 campaign will be spent from the appropriated sum of 

13 $5,000,000. 

14 (b) CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall 

15 ensure that the national media campaign under subsection 

16 (a) is carried out in accordance with the following: 

17 (1) The campaign provides information regard18 ing the prevention and management of asthma, al19 lergies, and related respiratory problems. 

20 (2) With respect to a community in which the 

21 campaign is carried out—

22 (A) the campaign provides information re23 garding the availability in the community of 

24 programs that provide screenings, referrals, and 
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1 treatment regarding such conditions and train2 ing in managing the conditions; and 

3 (B) the campaign is carried out in the lan4 guage and cultural context that is most appro5 priate for the individuals for whom the cam6 paign is intended. 

7 The campaign message, while tailored to the affected pop8 ulation, should have universal appeal and application to 

9 populations with different demographic backgrounds. 

10 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the 

11 purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized 

12 to be appropriated $600,000 for fiscal year 2006, and 

13 such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 

14 2007 through 2010. 

15 SEC. 5. TAX CREDIT FOR DONATIONS OF PEST CONTROL 

16 SERVICES AND HEATING, VENTILATION, AND 

17 AIR CONDITIONING SERVICES. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub19 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

20 1986 (relating to business related credits) is amended by 

21 adding at the end the following new section: 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 45J. CREDIT FOR DONATIONS OF PEST CONTROL 

2 SERVICES AND HEATING, VENTILATION, AND 

3 AIR CONDITIONING SERVICES. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 38, in 

5 the case of a taxpayer engaged in the trade or business 

6 of providing pest control services or heating, ventilation, 

7 and air conditioning services, the donation credit deter8 mined under this section for the taxable year is an amount 

9 equal to the aggregate cost (including wages) paid or in10 curred by the taxpayer during the taxable year in pro11 viding qualified pest control services and qualified heating, 

12 ventilation, and air conditioning services. 

13 ‘‘(b) PROVIDER MUST BE LICENSED.—No amount 

14 shall be taken into account for purposes of subsection (a) 

15 by a taxpayer unless the taxpayer is licensed and certified 

16 in the type of service provided. 

17 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The terms ‘qualified pest 

19 control services’ and ‘qualified heating, ventilation, 

20 and air conditioning services’ means pest control 

21 services or heating, ventilation, and air conditioning 

22 services (as the case may be) provided without 

23 charge in—

24 ‘‘(A) any public housing (as defined in sec25 tion 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 

26 1937), or 
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1 ‘‘(B) any multifamily residential rental 

2 property if it is reasonably expected that at 

3 least 75 percent of the occupants of the dwell4 ing units have incomes below 200 percent of the 

5 official poverty line, 

6 but only if such services are part of a good faith ef7 fort (including follow-up treatments) to locate the 

8 source(s) of pest or indoor air quality problems 

9 known to trigger symptoms of asthma or allergies, 

10 remedy the problem, and provide maintenance serv11 ices that will keep indoor air climates free of pest 

12 and indoor air allergens and if such services are 

13 verified in such manner as the Secretary shall pre14 scribe. 

15 ‘‘(2) PEST CONTROL SERVICES.—For purposes 

16 of paragraph (1), the term ‘pest control services’ 

17 means services—

18 ‘‘(A) to eliminate cockroaches, dust mites, 

19 animal dander, and mold, and 

20 ‘‘(B) to eliminate mice, rats, vermin, and 

21 other rodents. 

22 ‘‘(3) HEATING, VENTILATION, AND AIR CONDI23 TIONING SERVICES.—The term ‘heating, ventilation, 

24 and air conditioning services’ shall include source re25 mediation of poor indoor air quality.’’. 
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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

2 (1) Section 38(b) of such Code is amended by 

3 striking ‘‘plus’’ at the end of paragraph (18), by 

4 striking the period at the end of paragraph (19) and 

5 inserting ‘‘, plus’’, and by adding at the end the fol6 lowing new paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(20) in the case of a taxpayer engaged in the 

8 trade or business of providing pest control or heat9 ing, ventilation, and air conditioning services (as de10 fined in section 45J(c), the donation credit deter11 mined under section 45J.’’. 

12 (2) The table of sections for subpart D of part 

13 IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is 

14 amended by adding at the end the following new 

15 item:

‘‘Sec. 45J. Credit for donations of pest control services and heating, ventilation, 

and air conditioning services.’’.

16 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

17 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

18 December 31, 2005. 

19 SEC. 6. GRANT PROGRAM REGARDING AWARENESS OF TAX 

20 CREDIT FOR DONATIONS OF PEST CONTROL 

21 AND CLIMATE CONTROL SERVICES. 

22 The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall, 

23 directly or through grants or contracts, carry out a pro24 gram to disseminate information about the pest and ven-
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1 tilation initiative under section 45J of the Internal Rev2 enue Code of 1986. 

3 SEC. 7. RESEARCH ON RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AIR POL4 LUTANTS AND ASTHMA-RELATED PROBLEMS. 

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

6 Human Services (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Sec7 retary’’), in consultation with the Administrator of the En8 vironmental Protection Agency, shall (directly or through 

9 grants and contracts) provide for the conduct of research 

10 for the purpose of determining whether and to what extent 

11 there is a causal relationship between air pollutants and 

12 the occurrence of asthma, allergies, and related res13 piratory problems. 

14 (b) REQUIREMENT REGARDING CLINICAL PARTICI15 PANTS.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—In providing for the conduct 

17 of clinical research under subsection (a), the Sec18 retary shall give priority to providing to individuals 

19 described in paragraph (2) opportunities to undergo 

20 clinical evaluations for purposes of the research. 

21 (2) RELEVANT POPULATIONS.—For purposes of 

22 paragraph (1), the individuals referred to in this 

23 paragraph are individuals who are residents of com24 munities in which the average family income is at or 

25 below 200 percent of the official poverty line, as es-
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1 tablished by the Director of the Office of Manage2 ment and Budget and revised by the Secretary in ac3 cordance with section 673(2) of the Omnibus Budget 

4 Reconciliation Act of 1981. 

5 SEC. 8. COORDINATION OF FEDERAL ACTIVITIES TO AD6 DRESS ASTHMA-RELATED HEALTH CARE 

7 NEEDS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 

9 Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute shall, through the Na10 tional Asthma Education Prevention Program Coordi11 nating Committee—

12 (1) identify all Federal programs that carry out 

13 asthma-related activities; 

14 (2) develop, in consultation with appropriate 

15 Federal agencies and professional and voluntary 

16 health organizations, a Federal plan for responding 

17 to asthma; and 

18 (3) not later than 12 months after the date of 

19 enactment of this Act, submit recommendations to 

20 the Congress on ways to strengthen and improve the 

21 coordination of asthma-related activities of the Fed22 eral Government. 

23 (b) REPRESENTATION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF

24 HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT.—A representative 

25 of the Department of Housing and Urban Development 
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1 shall be included on the National Asthma Education Pre2 vention Program Coordinating Committee for the purpose 

3 of performing the tasks described in subsection (a). 

4 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Out of 

5 any funds otherwise appropriated for the National Insti6 tutes of Health, $5,000,000 shall be made available to the 

7 National Asthma Education Prevention Program for the 

8 period of fiscal years 2006 through 2010 for the purpose 

9 of carrying out this section. Funds made available under 

10 this subsection shall be in addition to any other funds ap11 propriated to the National Asthma Education Prevention 

12 Program for any fiscal year during such period. 

13 SEC. 9. COMPILATION OF DATA BY CENTERS FOR DISEASE 

14 CONTROL AND PREVENTION. 

15 The Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 

16 Prevention, in consultation with the National Asthma 

17 Education Prevention Program Coordinating Committee, 

18 shall—

19 (1) conduct local asthma surveillance activities 

20 to collect data on the prevalence and severity of 

21 asthma and the quality of asthma management, in22 cluding—

23 (A) telephone surveys to collect sample 

24 household data on the local burden of asthma; 

25 and 
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1 (B) health care facility specific surveillance 

2 to collect asthma data on the prevalence and se3 verity of asthma, and on the quality of asthma 

4 care; and 

5 (2) compile and annually publish data on—

6 (A) the prevalence of children suffering 

7 from asthma in each State; and 

8 (B) the childhood mortality rate associated 

9 with asthma nationally and in each State.

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