II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3969 

To amend the Toxic Substances Control Act to assess and reduce the levels 

of lead found in child-occupied facilities in the United States, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 28, 2006 

Mr. OBAMA (for himself and Mrs. CLINTON) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 

Public Works 

A BILL 

To amend the Toxic Substances Control Act to assess and 

reduce the levels of lead found in child-occupied facilities 

in the United States, 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 ‘‘Lead Poisoning Reduc5 tion Act of 2006’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) the number of children suffering from lead 

9 poisoning remains unacceptably high; 


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1 (2) children younger than 6 years of age are 

2 much more likely to suffer the devastating effects of 

3 lead poisoning; 

4 (3) the health of children may be impacted at 

5 lower levels of lead exposure than previously 

6 thought; 

7 (4) lead poisoning can lead to organ damage, as 

8 well as serious developmental, learning, and behav9 ioral problems in children; 

10 (5) owners and managers of childcare and pre11 school facilities constructed before 1978 need guid12 ance with respect to protecting children of the 

13 United States from exposure to lead; and 

14 (6) the Administrator of the Environmental 

15 Protection Agency has the authority, but, as of the 

16 date of enactment of this Act, has elected not, to 

17 promulgate regulations pursuant to section 402 of 

18 the Toxic Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C. 2682) 

19 to reduce lead exposure in child-occupied facilities. 

20 SEC. 3. LEAD ASSESSMENT IN CHILD-OCCUPIED FACILI21 TIES. 

22 Section 402 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (15 

23 U.S.C. 2682) is amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing: 

25 ‘‘(d) CHILD-OCCUPIED FACILITIES.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

2 ‘‘(A) CHILD-OCCUPIED FACILITY.— 

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘child4 occupied facility’ means a facility described 

5 in clause (ii) that was constructed before 

6 January 1, 1978, and that is visited regu7 larly by a child of not more than 6 years 

8 old for at least 2 days within any week for 

9 not less than— 

10 ‘‘(I) 3 hours each visit; 

11 ‘‘(II) 6 hours each week; and 

12 ‘‘(III) 60 hours each calendar 

13 year. 

14 ‘‘(ii) DESCRIPTION OF FACILITY.—A 

15 facility referred to in clause (i) is— 

16 ‘‘(I) a childcare center; 

17 ‘‘(II) a pre-school or kinder18 garten classroom; or 

19 ‘‘(III) except as provided in 

20 clause (iii), any other facility (includ21 ing a facility used for a Head Start 

22 program or a similar program) at 

23 which a childcare provider receives 

24 compensation or a subsidy for services 

25 provided. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘child2 occupied facility’ does not include a home3 based childcare facility. 

4 ‘‘(B) EXPOSURE PATHWAY.—The term ‘ex5 posure pathway’ includes, with respect to 

6 lead— 

7 ‘‘(i) lead-based paint and lead-based 

8 paint hazards; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) lead contained in— 

10 ‘‘(I) drinking water plumbing 

11 and fixtures; 

12 ‘‘(II) furniture, fixtures, and 

13 playground equipment; and 

14 ‘‘(III) products used by or for 

15 children. 

16 ‘‘(C) HOME-BASED CHILDCARE FACIL17 ITY.—The term ‘home-based childcare facility’ 

18 means an owner-occupied or rental housing 

19 unit— 

20 ‘‘(i) at which 1 or more individuals re21 side; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) that meets the requirements 

23 under clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph 

24 (A) for a child-occupied facility. 


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1 ‘‘(D) SELECT GROUP.—The term ‘Select 

2 Group’ means the Select Group on Lead Expo3 sure established by paragraph (2)(A). 

4 ‘‘(2) SELECT GROUP ON LEAD EXPOSURE.— 

5 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab6 lished a Select Group on Lead Exposure, to be 

7 composed of— 

8 ‘‘(i) the Secretary of Education (or a 

9 designee); 

10 ‘‘(ii) the Director of the Centers for 

11 Disease Control and Prevention (or a des12 ignee); 

13 ‘‘(iii) the Director of the National In14 stitute of Environmental Health Science 

15 (or a designee); 

16 ‘‘(iv) the Assistant Secretary of the 

17 Administration for Children and Families 

18 (or a designee); 

19 ‘‘(v) the Director of the National In20 stitute of Child Health and Human Devel21 opment (or a designee); and 

22 ‘‘(vi) the head of any other Federal 

23 agency (or a designee), as the Adminis24 trator determines to be appropriate. 


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1 ‘‘(B) DUTIES.—The Select Group shall ad2 vise the Administrator on actions necessary to 

3 carry out this subsection and related activities. 

4 ‘‘(C) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—A 

5 member of the Select Group shall serve without 

6 compensation. 

7 ‘‘(D) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of 

8 the Select Group shall be allowed travel ex9 penses, including per diem in lieu of subsist10 ence, at rates authorized for an employee of an 

11 agency under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 

12 5, United States Code, while away from the 

13 home or regular place of business of the mem14 ber in the performance of the duties of the Se15 lect Group. 

16 ‘‘(3) BASELINE STANDARDS AND MODEL PRO17 GRAM.— 

18 ‘‘(A) STUDY.—Not later than 180 days 

19 after the date of enactment of this subsection, 

20 the Select Group shall conduct a study of State, 

21 tribal, and local programs the purpose of which 

22 is to protect children from exposure to lead at 

23 child-occupied facilities. 

24 ‘‘(B) STANDARDS AND PROGRAM.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) DEVELOPMENT.—Not later than 

2 1 year after the date of enactment of this 

3 subsection, the Select Group shall de4 velop— 

5 ‘‘(I) baseline standards with 

6 which a State, tribal, or local program 

7 described in subparagraph (A) shall 

8 comply to be eligible to receive a grant 

9 under paragraph (4); and 

10 ‘‘(II) a model program to protect 

11 children from exposure to lead at 

12 child-occupied facilities that can be 

13 adopted for use by State, tribal, and 

14 local governments. 

15 ‘‘(ii) FACTORS FOR CONSIDER16 ATION.—In developing the baseline stand17 ards and model program under clause (i), 

18 the Select Group shall take into consider19 ation— 

20 ‘‘(I) the results of the study 

21 under subparagraph (A); 

22 ‘‘(II) regulations promulgated 

23 pursuant to subsection (a) (including 

24 the process of promulgating the regu25 lations); and 


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1 ‘‘(III) guidance for childcare pro2 viders produced by agencies and other 

3 groups, including— 

4 ‘‘(aa) any member of the Se5 lect Group; 

6 ‘‘(bb) the American Acad7 emy of Pediatrics; 

8 ‘‘(cc) the American Public 

9 Health Association; and 

10 ‘‘(dd) the National Center 

11 for Healthy Housing. 

12 ‘‘(iii) REQUIREMENTS.— 

13 ‘‘(I) BASELINE STANDARDS.— 

14 The baseline standards developed 

15 under clause (i)(I) shall include guide16 lines for— 

17 ‘‘(aa) assessing child-occu18 pied facilities for the identifica19 tion and remediation of exposure 

20 pathways; and 

21 ‘‘(bb) informing children 

22 and families that visit child-occu23 pied facilities of the exposure 

24 pathways and related hazards. 


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1 ‘‘(II) MODEL PROGRAM.—The 

2 model program developed under clause 

3 (i)(II) shall meet or exceed such appli4 cable standards (including the base5 line standards under clause (i)(I)) as 

6 the Administrator may establish with 

7 respect to grant programs carried out 

8 by the Administrator, including stand9 ards requiring that— 

10 ‘‘(aa) each appropriate 

11 child-occupied facility shall be 

12 provided a notice as soon as 

13 practicable after a child served by 

14 the child-occupied facility is diag15 nosed with lead poisoning, sub16 ject to such guidelines as the Se17 lect Group determines to be nec18 essary to ensure the protection of 

19 privileged medical information; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(bb) on receiving a notifica22 tion under item (aa), a child-oc23 cupied facility that has not been 

24 tested for the presence of lead in 


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1 exposure pathways shall be so 

2 tested. 

3 ‘‘(4) GRANT PROGRAM.— 

4 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE FACIL5 ITY.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In this paragraph, 

7 the term ‘eligible facility’ means a child-oc8 cupied facility that participates in a State, 

9 tribal, or local program— 

10 ‘‘(I) the purpose of which is to 

11 protect children from exposure to lead 

12 at child-occupied facilities; and 

13 ‘‘(II) that— 

14 ‘‘(aa) is based on the model 

15 program developed under para16 graph (3)(B)(i)(II); or 

17 ‘‘(bb) otherwise meets the 

18 baseline standards developed 

19 under paragraph (3)(B)(i)(I). 

20 ‘‘(ii) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘eligible 

21 facility’ does not include a home-based 

22 childcare facility. 

23 ‘‘(B) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 

24 year after, but in no case before, the date of de25 velopment of baseline standards and the model 


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1 program under paragraph (3), the Adminis2 trator, in consultation with the Select Group, 

3 shall establish a program under which the Ad4 ministrator shall provide grants to eligible fa5 cilities to assist the eligible facilities in carrying 

6 out activities to protect children from exposure 

7 to lead at eligible facilities. 

8 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to re9 ceive a grant under this paragraph, an eligible 

10 facility shall submit to the Administrator an ap11 plication at such time, in such manner, and 

12 containing such information as the Adminis13 trator, in consultation with the Select Group, 

14 may require. 

15 ‘‘(D) COST SHARING.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The non-Federal 

17 share of the cost of an activity funded by 

18 a grant under this paragraph shall be 20 

19 percent. 

20 ‘‘(ii) PROVISION.—The non-Federal 

21 share under clause (i)— 

22 ‘‘(I) may be provided using State, 

23 tribal, and local government funds 

24 and private funds; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) shall not be provided using 

2 funds appropriated pursuant to any 

3 Federal program. 

4 ‘‘(E) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA5 TIONS.—There is authorized to be appropriated 

6 to carry out this paragraph $42,600,000 for the 

7 period of fiscal years 2007 through 2011. 

8 ‘‘(5) REGULATIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) TESTING.—Not later than 18 months 

10 after the date of enactment of this subsection, 

11 the Administrator shall promulgate regulations 

12 requiring that— 

13 ‘‘(i) child-occupied facilities placed 

14 into service after that date shall test each 

15 applicable exposure pathway for the pres16 ence of lead; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) no State or Indian tribe shall 

18 issue to a child-occupied facility described 

19 in clause (i) a license until— 

20 ‘‘(I) the testing required under 

21 clause (i) is completed; and 

22 ‘‘(II) the exposure to lead, if any, 

23 in each applicable exposure pathway is 

24 eliminated. 

25 ‘‘(B) ELIMINATION OF RISK.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 

2 years after the date of enactment of this 

3 subsection, the Administrator shall promul4 gate proposed regulations requiring all 

5 child-occupied facilities to eliminate the 

6 risk of exposure to lead through applicable 

7 exposure pathways. 

8 ‘‘(ii) FINALIZATION AND EFFECTIVE

9 DATE.—The proposed regulations under 

10 clause (i)— 

11 ‘‘(I) shall be finalized by the Ad12 ministrator not later than 4 years 

13 after the date of enactment of this 

14 subsection; and 

15 ‘‘(II) shall take effect not later 

16 than 5 years after the date of enact17 ment of this subsection. 

18 ‘‘(6) CONTRACTORS ENGAGED IN RENOVATION, 

19 REMODELING, AND PAINTING OF CHILD-OCCUPIED

20 FACILITIES.—Not later than 18 months after the 

21 date of enactment of this subsection, the Adminis22 trator, in consultation with the Select Group, shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) apply regulations promulgated pursu24 ant to subsection (c)(3) to contractors and 

25 other workers engaged in the renovation, reVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:13 Sep 30, 2006 Jkt 049196 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3969.IS S3969

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1 modeling, or painting of child-occupied facili2 ties; and 

3 ‘‘(B) establish a program to provide infor4 mation, training, and materials concerning 

5 those activities to the contractors and workers. 

6 ‘‘(7) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 3 

7 years after the date of enactment of this subsection, 

8 the Administrator, in consultation with the Select 

9 Group, shall submit to Congress a report con10 taining— 

11 ‘‘(A) a list of States and Indian tribes car12 rying out programs to protect children from ex13 posure to lead at child-occupied facilities that 

14 meet the baseline standards developed under 

15 paragraph (3)(B)(i)(I) (including by adopting 

16 the model program developed under paragraph 

17 (3)(B)(i)(II)); 

18 ‘‘(B) the number of child-occupied facilities 

19 that received grants under paragraph (4) dur20 ing the preceding 3-year period; and 

21 ‘‘(C) recommendations for additional Fed22 eral funds and resources, if any, required to en23 sure the protection of children from exposure to 

24 lead at child-occupied facilities.’’. 

Æ 


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