I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5749 

To amend the Public Health Service Act with regard to research on asthma, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 27, 2023 

Mrs. DINGELL (for herself, Mr. VALADAO, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, and Mr. 

FITZPATRICK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act with regard to 

research on asthma, 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 ‘‘Elijah E. Cummings 

5 Family Asthma Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) According to the Centers for Disease Con9 trol and Prevention, in 2020 nearly 25,300,000 peoVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:55 Oct 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5749.IH H5749

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1 ple in the United States had been diagnosed with 

2 asthma, including an estimated 4,200,000 children. 

3 (2) According to the Centers for Disease Con4 trol and Prevention, asthma is more common among 

5 Black Americans, Native individuals (American Indi6 ans/Alaska Natives), Puerto Ricans, and people of 

7 multiple races compared to non-Hispanic white indi8 viduals. 

9 (3) According to the Centers for Disease Con10 trol and Prevention, among children, males have 

11 higher rates of asthma than females, and in adults, 

12 women have higher rates of asthma than men. Indi13 viduals living below the poverty threshold also had 

14 significantly higher rates of asthma in 2020 than in15 dividuals living above the poverty threshold. 

16 (4) According to the Centers for Disease Con17 trol and Prevention, in 2020 more than 4,100 people 

18 in the United States died from asthma. The rate of 

19 mortality from asthma is higher among African 

20 Americans and women. 

21 (5) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre22 vention report that asthma accounted for approxi23 mately 183,000 hospitalizations and 1,600,000 visits 

24 to hospital emergency departments in 2016. 


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1 (6) According to the Centers for Disease Con2 trol and Prevention, the annual cost of asthma to 

3 the United States is approximately 

4 $81,900,000,000, including $3,000,000,000 in indi5 rect costs from missed days of school and work. 

6 (7) According to the Centers for Disease Con7 trol and Prevention, more than 7,900,000 school 

8 days and 10,900,000 workdays are missed annually 

9 as a result of asthma. 

10 (8) Asthma episodes can be triggered by both 

11 outdoor air pollution and indoor air pollution, in12 cluding pollutants such as cigarette smoke and com13 bustion by-products. Asthma episodes can also be 

14 triggered by indoor allergens such as animal dander, 

15 mold, cockroaches, and rodents, and outdoor aller16 gens such as pollen. 

17 (9) Public health interventions and medical care 

18 in accordance with existing guidelines have been 

19 proven effective in the treatment and management 

20 of asthma. Better asthma management could reduce 

21 the numbers of emergency department visits and 

22 hospitalizations due to asthma. Studies published in 

23 medical journals, including the Journal of Asthma 

24 and The Journal of Pediatrics, have shown that bet25 ter asthma management results in improved asthma 


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1 outcomes at a lower cost. However, research pub2 lished in Preventing Chronic Disease has shown 

3 gaps in consistent and comprehensive coverage of 

4 guidelines-based asthma care across State Medicaid 

5 programs. 

6 (10) The high health and financial burden 

7 caused by asthma underscores the importance of ad8 herence to the National Asthma Education and Pre9 vention Program Guidelines of the National Heart, 

10 Lung, and Blood Institute. Increasing adherence to 

11 guidelines-based care and resulting patient manage12 ment practices will enhance the quality of life for pa13 tients with asthma and decrease asthma-related 

14 morbidity and mortality. 

15 (11) In 2016, the Centers for Disease Control 

16 and Prevention reported that less than half of people 

17 with asthma reported receiving self-management 

18 training for their asthma. More education about 

19 triggers, proper treatment, and asthma management 

20 methods is needed. 

21 (12) 27 States do not receive funding through 

22 the National Asthma Control Program of the Cen23 ters for Disease Control and Prevention. Without 

24 this funding, State health departments have a lim25 ited capacity to improve the reach, quality, effectiveVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:55 Oct 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5749.IH H5749

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1 ness and sustainability of asthma control services, 

2 conduct comprehensive adult and pediatric surveil3 lance, and to reduce asthma morbidity, mortality, 

4 and disparities. 

5 (13) The alarming rise in the prevalence of 

6 asthma, its adverse effect on school attendance and 

7 productivity, and its cost for hospitalizations and 

8 emergency room visits, highlight the importance of 

9 public health interventions, including increasing 

10 awareness of asthma as a chronic illness, its symp11 toms, the role of both indoor and outdoor environ12 mental factors that exacerbate the disease, and other 

13 factors that affect its exacerbations and severity. 

14 The goals of the Federal Government and its part15 ners in the nonprofit and private sectors should in16 clude reducing the number and severity of asthma 

17 attacks, asthma’s financial burden, and the health 

18 disparities associated with asthma. 

19 SEC. 3. ASTHMA-RELATED ACTIVITIES OF THE CENTERS 

20 FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION. 

21 Section 317I of the Public Health Service Act (42 

22 U.S.C. 247b–10) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 317I. ASTHMA-RELATED ACTIVITIES OF THE CENTERS 

2 FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION. 

3 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM FOR PROVIDING INFORMATION AND

4 EDUCATION TO THE PUBLIC.—The Secretary, acting 

5 through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control 

6 and Prevention and the Director of the National Center 

7 for Environmental Health, shall collaborate with State 

8 and local health departments to conduct activities regard9 ing asthma, including the provision of information and 

10 education to the public regarding asthma, including— 

11 ‘‘(1) deterring the harmful consequences of un12 controlled asthma; and 

13 ‘‘(2) disseminating health education and infor14 mation regarding prevention of asthma episodes and 

15 strategies for managing asthma. 

16 ‘‘(b) DEVELOPMENT OF STATE STRATEGIC PLANS

17 FOR ASTHMA CONTROL.—The Secretary, acting through 

18 the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Pre19 vention, shall collaborate with State and local health de20 partments to develop State strategic plans for asthma con21 trol incorporating public health responses to reduce the 

22 burden of asthma, particularly regarding disproportion23 ately affected populations. 

24 ‘‘(c) COMPILATION OF DATA.— 

25 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 

26 through the Director of the Centers for Disease 


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1 Control and Prevention, in collaboration with State 

2 and local health departments, shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) conduct asthma surveillance activities 

4 to collect data on the prevalence and severity of 

5 asthma, the effectiveness of public health asth6 ma interventions, and the quality of asthma 

7 management, including— 

8 ‘‘(i) collection of data on or among 

9 people with asthma to monitor the impact 

10 on health and quality of life; 

11 ‘‘(ii) surveillance of health care facili12 ties; and 

13 ‘‘(iii) collection of data from electronic 

14 health records or other electronic commu15 nications; and 

16 ‘‘(B) compile and annually publish data re17 garding— 

18 ‘‘(i) the prevalence of childhood asth19 ma; 

20 ‘‘(ii) the child mortality rate of asth21 ma; 

22 ‘‘(iii) the number of hospital admis23 sions and emergency department visits by 

24 children associated with asthma nationally, 


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1 disaggregated by State, age, sex, race, and 

2 ethnicity; 

3 ‘‘(iv) the prevalence of adult asthma; 

4 ‘‘(v) the adult mortality rate of asth5 ma; and 

6 ‘‘(vi) the number of hospital admis7 sions and emergency department visits by 

8 adults associated with asthma nationally, 

9 disaggregated by State, age, sex, race, and 

10 ethnicity. 

11 ‘‘(2) DATA PRIVACY.—None of the data col12 lected, compiled, or published under paragraph (1) 

13 may contain individually identifiable information. 

14 ‘‘(3) ENSURING COMPARABILITY.—The Sec15 retary, acting through the Director of the Centers 

16 for Disease Control and Prevention, in collaboration 

17 with State and local health departments, shall en18 sure that the data described in paragraph (1) are 

19 collected and compiled using a consistent method20 ology so as to maximize the comparability of results. 

21 ‘‘(d) COLLABORATION WITH NONPROFITS.—The Di22 rector of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

23 may collaborate with national, State, and local nonprofit 

24 organizations to provide information and education about 

25 asthma. 


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1 ‘‘(e) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 3 

2 years after the date of enactment of the Elijah E. Cum3 mings Family Asthma Act, and 2 years thereafter, the 

4 Secretary shall, in collaboration with patient groups, non5 profit organizations, medical societies, and other relevant 

6 governmental and nongovernmental entities, submit to 

7 Congress a report that— 

8 ‘‘(1) catalogs, with respect to asthma preven9 tion, management, and surveillance— 

10 ‘‘(A) the activities of the Federal Govern11 ment, including an assessment of the progress 

12 of the Federal Government and States, with re13 spect to achieving the goals of the Healthy Peo14 ple 2030 initiative; and 

15 ‘‘(B) the activities of other entities that 

16 participate in the program under this section, 

17 including nonprofit organizations, patient advo18 cacy groups, and medical societies; and 

19 ‘‘(2) makes recommendations for the future di20 rection of asthma-related activities, in consultation 

21 with researchers from the National Institutes of 

22 Health and other member bodies of the Asthma Dis23 parities Subcommittee, including— 

24 ‘‘(A) a description of how the Federal Gov25 ernment may improve its response to asthma, 


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1 including identifying any barriers that may 

2 exist; 

3 ‘‘(B) a description of how the Federal Gov4 ernment may continue, expand, and improve its 

5 private-public partnerships with respect to asth6 ma, including identifying any barriers that may 

7 exist; 

8 ‘‘(C) the identification of steps that may be 

9 taken to reduce the— 

10 ‘‘(i) morbidity, mortality, and overall 

11 prevalence of asthma; 

12 ‘‘(ii) financial burden of asthma on 

13 society; 

14 ‘‘(iii) burden of asthma on dispropor15 tionately affected areas, particularly those 

16 in medically underserved populations (as 

17 defined in section 330(b)(3)); and 

18 ‘‘(iv) burden of asthma as a chronic 

19 disease that can be worsened by environ20 mental exposures; 

21 ‘‘(D) the identification of programs and 

22 policies that have achieved the steps described 

23 in subparagraph (C), and steps that may be 

24 taken to expand such programs and policies to 

25 benefit larger populations; and 


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1 ‘‘(E) recommendations for future research 

2 and interventions. 

3 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To 

4 carry out this section, there is authorized to be appro5 priated $70,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2024 

6 through 2028.’’. 

Æ 


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