I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4504 

To amend title X of the Public Health Service Act to require grant recipients 

to comply with all applicable State and local laws requiring notification 

or reporting of child abuse, child molestation, sexual abuse, rape, incest, 

intimate partner violence, or human trafficking, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 26, 2019 

Mr. SMUCKER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend title X of the Public Health Service Act to require 

grant recipients to comply with all applicable State and 

local laws requiring notification or reporting of child 

abuse, child molestation, sexual abuse, rape, incest, intimate partner violence, or human trafficking, 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 ‘‘Reporting Account5 ability and Abuse Prevention Act of 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. COMPLIANCE BY PROJECTS FUNDED UNDER TITLE 

2 X WITH STATE AND LOCAL SEXUAL ABUSE 

3 REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

4 Title X of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

5 300 et seq.) is amending by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 1009. COMPLIANCE WITH STATE AND LOCAL SEXUAL 

8 ABUSE REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—As a condition on the award or 

10 renewal of a grant under this title for any project or pro11 gram, the Secretary shall require the grant recipient to 

12 comply with all applicable State and local laws requiring 

13 notification or reporting of child abuse, child molestation, 

14 sexual abuse, rape, incest, intimate partner violence, or 

15 human trafficking (in this section referred to as ‘State no16 tification laws’). 

17 ‘‘(b) REQUIRED COMPLIANCE.—In ensuring compli18 ance with subsection (a) for a project or program, the 

19 grant recipient shall provide to the Secretary appropriate 

20 documentation or otherwise demonstrate to the Sec21 retary’s satisfaction that the grant recipient— 

22 ‘‘(1) has in place and implements a plan to 

23 comply with State notification laws, including, at a 

24 minimum, policies and procedures that include— 

25 ‘‘(A) a summary of obligations under State 

26 notification laws of the project or program, or 


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1 of each organization and individual carrying out 

2 the project or program, including any obligation 

3 to inquire about or determine the age of a 

4 minor patient or of a minor patient’s sexual 

5 partner; 

6 ‘‘(B) timely and adequate annual training 

7 of all individuals (whether or not they are em8 ployees) serving patients for, or on behalf of, 

9 the project or program regarding— 

10 ‘‘(i) compliance with State notification 

11 laws; 

12 ‘‘(ii) policies and procedures of the 

13 project or program with respect to notifica14 tion and reporting of child abuse, child mo15 lestation, sexual abuse, rape, incest, inti16 mate partner violence, and human traf17 ficking; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) appropriate interventions, strat19 egies, and referrals to improve the safety 

20 and current situation of the patient; and 

21 ‘‘(C) protocols to ensure that every minor 

22 who presents for treatment is provided coun23 seling on how to resist attempts to coerce the 

24 minor into engaging in sexual activities; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) a commitment to conduct a prelimi2 nary screening of any minor who presents with 

3 a sexually transmitted disease, pregnancy, or 

4 any suspicion of abuse, in order to rule out vic5 timization of the minor; and 

6 ‘‘(2) maintains records that demonstrate com7 pliance with each of the requirements set forth in 

8 paragraph (1) and— 

9 ‘‘(A) indicate the age of minor patients; 

10 ‘‘(B) document each notification or report 

11 made pursuant to State notification laws; and 

12 ‘‘(C) indicate the age of the minor pa13 tient’s sexual partners if such age is an element 

14 of a State notification law under which a report 

15 is required. 

16 ‘‘(c) REVIEW OF RECORDS.—As a condition on the 

17 award or renewal of a grant under this title for any project 

18 or program, a grant recipient shall agree to allow the Sec19 retary, the Inspector General of the Department of Health 

20 and Human Services, and the Comptroller General of the 

21 United States to review the records maintained by the 

22 grant recipient, including any contractor or subgrantee of 

23 the grant recipient, for the purpose of ensuring compliance 

24 with this section. 


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1 ‘‘(d) PENALTIES FOR NONCOMPLIANCE.—The Sec2 retary shall— 

3 ‘‘(1) if the Secretary finds that a grantee under 

4 this title has violated subsection (a), (b), or (c), 

5 work with the grantee to remedy such noncompli6 ance; and 

7 ‘‘(2) if the Secretary finds that the grantee 

8 commits a subsequent violation of subsection (a), 

9 (b), or (c)— 

10 ‘‘(A) seek repayment of all monetary Fed11 eral assistance received by the grantee under 

12 this title on or after the date of enactment of 

13 the Reporting Accountability and Abuse Pre14 vention Act of 2019; and 

15 ‘‘(B) not award or provide any assistance 

16 under this title to the grantee for a period of 

17 at least 36 months following the date of finding 

18 that the grantee has committed such subse19 quent violation.’’. 

Æ 


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