I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4335

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for a program of 

screenings and education regarding children with sudden cardiac arrhythmia syndromes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 11, 2004

Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York (for herself, Mr. KING of New York, and Mr. 

ISRAEL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for 

a program of screenings and education regarding children with sudden cardiac arrhythmia syndromes.

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 ‘‘Teague Ryan Sudden 

5 Child Cardiac Arrhythmia Syndromes Screening and Edu6 cation Act of 2004’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 The Congress finds as follows: 
2

•HR 4335 IH 

1 (1) Each month between 250 and 600 young 

2 people in the United States die suddenly and unex3 pectedly from cardiac arrhythmia syndromes. 

4 (2) These syndromes include long Q-T syn5 drome, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, arrhymogenic 

6 right ventricular dysplasia, and others. 

7 (3) Long Q-T syndrome is more common in the 

8 United States than childhood leukemia. 

9 (4) Most cardiac arrhythmia syndromes that 

10 cause sudden death in the young are identifiable 

11 through screenings. 

12 (5) Once diagnosed, these syndromes are treat13 able, and individuals with these conditions can have 

14 normal life spans and life-styles. 

15 SEC. 2. SCREENINGS AND EDUCATION REGARDING CHIL16 DREN WITH SUDDEN CARDIAC ARRHYTHMIA 

17 SYNDROMES. 

18 Part B of title III of the Public Health Service Act 

19 (42 U.S.C. 243 et seq.) is amended by inserting after sec20 tion 317S the following section: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 317T. SCREENINGS AND EDUCATION REGARDING 

22 CHILDREN WITH SUDDEN CARDIAC AR23 RHYTHMIA SYNDROMES. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 

25 the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Pre-
3

•HR 4335 IH 

1 vention, may make awards of grants or contracts to 

2 States, political subdivisions of States, and other public 

3 or nonprofit private entities, such as the Cardiac Arrhyth4 mias Research and Education Foundation, for the purpose 

5 of carrying out programs—

6 ‘‘(1) to screen children for sudden cardiac ar7 rhythmia syndromes; 

8 ‘‘(2) to provide referrals for medical services re9 garding such syndromes; and 

10 ‘‘(3) to provide education on such syndromes to 

11 health professionals and the general public, including 

12 education on screening methods. 

13 ‘‘(b) PRIORITY IN MAKING AWARDS.—In making 

14 awards under subsection (a), the Secretary shall give pri15 ority—

16 ‘‘(1) to screenings and referrals under such 

17 subsection for—

18 ‘‘(A) children under the age of 6; and 

19 ‘‘(B) children who participate in, or intend 

20 to participate in, organized sports; and 

21 ‘‘(2) to educational activities under such sub22 section that are directed toward parents of children 

23 described in paragraph (1) and health professionals 

24 who commonly provide medical care for such chil25 dren. 
4

•HR 4335 IH 

1 ‘‘(c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may 

2 provide technical assistance to grantees under subsection 

3 (a) with respect to the planning, development, and oper4 ation of programs under such subsection. The Secretary 

5 may provide such technical assistance directly or through 

6 grants or contracts. 

7 ‘‘(d) EVALUATIONS.—The Secretary, directly or 

8 through grants or contracts, shall provide for evaluations 

9 of programs under subsection (a) in order to determine 

10 the quality and effectiveness of the programs. 

11 ‘‘(e) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the 

12 term ‘children’ means individuals under the age of 19. 

13 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the 

14 purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized 

15 to be appropriated $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, and 

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

17 2006 through 2009.’’.

Æ