I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 707 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 2, 2006 

Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

AN ACT 

To reduce preterm labor and delivery and the risk of pregnancy-related deaths and complications due to pregnancy, 

and to reduce infant mortality caused by prematurity. 

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 ‘‘Prematurity Research 

5 Expansion and Education for Mothers who deliver Infants 

6 Early Act’’ or the ‘‘PREEMIE Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

2 It the purpose of this Act to— 

3 (1) reduce rates of preterm labor and delivery; 

4 (2) work toward an evidence-based standard of 

5 care for pregnant women at risk of preterm labor or 

6 other serious complications, and for infants born 

7 preterm and at a low birthweight; and 

8 (3) reduce infant mortality and disabilities 

9 caused by prematurity. 

10 SEC. 3. RESEARCH RELATING TO PRETERM LABOR AND DE11 LIVERY AND THE CARE, TREATMENT, AND 

12 OUTCOMES OF PRETERM AND LOW BIRTH13 WEIGHT INFANTS. 

14 (a) GENERAL EXPANSION OF NIH RESEARCH.— 

15 Part B of title IV of the Public Health Service Act (42 

16 U.S.C. 284 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 

17 following: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 409J. EXPANSION AND COORDINATION OF RESEARCH 

19 RELATING TO PRETERM LABOR AND DELIV20 ERY AND INFANT MORTALITY. 

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

22 the Director of NIH, shall expand, intensify, and coordi23 nate the activities of the National Institutes of Health 

24 with respect to research on the causes of preterm labor 

25 and delivery, infant mortality, and improving the care and 

26 treatment of preterm and low birthweight infants. 


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1 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF RESEARCH NETWORKS.— 

2 There shall be established within the National Institutes 

3 of Health a multi-center clinical program (that shall be 

4 initially established utilizing existing networks) designed 

5 to— 

6 ‘‘(1) investigate problems in clinical obstetrics, 

7 particularly those related to prevention of low birth 

8 weight, prematurity, and medical problems of preg9 nancy; 

10 ‘‘(2) improve the care and outcomes of neo11 nates, especially very-low-birth weight infants; and 

12 ‘‘(3) enhance the understanding of DNA and 

13 proteins as they relate to the underlying processes 

14 that lead to preterm birth to aid in formulating 

15 more effective interventions to prevent preterm 

16 birth.’’. 

17 (b) GENERAL EXPANSION OF CDC RESEARCH.— 

18 Section 301 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

19 241 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(e) The Secretary, acting through the Director of 

22 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall ex23 pand, intensify, and coordinate the activities of the Cen24 ters for Disease Control and Prevention with respect to 

25 preterm labor and delivery and infant mortality.’’. 


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1 (c) STUDIES ON RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRE2 MATURITY AND BIRTH DEFECTS.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

4 Human Services, acting through the Director of the 

5 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall, 

6 subject to the availability of appropriations, conduct 

7 ongoing epidemiological studies on the relationship 

8 between prematurity, birth defects, and develop9 mental disabilities. 

10 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

11 date of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years 

12 thereafter, the Secretary of Health and Human 

13 Services, acting through the Director of the Centers 

14 for Disease Control and Prevention, shall submit to 

15 the appropriate committees of Congress reports con16 cerning the progress and any results of studies con17 ducted under paragraph (1). 

18 (d) PREGNANCY RISK ASSESSMENT MONITORING

19 SURVEY.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

21 Human Services, acting through the Director of the 

22 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall 

23 establish systems for the collection of maternal-in24 fant clinical and biomedical information, including 

25 electronic health records, electronic databases, and 


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1 biobanks, to link with the Pregnancy Risk Assess2 ment Monitoring System (PRAMS) and other epide3 miological studies of prematurity in order to track 

4 pregnancy outcomes and prevent preterm birth. 

5 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

6 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

7 paragraph (1), $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

8 2007 through 2011. 

9 (e) EVALUATION OF EXISTING TOOLS AND MEAS10 URES.—The Secretary of Health and Human Services 

11 shall review existing tools and measures to ensure that 

12 such tools and measures include information related to 

13 some of the known risk factors of low birth weight and 

14 preterm birth. 

15 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

16 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, 

17 except for subsection (d), $10,000,000 for each of fiscal 

18 years 2007 through 2011. 

19 SEC. 4. PUBLIC AND HEALTH CARE PROVIDER EDUCATION 

20 AND SUPPORT SERVICES. 

21 Part P of title III of the Public Health Service Act 

22 (42 U.S.C. 280g et seq.) is amended— 

23 (1) by redesignating the second section 399O 

24 (relating to grants to foster public health responses 


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1 to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 

2 and stalking) as section 399P; and 

3 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 399Q. PUBLIC AND HEALTH CARE PROVIDER EDU5 CATION AND SUPPORT SERVICES. 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, directly or 

7 through the awarding of grants to public or private non8 profit entities, may conduct demonstration projects to im9 prove the provision of information on prematurity to 

10 health professionals and other health care providers and 

11 the public and to improve the treatment and outcomes for 

12 babies born preterm. 

13 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES.—Activities to be carried out under 

14 the demonstration project under subsection (a) may in15 clude the establishment of programs— 

16 ‘‘(1) to test and evaluate various strategies to 

17 provide information and education to health profes18 sionals, other health care providers, and the public 

19 concerning— 

20 ‘‘(A) the signs of preterm labor, updated 

21 as new research results become available; 

22 ‘‘(B) the screening for and the treating of 

23 infections; 

24 ‘‘(C) counseling on optimal weight and 

25 good nutrition, including folic acid; 


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1 ‘‘(D) smoking cessation education and 

2 counseling; 

3 ‘‘(E) stress management; and 

4 ‘‘(F) appropriate prenatal care; 

5 ‘‘(2) to improve the treatment and outcomes for 

6 babies born premature, including the use of evi7 dence-based standards of care by health care profes8 sionals for pregnant women at risk of preterm labor 

9 or other serious complications and for infants born 

10 preterm and at a low birthweight; and 

11 ‘‘(3) to respond to the informational needs of 

12 families during the stay of an infant in a neonatal 

13 intensive care unit, during the transition of the in14 fant to the home, and in the event of a newborn 

15 death. 

16 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

17 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, 

18 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2011.’’. 

19 SEC. 5. INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COUNCIL ON PRE20 MATURITY AND LOW BIRTHWEIGHT. 

21 (a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to 

22 stimulate multidisciplinary research, scientific exchange, 

23 and collaboration among the agencies of the Department 

24 of Health and Human Services and to assist the Depart25 ment in targeting efforts to achieve the greatest advances 


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1 toward the goal of reducing prematurity and low birth2 weight. 

3 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Health and 

4 Human Services shall establish an Interagency Coordi5 nating Council on Prematurity and Low Birthweight (re6 ferred to in this section as the Council) to carry out the 

7 purpose of this section. 

8 (c) COMPOSITION.—The Council shall be composed of 

9 members to be appointed by the Secretary, including rep10 resentatives of the agencies of the Department of Health 

11 and Human Services. 

12 (d) ACTIVITIES.—The Council shall— 

13 (1) annually report to the Secretary of Health 

14 and Human Services and Congress on current De15 partmental activities relating to prematurity and low 

16 birthweight; 

17 (2) carry out other activities determined appro18 priate by the Secretary of Health and Human Serv19 ices; and 

20 (3) oversee the coordination of the implementa21 tion of this Act. 

22 SEC. 6. SURGEON GENERAL’S CONFERENCE ON PRETERM 

23 BIRTH. 

24 (a) CONVENING OF CONFERENCE.—Not later than 1 

25 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 


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1 of Health and Human Services, acting through the Sur2 geon General, shall convene a conference on preterm birth. 

3 (b) PURPOSES OF CONFERENCE.—The purpose of 

4 the conference convened under subsection (a) shall be to— 

5 (1) increase awareness of preterm birth as a se6 rious, common, and costly public health problem in 

7 the United States; 

8 (2) review the findings and reports issued by 

9 the Interagency Coordinating Council, key stake10 holders, and any other relevant entity; and 

11 (3) establish an agenda, and report such agen12 da to Congress, for activities in both the public and 

13 private sectors that will speed the identification of, 

14 and treatments for, the causes of preterm labor and 

15 delivery. 

16 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

17 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, 

18 $1,000,000. 

Passed the Senate August 1, 2006. 

Attest: EMILY J. REYNOLDS, 

Secretary. 


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