I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4571 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to improve the health of children 
and help better understand and enhance awareness about unexpected 
sudden death in early life. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 12, 2016 
Ms. MOORE (for herself, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. RYAN of 
Ohio, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. RANGEL, Mrs. BEATTY, and Ms. BORDALLO) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on En-
ergy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to improve the 
health of children and help better understand and en-
hance awareness about unexpected sudden death in early 
life. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Reducing Unexpected 
Deaths in Infants and Children Act of 2016’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds as follows: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:50 Feb 16, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4571.IH
H4571
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
(1) Nearly 3,500 infants die suddenly and un-
expectedly every year. 
(2) Infants born to low-income women are more 
likely to die before their first birthday than infants 
born in higher-income households. 
(3) Non-Hispanic Black infants are more than 
twice as likely to die of Sudden Unexpected Infant 
Death compared to non-Hispanic White infants. 
(4) Disparities in sudden unexpected infant 
deaths account for 14 percent of the infant mortality 
gap between non-Hispanic Black infants compared 
to non-Hispanic White infants. 
(5) Preterm birth and low birth weight may be 
contributing factors in deaths from Sudden Infant 
Death Syndrome, which is a type of sudden unex-
pected infant death and the leading cause of 
postneonatal deaths. 
(6) Timely prenatal care and appropriate birth 
spacing can reduce the risks of early delivery and 
low birth weight. 
(7) Women can reduce the risk of infant mor-
tality to their infants by improving their own health, 
both preconception and during pregnancy. 
(8) The American Academy of Pediatrics rec-
ommends regular prenatal care as a strategy for 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:50 Feb 16, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4571.IH
H4571
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
preventing SIDS, noting that there is ‘‘substantial 
epidemiologic evidence linking a lower risk of SIDS 
for infants whose mothers obtain regular prenatal 
care’’. 
SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE 
ACT. 
Title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
241 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘PART W—SUDDEN UNEXPECTED INFANT DEATH 
AND 
SUDDEN 
UNEXPLAINED 
DEATH 
IN 
CHILDHOOD 
‘‘SEC. 399OO. DEFINITIONS. 
‘‘In this part: 
‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis-
trator’ means the Administrator of the Health Re-
sources and Services Administration. 
‘‘(2) DEATH SCENE INVESTIGATOR.—The term 
‘death scene investigator’ means an individual cer-
tified as a death scene investigator by an accredited 
professional certification board. 
‘‘(3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 
the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:50 Feb 16, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4571.IH
H4571
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
‘‘(4) STATE.—The term ‘State’ has the mean-
ing given to such term in section 2, except that such 
term includes tribes and tribal organizations (as 
such terms are defined in section 4 of the Indian 
Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act). 
‘‘(5) SUDDEN
UNEXPECTED
INFANT
DEATH; 
SUID.—The terms ‘sudden unexpected infant death’ 
and ‘SUID’ mean the sudden death of an infant 
under 1 year of age that when first discovered did 
not have an obvious cause. Such terms include those 
deaths that are later determined to be from ex-
plained as well as unexplained causes. 
‘‘(6) SUDDEN UNEXPLAINED DEATH IN CHILD-
HOOD; SUDC.—The terms ‘sudden unexplained death 
in childhood’ and ‘SUDC’ mean the sudden death of 
a child who is 1 year of age or older, which remains 
unexplained after a thorough case investigation that 
includes a review of the clinical history and cir-
cumstances of death and performance of a complete 
autopsy with appropriate ancillary testing. 
‘‘SEC. 399OO–1. DEATH SCENE INVESTIGATION AND AU-
TOPSY. 
‘‘(a) INVESTIGATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) GRANTS.—The Secretary, acting through 
the Director, shall award grants to States to enable 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:50 Feb 16, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4571.IH
H4571
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
such States to improve the completion of comprehen-
sive death scene investigations for sudden unex-
pected infant death and sudden unexplained death in 
childhood. 
‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a 
grant under paragraph (1), a State shall submit to 
the Secretary an application at such time, in such 
manner, and containing such information as the Sec-
retary may require. 
‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—A State shall use 
amounts received under a grant under para-
graph (1) to improve the completion of com-
prehensive death scene investigations for sud-
den unexpected infant death and sudden unex-
plained death in childhood, including through 
the awarding of subgrants to local jurisdictions 
to be used to implement standard death scene 
investigation protocols for sudden unexpected 
infant death and sudden unexplained death in 
childhood and conduct comprehensive, stand-
ardized autopsies. 
‘‘(B) 
PROTOCOLS.—A 
standard 
death 
scene protocol implemented under subparagraph 
(A) shall include the obtaining of information 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:50 Feb 16, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4571.IH
H4571
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
on current and past medical history of the in-
fant/child, the circumstances surrounding the 
death including any suspicious circumstances, 
the sleep position and sleep environment of the 
infant/child, and whether there were any acci-
dental or environmental factors associated with 
the death. The Director in consultation with 
medical examiners, coroners, death scene inves-
tigators, law enforcement, emergency medical 
technicians and paramedics, public health agen-
cies, and other individuals or groups determined 
necessary by the Director shall develop a stand-
ard death scene protocol for children from 1 to 
4 years of age, using existing protocols devel-
oped for SUID. 
‘‘(b) AUTOPSIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 
through the Director, shall award grants to States 
to enable such States to increase the rate at which 
comprehensive, standardized autopsies are per-
formed for sudden unexpected infant death and sud-
den unexplained death in childhood. 
‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a 
grant under paragraph (1), a State shall submit to 
the Secretary an application at such time, in such 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:50 Feb 16, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4571.IH
H4571
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS