I
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2871
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the conduct of
expanded studies and the establishment of innovative programs with
respect to traumatic brain injury, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
AUGUST 4, 1993
Mr. SLATTERY 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
the conduct of expanded studies and the establishment
of innovative programs with respect to traumatic brain
injury, and for other purposes.
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 ‘‘Traumatic Brain
Injury Act of 1993’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
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(1) the incidence of head injury in the United
States is increasing, with over 2,000,000 head inju-
ries per year resulting from automobile crashes,
sports, recreational activities, assaults, violence and
other falls and incidents;
(2) a majority of all head injuries are caused by
motor vehicle accidents;
(3) individuals between the ages of 15 and 24
are at greatest risk for sustaining head injuries;
(4) of the individuals who sustain head injuries
each year, approximately 500,000 require hos-
pitalization, and 75,000 to 100,000 of such individ-
uals die within hours of the injury;
(5) of the individuals who survive head injuries
each year, approximately 70,000 to 90,000 will suf-
fer irreversible debilitating loss of function, 5,000
will develop epilepsy as a result of the injury, and
2,000 will exist in a coma;
(6) a significant number of individuals with
traumatic brain injury are not easily restored to so-
ciety and require years of rehabilitation, medical fol-
low-up and integrated community services, which are
costly and frequently not readily available;
(7) individuals sustaining traumatic brain in-
jury require coordinated and specialized services, in-
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cluding post-injury supervised programs facilitating
reentry into the community;
(8) many health and social service agencies,
both public and private, overlook, exclude or inad-
equately serve individuals surviving traumatic brain
injury;
(9) society bears an economic cost of approxi-
mately $25,000,000,000 per year for the direct and
indirect costs of traumatic brain injury, which in-
clude medical treatment, rehabilitative and support
services and lost income;
(10) a program to develop national standards
for helmets used by bicyclists and others is needed;
and
(11) a national plan to provide services for indi-
viduals surviving traumatic brain injuries and their
families is needed.
(b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to—
(1) facilitate the conduct of research and the
collection and compiling of accurate statistical data
on traumatic brain injury;
(2) raise public awareness concerning the risks
and consequences of such injuries and the distinct
needs of individuals (and their families) following
survival from traumatic brain injury;
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(3) promote the creation of innovative programs
and policies to prevent traumatic brain injury and to
rehabilitate those individuals who have survived such
injuries;
(4) designate a Federal agency to oversee and
promote projects relating to the prevention of, and
rehabilitation from, traumatic brain injury;
(5) create State advisory boards to coordinate
citizen participation in community programs dealing
with traumatic brain injury;
(6) create a registry to advance epidemiologic
research on such trauma;
(7) establish standards for the marketing of
brain injury services;
(8) require the Secretary to publish various re-
ports concerning the activities of the Department of
Health and Human Services in this area, including
an annual review of relevant activities; and
(9) provide for the initiation of a program to
establish national standards for helmets used by
bicyclists and others.
SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT.
Title XII of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
300d et seq.) is amended—