I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2260 
To provide the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary 
of Education with increased authority with respect to asthma programs, 
and to provide for increased funding for such programs. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 5, 2009 
Mrs. LOWEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on 
Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To provide the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
and the Secretary of Education with increased authority 
with respect to asthma programs, and to provide for 
increased funding for such programs. 
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 ‘‘Asthma Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds as follows: 
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(1) Despite improved therapies, asthma cur-
rently affects approximately 22 million American 
adults and 6.8 million children under the age of 18. 
(2) Approximately one million hospital emer-
gency room visits are attributed to asthma annually. 
(3) Asthma can be life-threatening if not prop-
erly managed. Most asthma-related deaths are pre-
ventable, yet such deaths continue to occur in the 
United States. 
(4) Asthma-related health care costs are esti-
mated at $14 billion annually. 
(5) With early recognition of the signs and 
symptoms of asthma, proper diagnosis and treat-
ment, and patient education and self-management, 
asthma is a controllable disease. 
(6) Public health interventions have been prov-
en effective in the treatment and management of 
asthma. Population-based research supported by the 
National Institutes of Health (NIH) has effectively 
demonstrated the benefits of combining aggressive 
medical treatment with patient education to improve 
the management of asthma. The National Asthma 
Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) helps 
raise awareness that asthma is a serious chronic dis-
ease, and helps promote more effective management 
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of asthma through patient and professional edu-
cation. 
(7) The alarming rise in prevalence, asthma-re-
lated deaths, and expenditures demonstrate that, de-
spite extensive knowledge on effective asthma man-
agement strategies, current Federal policy and fund-
ing regarding the education, treatment, and manage-
ment of asthma is inadequate. 
(8) Additional Federal direction, funding, and 
support is necessary to increase awareness of asth-
ma as a chronic illness, its symptoms, and the envi-
ronmental factors (indoor and outdoor) that affect 
the disease, as well as to promote education pro-
grams that teach patients how to better manage 
asthma. 
SEC. 3. PROVISIONS REGARDING NATIONAL ASTHMA EDU-
CATION AND PREVENTION PROGRAM OF NA-
TIONAL HEART, LUNG, AND BLOOD INSTI-
TUTE. 
(a) ADDITIONAL FUNDING; EXPANSION
OF PRO-
GRAM.—In addition to any other authorization of appro-
priations that is available to the National Heart, Lung, 
and Blood Institute for the purpose of carrying out the 
National Asthma Education and Prevention Program, 
there is authorized to be appropriated to such Institute 
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for such purpose $4,100,000 for each of the fiscal years 
2010 through 2014. Amounts appropriated under the pre-
ceding sentence shall be expended to expand such Pro-
gram. 
(b) COORDINATING COMMITTEE.— 
(1) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—With respect to 
the coordinating committee established for the Na-
tional Asthma Education and Prevention Program of 
the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, such 
committee shall submit to the Congress a report 
that— 
(A) contains a determination by the com-
mittee of the scope of the problem of asthma in 
the United States; 
(B) identifies all Federal programs that 
carry out asthma-related activities; and 
(C) contains the recommendations of the 
committee for strengthening and better coordi-
nating the asthma-related activities of the Fed-
eral Government. 
(2) INCLUSION
OF
REPRESENTATIVE
OF
DE-
PARTMENT OF EDUCATION.—The Secretary of Edu-
cation or a designee of the Secretary shall be in-
cluded in the membership of the coordinating com-
mittee referred to in paragraph (1). 
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