II

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 148

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

for the prevention of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 21, 1997

Mr. DASCHLE (for himself, Mr. CHAFEE, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. INOUYE, Mrs.

MURRAY, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. CAMPBELL, and Mr. REID) 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.

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, up to 12,000 infants are born in

5 the United States with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, suf6 fering 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) children of women who use alcohol while

11 pregnant have a significantly higher infant mortality

12 rate (13.3 per 1000) than children of those women

13 who do not use alcohol (8.6 per 1000);

14 (5) Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol

15 Effects are national problems which can impact any

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

17 American Indians and Alaska Natives is especially

18 alarming;

19 (6) in some American Indian communities,

20 where alcohol dependency rates reach 50 percent

21 and above, the chances of a newborn suffering Fetal

22 Alcohol Syndrome or Fetal Alcohol Effects are up to

23 30 times greater than national averages;

24 (7) in addition to the immeasurable toll on chil25 dren and their families, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and
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1 Fetal Alcohol Effects pose extraordinary financial

2 costs to the Nation, including the costs of health

3 care, education, foster care, job training, and gen4 eral support services for affected individuals;

5 (8) the total cost to the economy of Fetal

6 Alcohol Syndrome was approximately

7 $2,500,000,000 in 1995, and over a lifetime, health

8 care costs for one Fetal Alcohol Syndrome child are

9 estimated to be at least $1,400,000;

10 (9) researchers have determined that the possi11 bility of giving birth to a baby with Fetal Alcohol

12 Syndrome or Fetal Alcohol Effects increases in pro13 portion to the amount and frequency of alcohol

14 consumed by a pregnant woman, and that stopping

15 alcohol consumption at any point in the pregnancy

16 reduces the emotional, physical, and mental con17 sequences of alcohol exposure to the baby; and

18 (10) though approximately 1 out of every 5

19 pregnant women drink alcohol during their preg20 nancy, we know of no safe dose of alcohol during

21 pregnancy, or of any safe time to drink during preg22 nancy, thus, it is in the best interest of the Nation

23 for the Federal Government to take an active role in

24 encouraging all women to abstain from alcohol con25 sumption during pregnancy.
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1 SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

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

3 Department of Health and Human Services, a comprehen4 sive program to help prevent Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and

5 Fetal Alcohol Effects nationwide. Such program shall—

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

7 applied epidemiologic research concerning Fetal Al8 cohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects;

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

10 State, and community-based public awareness, pre11 vention, and education programs on Fetal Alcohol

12 Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects; and

13 (3) foster coordination among all Federal agen14 cies that conduct or support Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

15 and Fetal Alcohol Effects research, programs, and

16 surveillance and otherwise meet the general needs of

17 populations actually or potentially impacted by Fetal

18 Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects.

19 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.

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

21 241 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the follow22 ing:
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1 ‘‘PART O—FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME

2 PREVENTION PROGRAM

3 ‘‘SEC. 399G. ESTABLISHMENT OF FETAL ALCOHOL SYN4 DROME PREVENTION PROGRAM.

5 ‘‘(a) FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME PREVENTION PRO6 GRAM.—The Secretary shall establish a comprehensive

7 Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects preven8 tion program that shall include—

9 ‘‘(1) an education and public awareness pro10 gram to—

11 ‘‘(A) support, conduct, and evaluate the ef12 fectiveness of—

13 ‘‘(i) training programs concerning the

14 prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of

15 Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol

16 Effects;

17 ‘‘(ii) prevention and education pro18 grams, including school health education

19 and school-based clinic programs for

20 school-age children, concerning Fetal Alco21 hol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects;

22 and

23 ‘‘(iii) public and community awareness

24 programs concerning Fetal Alcohol Syn25 drome and Fetal Alcohol Effects;
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1 ‘‘(B) provide technical and consultative as2 sistance to States, Indian tribal governments,

3 local governments, scientific and academic insti4 tutions, and nonprofit organizations concerning

5 the programs referred to in subparagraph (A);

6 and

7 ‘‘(C) award grants to, and enter into coop8 erative agreements and contracts with, States,

9 Indian tribal governments, local governments,

10 scientific and academic institutions, and non11 profit organizations for the purpose of—

12 ‘‘(i) evaluating the effectiveness, with

13 particular emphasis on the cultural com14 petency and age-appropriateness, of pro15 grams referred to in subparagraph (A);

16 ‘‘(ii) providing training in the preven17 tion, diagnosis, and treatment of Fetal Al18 cohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects;

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

20 including pregnant and high-risk youth,

21 concerning Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and

22 Fetal Alcohol Effects, with priority given

23 to programs that are part of a sequential,

24 comprehensive school health education pro25 gram; and
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1 ‘‘(iv) increasing public and community

2 awareness concerning Fetal Alcohol Syn3 drome and Fetal Alcohol Effects through

4 culturally competent projects, programs,

5 and campaigns, and improving the under6 standing of the general public and targeted

7 groups concerning the most effective inter8 vention methods to prevent fetal exposure

9 to alcohol;

10 ‘‘(2) an applied epidemiologic research and pre11 vention program to—

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

13 causes, mechanisms, diagnostic methods, treat14 ment, and prevention of Fetal Alcohol Syn15 drome and Fetal Alcohol Effects;

16 ‘‘(B) provide technical and consultative as17 sistance and training to States, Tribal govern18 ments, local governments, scientific and aca19 demic institutions, and nonprofit organizations

20 engaged in the conduct of—

21 ‘‘(i) Fetal Alcohol Syndrome preven22 tion and early intervention programs; and

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

24 mechanisms, diagnosis methods, treatment,
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1 and prevention of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

2 and Fetal Alcohol Effects; and

3 ‘‘(C) award grants to, and enter into coop4 erative agreements and contracts with, States,

5 Indian tribal governments, local governments,

6 scientific and academic institutions, and non7 profit organizations for the purpose of—

8 ‘‘(i) conducting innovative demonstra9 tion and evaluation projects designed to

10 determine effective strategies, including

11 community-based prevention programs and

12 multicultural education campaigns, for pre13 venting and intervening in fetal exposure

14 to alcohol;

15 ‘‘(ii) improving and coordinating the

16 surveillance and ongoing assessment meth17 ods implemented by such entities and the

18 Federal Government with respect to Fetal

19 Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Ef20 fects;

21 ‘‘(iii) developing and evaluating effec22 tive age-appropriate and culturally com23 petent prevention programs for children,

24 adolescents, and adults identified as being

25 at-risk of becoming chemically dependent
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1 on alcohol and associated with or develop2 ing Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Al3 cohol Effects; and

4 ‘‘(iv) facilitating coordination and col5 laboration among Federal, State, local gov6 ernment, Indian tribal, and community7 based Fetal Alcohol Syndrome prevention

8 programs;

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

10 conduct basic research on services and effective pre11 vention treatments and interventions for pregnant

12 alcohol-dependent women and individuals with Fetal

13 Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects;

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

15 Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects diag16 nostic criteria developed pursuant to section 705 of

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

18 note) to health care providers, educators, social

19 workers, child welfare workers, and other individ20 uals; and

21 ‘‘(5) the establishment, in accordance with sub22 section (b), of an interagency task force on Fetal Al23 cohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects to foster

24 coordination among all Federal agencies that con25 duct or support Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal
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1 Alcohol Effects research, programs, and surveillance,

2 and otherwise meet the general needs of populations

3 actually or potentially impacted by Fetal Alcohol

4 Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects.

5 ‘‘(b) INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE.—

6 ‘‘(1) MEMBERSHIP.—The Task Force estab7 lished pursuant to paragraph (5) of subsection (a)

8 shall—

9 ‘‘(A) be chaired by the Secretary or a des10 ignee of the Secretary, and staffed by the Ad11 ministration; and

12 ‘‘(B) include representatives from all rel13 evant agencies and offices within the Depart14 ment of Health and Human Services, the De15 partment of Agriculture, the Department of

16 Education, the Department of Defense, the De17 partment of the Interior, the Department of

18 Justice, the Department of Veterans Affairs,

19 the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms,

20 the Federal Trade Commission, and any other

21 relevant Federal agency.

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

23 ‘‘(A) coordinate all Federal programs and

24 research concerning Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
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1 and Fetal Alcohol Effects, including programs

2 that—

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

4 populations identified as being at risk of

5 acquiring Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and

6 Fetal Alcohol Effects; and

7 ‘‘(ii) provide health, education, treat8 ment, and social services to infants, chil9 dren, and adults with Fetal Alcohol Syn10 drome and Fetal Alcohol Effects;

11 ‘‘(B) coordinate its efforts with existing

12 Department of Health and Human Services

13 task forces on substance abuse prevention and

14 maternal and child health; and

15 ‘‘(C) report on a biennial basis to the Sec16 retary and relevant committees of Congress on

17 the current and planned activities of the partici18 pating agencies.

19 ‘‘(c) SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND TRAINING.—The

20 Director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and

21 Alcoholism, with the cooperation of members of the inter22 agency task force established under subsection (b), shall

23 establish a collaborative program to provide for the con24 duct and support of research, training, and dissemination
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1 of information to researchers, clinicians, health profes2 sionals and the public, with respect to the cause, preven3 tion, diagnosis, and treatment of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

4 and the related condition know as Fetal Alcohol Effects.

5 ‘‘SEC. 399H. ELIGIBILITY.

6 ‘‘To be eligible to receive a grant, or enter into a co7 operative agreement or contract under this part, an entity

8 shall—

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

10 government, scientific or academic institution, or

11 nonprofit organization; and

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

13 application at such time, in such manner, and con14 taining such information as the Secretary may pre15 scribe, including a description of the activities that

16 the entity intends to carry out using amounts re17 ceived under this part.

18 ‘‘SEC. 399I. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

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

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

21 years 1997 through 2001.’’.

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