I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1966

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 services for multifamily residential housing in low-income

communities, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 26, 1999

Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD (for herself, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. BROWN

of California, Mr. CAPUANO, Ms. CARSON, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. CUMMINGS, Ms. DANNER, Mr. FROST, Mr. GREEN of Texas,

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. HILLIARD, Ms. NORTON, Ms. HOOLEY of

Oregon, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. KENNEDY of

Rhode Island, Ms. KILPATRICK, Ms. LEE, Ms. MCCARTHY of Missouri,

Ms. MCKINNEY, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Mrs. MINK of Hawaii, Mrs.

MORELLA, Mr. OWENS, Ms. PELOSI, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. RUSH,

Ms. SANCHEZ, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. TOWNS,

Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Mr. WEYGAND, and Mr. WYNN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 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

services for multifamily residential housing in low-income

communities, and for other purposes.
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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 ‘‘Asthma Awareness,

5 Education and Treatment Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds as follows:

8 (1) Asthma is a chronic lung condition that af9 fects an estimated 14,600,000 Americans, including

10 4,800,000 children.

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

12 Americans suffer from allergies, including allergic

13 asthma.

14 (3) Asthma is the most common chronic res15 piratory disease of children, accounting for 25 per16 cent of school absenteeism, and is the third leading

17 cause of preventable hospitalizations.

18 (4) During the period 1980 through 1994 the

19 prevalence of pediatric asthma increased by 72 per20 cent, and the percentage of preschool children with

21 asthma increased by 160 percent.

22 (5) The prevalence of asthma is greater in

23 women than in men (5.6 percent of women as com24 pared to 5.1 percent of men).
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1 (6) The prevalence of asthma is greater in low2 income families. In families with an annual income

3 of less than $10,000, 79.2 of 1,000 individuals who

4 are under the age of 45 have asthma, while in fami5 lies with an annual income of between $20,000 and

6 $35,000, 53.6 of 1,000 individuals under the age of

7 45 have asthma.

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

9 from asthma attacks. During the period 1993

10 through 1995, the average number of deaths from

11 asthma for African Americans was 38.5 deaths per

12 million individuals, while the average for Caucasians

13 was 15.1 deaths per million.

14 (8) Asthma is estimated to cost the United

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

16 in the prevalence of asthma will lead to higher costs

17 in the future.

18 (9) African Americans are five times more like19 ly than other segments of the population to seek

20 care for asthma at an emergency room.

21 (10) The asthma death rate is four times high22 er among African American children and two times

23 higher among all African Americans.

24 (11) Exercise improves the physical and psycho25 logical well-being of children, including improving
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1 self-esteem, and it can help children manage their

2 asthma and form life-long habits of physical activity

3 that can improve the quality of life and the length

4 of life of the individual.

5 SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR PROJECTS FOR ASTHMA-RELATED AC6 TIVITIES FOR LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES.

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

8 Human Services (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Sec9 retary’’) may make grants to public and nonprofit private

10 entities for the purpose of carrying out projects to provide

11 for individuals in low-income communities—

12 (1) screenings and referrals regarding asthma,

13 allergies, and related respiratory problems in accord14 ance with subsection (b);

15 (2) information and education regarding such

16 conditions in accordance with subsection (c); and

17 (3) workshops regarding such conditions that

18 are provided for parents, teachers, physical edu19 cation instructors, school nurses, school counselors,

20 athletic coaches, and other individuals who serve in

21 supervisory roles of children in such communities.

22 (b) SCREENINGS AND REFERRALS.—The Secretary

23 shall ensure that screenings and referrals regarding asth24 ma, allergies, and related respiratory problems under sub-
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1 section (a) are comprehensive, and that the settings in

2 which the screenings and referrals are provided include—

3 (1) traditional medical settings such as hos4 pitals, health clinics, and the offices of physicians;

5 and

6 (2) nontraditional settings for the provision of

7 such services, such as nurseries, elementary and sec8 ondary schools, community centers, public housing

9 units, volunteer organizations, convenience stores,

10 local governmental offices, day care centers, sites

11 that offer nutrition-related services for women, in12 fants, and children, and governmental offices that

13 provide cash assistance for low-income individuals.

14 (c) INFORMATION AND EDUCATION.—The Secretary

15 shall ensure that information and education on asthma,

16 allergies, and related respiratory problems under sub17 section (a) is provided in accordance with the following:

18 (1) The information and education is provided

19 in the language and cultural context that is most ap20 propriate for the individuals for whom the informa21 tion and education is intended.

22 (2) The information and education includes in23 formation and education to increase understanding

24 on the following:

25 (A) The symptoms of the conditions.
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1 (B) Preventing the conditions.

2 (C) Monitoring and managing the condi3 tions, including—

4 (i) avoiding circumstances that may

5 cause asthma attacks or other respiratory

6 problems; and

7 (ii) being aware of appropriate medi8 cation options, such as the need as appro9 priate to keep in one’s possession an asth10 ma inhaler.

11 (D) The importance for asthmatic children

12 of regularly engaging in physical activities.

13 (3) The settings in which the information and

14 education are provided include traditional settings

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

16 and nontraditional settings such as the settings de17 scribed in subsection (b)(2).

18 (d) EVALUATIONS OF PROJECTS.—The Secretary

19 shall (directly or through contract) provide for the evalua20 tion of projects carried under subsection (a), including—

21 (1) determining the number of children who

22 have received screenings and referrals through the

23 projects;

24 (2) determining the extent to which the projects

25 have had an effect on the manner in which individ-
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1 uals served by the projects prevent and manage

2 asthma, allergies, and related respiratory problems;

3 and

4 (3) evaluating the effectiveness of materials

5 used in providing information and education.

6 (e) INCLUSION IN PROJECT OF LOCAL COMMUNITY7 BASED ORGANIZATION.—A condition for the receipt of a

8 grant under subsection (a) is that—

9 (1) the applicant for the grant be a community10 based organization that provides services in the low11 income community in which the project under such

12 subsection is to be carried out; or

13 (2) the applicant for the grant demonstrate to

14 the Secretary that one or more representatives from

15 such an organization will play a substantial role in

16 carrying out the project.

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

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

19 for the grant is submitted to the Secretary and the appli20 cation is in such form, is made in such manner, and con21 tains such agreements, assurances, and information as the

22 Secretary determines to be necessary to carry out this sec23 tion

24 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the

25 purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized
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1 to be appropriated $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2000, and

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

3 2001 through 2004.

4 SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN TO PROVIDE ASTHMA5 RELATED INFORMATION.

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

7 Human Services (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Sec8 retary’’) may make awards of contracts to provide for a

9 national media campaign to provide to the public and

10 health care providers information on asthma, allergies,

11 and related respiratory problems, with priority given to the

12 occurrence of such conditions in children.

13 (b) CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall

14 ensure that the national media campaign under subsection

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

16 (1) The campaign provides information regard17 ing the prevention and management of asthma, al18 lergies, and related respiratory problems.

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

20 campaign is carried out—

21 (A) the campaign provides information re22 garding the availability in the community of

23 programs that provide screenings, referrals, and

24 treatment regarding such conditions and train25 ing in managing the conditions; and
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1 (B) the campaign is carried out in the lan2 guage and cultural context that is most appro3 priate for the individuals for whom the cam4 paign is intended.

5 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the

6 purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized

7 to be appropriated $600,000 for fiscal year 2000, and

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

9 2001 through 2004.

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

11 AND CLIMATE CONTROL SERVICES.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub13 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of

14 1986 (relating to business related credits) is amended by

15 adding at the end the following new section:

16 ‘‘SEC. 45D. CREDIT FOR DONATIONS OF PEST CONTROL

17 AND CLIMATE CONTROL SERVICES.

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

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

20 of providing pest control or climate control services, the

21 donation credit determined under this section for the tax22 able year is an amount equal to 10 percent of the aggre23 gate cost (including wages) paid or incurred by the tax24 payer during the taxable year in providing qualified pest

25 control and climate control services.
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1 ‘‘(b) QUALIFIED PEST CONTROL AND CLIMATE CON2 TROL SERVICES.—For purposes of this section—

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified pest

4 control and climate control services’ means pest con5 trol and climate control services provided without

6 charge in—

7 ‘‘(A) any public housing (as defined in sec8 tion 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of

9 1937), or

10 ‘‘(B) any multifamily residential rental

11 property if it is reasonably expected that at

12 least 75 percent of the occupants of the dwell13 ing units have incomes below 200 percent of the

14 official poverty line,

15 but only if such services are part of a good faith ef16 fort (including follow-up treatments) to accomplish

17 the intended result and are verified in such manner

18 as the Secretary shall prescribe.

19 ‘‘(2) PEST CONTROL AND CLIMATE CONTROL

20 SERVICES.—For purposes of paragraph (1), the

21 term ‘pest control and climate control services’

22 means services—

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

24 animal dander, and mold, or
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1 ‘‘(B) to improve poor ventilation and lack

2 of temperature control.’’.

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

4 (1) Section 38(b) of such Code is amended—

5 (A) by striking ‘‘plus’’ at the end of para6 graph (11),

7 (B) by striking the period at the end of

8 paragraph (12), and inserting a comma and

9 ‘‘plus’’, and

10 (C) by adding at the end the following new

11 paragraph:

12 ‘‘(13) in the case of a taxpayer engaged in the

13 trade or business of providing pest control or climate

14 control services (as defined in section 45D(b)(2)),

15 the donation credit determined under section 45D.’’.

16 (2) Subsection (d) of section 39 of such Code

17 (relating to carryback and carryforward of unused

18 credits) is amended by adding at the end the fol19 lowing new paragraph:

20 ‘‘(9) NO CARRYBACK OF SECTION 45D CREDIT

21 BEFORE JANUARY 1, 2000.—No portion of the un22 used business credit for any taxable year which is

23 attributable to the credit determined under section

24 45D may be carried back to a taxable year begin25 ning before January 1, 2000.’’.
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1 (3) The table of sections for subpart D of part

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

3 amended by adding at the end the following new

4 item:

‘‘Sec. 45D. Credit for donations of pest control and climate control services.’’.

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

6 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after

7 December 31, 1999.

8 SEC. 6. RESEARCH ON RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AIR POL9 LUTANTS AND ASTHMA-RELATED PROBLEMS.

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

11 Human Services (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Sec12 retary’’), in consultation with the Administrator of the En13 vironmental Protection Agency, shall (directly or through

14 grants and contracts) provide for the conduct of research

15 for the purpose of determining whether and to what extent

16 there is a causal relationship between air pollutants and

17 the occurrence of asthma, allergies, and related res18 piratory problems.

19 (b) REQUIREMENT REGARDING CLINICAL PARTICI20 PANTS.—

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

22 of clinical research under subsection (a), the Sec23 retary shall give priority to providing to individuals
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1 described in paragraph (2) opportunities to undergo

2 clinical evaluations for purposes of the research.

3 (2) RELEVANT POPULATIONS.—For purposes of

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

5 paragraph are individuals who are residents of com6 munities in which the average family income is at or

7 below 200 percent of the official poverty line, as es8 tablished by the Director of the Office of Manage9 ment and Budget and revised by the Secretary in ac10 cordance with section 673(2) of the Omnibus Budget

11 Reconciliation Act of 1981.

12 SEC. 7. COORDINATION OF FEDERAL ACTIVITIES TO AD13 DRESS ASTHMA-RELATED HEALTH CARE

14 NEEDS.

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

16 Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute shall, through the Na17 tional Asthma Education Prevention Program Coordi18 nating Committee—

19 (1) identify all Federal programs that carry out

20 asthma-related activities;

21 (2) develop, in consultation with appropriate

22 Federal agencies and professional and voluntary

23 health organizations, a Federal plan for responding

24 to asthma; and
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1 (3) not later than 12 months after the date of

2 enactment of this Act, submit recommendations to

3 the Congress on ways to strengthen and improve the

4 coordination of asthma-related activities of the Fed5 eral Government.

6 (b) REPRESENTATION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF

7 HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT.—A representative

8 of the Department of Housing and Urban Development

9 shall be included on the National Asthma Education Pre10 vention Program Coordinating Committee for the purpose

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

12 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Out of

13 any funds otherwise appropriated for the National Insti14 tutes of Health, $5,000,000 shall be made available to the

15 National Asthma Education Prevention Program for the

16 period of fiscal years 2000 through 2004 for the purpose

17 of carrying out this section. Funds made available under

18 this subsection shall be in addition to any other funds ap19 propriated to the National Asthma Education Prevention

20 Program for any fiscal year during such period.

21 SEC. 8. COMPILATION OF DATA BY CENTERS FOR DISEASE

22 CONTROL AND PREVENTION.

23 The Director of the Centers for Disease Control and

24 Prevention, in consultation with the National Asthma
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1 Education Prevention Program Coordinating Committee,

2 shall—

3 (1) conduct local asthma surveillance activities

4 to collect data on the prevalence and severity of

5 asthma and the quality of asthma management,

6 including—

7 (A) telephone surveys to collect sample

8 household data on the local burden of asthma;

9 and

10 (B) health care facility specific surveillance

11 to collect asthma data on the prevalence and se12 verity of asthma, and on the quality of asthma

13 care; and

14 (2) compile and annually publish data on—

15 (A) the prevalence of children suffering

16 from asthma in each State; and

17 (B) the childhood mortality rate associated

18 with asthma nationally and in each State.

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