I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3754 
To amend the Public Health Service Act with regard to research on asthma, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 7, 2009 
Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Public Health Service Act with regard to 
research on asthma, 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 ‘‘Family Asthma Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) The number of people with asthma more 
than doubled between 1980 and 1995. According to 
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 
2007 more than 34,000,000 Americans had been di-
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agnosed with asthma, including an estimated 
9,600,000 children. Asthma rates are highest among 
Puerto Rican populations. Rates were 140 percent 
greater among Puerto Rican children compared to 
non-Hispanic White children. Asthma strikes 1 in 13 
Americans. 
(2) According to the Centers for Disease Con-
trol and Prevention, in 2005 more than 3,800 Amer-
icans died from asthma. The rate of mortality from 
asthma is higher among African-Americans and 
women. 
(3) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre-
vention report that asthma accounted for more than 
440,000 hospitalizations and more than 1,600,000 
visits to hospital emergency departments in 2006. 
The rate for asthma-related emergency room visits is 
500 percent greater and hospitalization rates are 
300 percent higher for Blacks compared to Whites. 
(4) According to the National Heart, Lung, and 
Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health, 
the annual cost of asthma to the United States is 
approximately $19,700,000,000. 
(5) According to the Centers for Disease Con-
trol and Prevention, almost 13,000,000 school days 
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and 10,000,000 work days are missed annually as a 
result of asthma. 
(6) Asthma episodes can be triggered by both 
outdoor air pollution and indoor air pollution, in-
cluding pollutants such as cigarette smoke and com-
bustion by-products. Asthma episodes can also be 
triggered by indoor allergens such as animal dander 
and outdoor allergens such as pollen and molds. 
(7) Public health interventions and medical care 
in accordance with existing guidelines have been 
proven effective in the treatment and management 
of asthma. Better asthma management could reduce 
the numbers of emergency department visits and 
hospitalizations due to asthma. Studies published in 
medical journals have shown that better asthma 
management results in improved asthma outcomes 
at a lower cost. 
(8) In 2005, the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention cited ‘‘the urgent need’’ for en-
hanced public health surveillance data regarding 
asthma, noting that the current system has led to a 
‘‘patchwork of health effect measures’’. National 
data are needed to allow comparisons at smaller geo-
graphic levels, such as counties, and to better under-
stand the groups at risk. 
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(9) The alarming rise in the prevalence of asth-
ma, its adverse effect on school attendance and pro-
ductivity, and its cost for hospitalizations and emer-
gency room visits, argue for a more vigorous Federal 
leadership role, including increasing awareness of 
asthma as a chronic illness, its symptoms, the role 
of both indoor and outdoor environmental factors 
that exacerbate the disease, and other factors that 
affect its exacerbations and severity. The goals of 
the Government and its partners in the nonprofit 
and private sectors should include reducing the num-
ber and severity of asthma attacks, asthma’s finan-
cial burden, and the health disparities associated 
with asthma. 
SEC. 3. FAMILY ASTHMA CLINICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL 
HEALTH RESEARCH GRANTS. 
Part P of title III of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 280g et seq.) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating the second and third sec-
tions 399R (added by Public Laws 110–373 and 
110–374, respectively) as sections 399S and 399T; 
and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘SEC. 399U. FAMILY ASTHMA CLINICAL AND ENVIRON-
MENTAL HEALTH RESEARCH GRANT PRO-
GRAM. 
‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to au-
thorize the National Institutes of Health to award grants 
to carry out pilot projects to prevent and control asthma 
symptoms and to reduce asthma attacks and improve pa-
tient self-management for individuals and in families con-
taining individuals with asthma including— 
‘‘(1) utilizing electronic health records, tele-
health, and other novel electronic communications to 
prevent acute asthma attacks, and to improve asth-
ma surveillance activities as described under section 
317I(c); and 
‘‘(2) expanding the understanding of environ-
mental and other factors that cause and contribute 
to the burden of asthma. 
‘‘(b) GRANTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 
through the Director of the National Institutes of 
Health, shall award grants to eligible entities to 
carry out pilot projects consistent with the activities 
described in subsection (a). 
‘‘(2) AWARDING OF GRANTS.—In awarding the 
grants under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 
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‘‘(A) give priority to entities that serve dis-
proportionately impacted populations; and 
‘‘(B) give consideration to an adequate na-
tional understanding of asthma prevalence, so 
as to gain better information about asthma at 
the national level. 
‘‘(3) COORDINATION OF AGENCIES.—The Na-
tional Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (which shall 
be the lead agency for purposes of activities carried 
out under this section), in coordination with the Na-
tional Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 
the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Dis-
eases, and the National Institute of Child Health 
and Human Development, shall administer grants to 
be utilized by entities performing research of the 
type described in subsection (a). Such institutes 
shall coordinate in writing a request for applications, 
reviewing applications, and providing administrative 
oversight for the program carried out under this sec-
tion. 
‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant 
under subsection (b), an entity shall be— 
‘‘(1) a hospital, including a children’s hospital; 
‘‘(2) a community health center; 
‘‘(3) a medical school; 
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‘‘(4) a nonprofit institution; or 
‘‘(5) another entity, as designated by the Sec-
retary. 
‘‘(d) APPLICATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity shall sub-
mit an application to the Director of the National 
Institutes of Health for a grant under this section 
at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by 
such information as such Director may require. 
‘‘(2) REQUIRED INFORMATION.—An application 
submitted under this subsection shall, as is applica-
ble and practicable to the area and scope of the pilot 
project— 
‘‘(A) include information demonstrating 
the prevalence of chronic asthma among the 
population to be served by the applicant on at 
least a State-level basis and where practicable, 
in areas and localities within the State; 
‘‘(B) provide assurance that the applicant 
will establish consistent communication with pa-
tients, including using the Internet or telephone 
for the prompt transmission of patient informa-
tion related to symptoms and conditions, such 
as peak flowmeter measurements; 
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