113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 669 
AN ACT 
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 ‘‘Sudden Unexpected 
Death Data Enhancement and Awareness Act’’. 
SEC. 2. STILLBIRTH AND SUDDEN DEATHS IN THE YOUNG. 
The Public Health Service Act is amended by insert-
ing after section 317L of such Act (42 U.S.C. 247b–13) 
the following: 
‘‘SEC. 317L–1. STILLBIRTH AND SUDDEN DEATHS IN THE 
YOUNG. 
‘‘(a) STILLBIRTH ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary, act-
ing through the Director of the Centers for Disease Con-
trol and Prevention, shall continue to carry out activities 
of the Centers relating to stillbirth, including the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(1) SURVEILLANCE.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
provide for surveillance efforts to collect thor-
ough, complete, and high-quality epidemiologic 
information on stillbirths, including through the 
utilization of existing surveillance systems (in-
cluding the National Vital Statistics System 
(NVSS) and other appropriately equipped birth 
defects surveillance programs). 
‘‘(B) STANDARD PROTOCOL FOR SURVEIL-
LANCE.—The Secretary, in consultation with 
qualified individuals and organizations deter-
mined appropriate by the Secretary, to include 
representatives of health and advocacy organi-
zations, State and local governments, public 
health officials, and health researchers, shall— 
‘‘(i) provide for the continued develop-
ment and dissemination of a standard pro-
tocol for stillbirth data collection and sur-
veillance; and 
‘‘(ii) not less than every 5 years, re-
view and, as appropriate, update such pro-
tocol. 
‘‘(2) POSTMORTEM
DATA
COLLECTION
AND 
EVALUATION.—The Secretary, in consultation with 
qualified individuals and organizations determined 
appropriate by the Secretary, to include representa-
tives of health professional organizations, shall— 
‘‘(A) upon the enactment of this section, 
and not less than every 5 years thereafter, re-
view existing guidelines for increasing and im-
proving the quality and completeness of post-
mortem stillbirth evaluation and related data 
collection, including conducting and reimburs-
ing autopsies, placental histopathology, and cy-
togenetic testing; and
‘‘(i) provide for the continued develop-
ment and dissemination of a standard pro-
tocol for SUID data reporting and surveil-
lance; and 
‘‘(ii) not less than every 5 years, re-
view and, as appropriate, update such pro-
tocol. 
‘‘(C) GOALS
FOR
ENHANCING
SURVEIL-
LANCE.—In carrying out activities under this 
subsection, the Secretary shall seek to accom-
plish the following goals: 
‘‘(i) Collecting thorough, complete, 
and high-quality death scene investigation 
data, clinical history, and autopsy findings. 
‘‘(ii) Collecting standardized informa-
tion about the environmental and medical 
circumstances of death (including the sleep 
environment and quality of the death scene 
investigation). 
‘‘(iii) Supporting multidisciplinary in-
fant death reviews, such as those per-
formed by child death review committees, 
to collect and review the information and 
classify and characterize SUID using a 
standardized classification system.
‘‘(iv) Facilitating the sharing of infor-
mation to improve the public reporting of 
surveillance and vital statistics describing 
the epidemiology of SUID. 
‘‘(2) STANDARD PROTOCOL FOR DEATH SCENE 
INVESTIGATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in con-
sultation with forensic pathologists, medical ex-
aminers, coroners, medicolegal death scene in-
vestigators, law enforcement personnel, emer-
gency medical technicians and paramedics, pub-
lic health agencies, and other individuals and 
organizations determined appropriate by the 
Secretary, shall— 
‘‘(i) provide for the continued dissemi-
nation of a standard death scene investiga-
tion protocol; and 
‘‘(ii) not less than every 5 years, re-
view and, as appropriate, update such pro-
tocol. 
‘‘(B) CONTENT
OF
DEATH
SCENE
PRO-
TOCOL.—The protocol disseminated under sub-
paragraph (A) shall include information on— 
‘‘(i) the current and past medical his-
tory of the infant;
‘‘(ii) family medical history; 
‘‘(iii) the circumstances surrounding 
the death, including any suspicious cir-
cumstances; 
‘‘(iv) the sleep position and sleep envi-
ronment of the infant; and 
‘‘(v) any accidental or environmental 
factors associated with death. 
‘‘(3) GUIDELINES FOR A STANDARD AUTOPSY 
PROTOCOL.—The Secretary, in consultation with the 
Attorney General of the United States, forensic pa-
thologists, medical examiners, coroners, pediatric pa-
thologists, 
pediatric 
cardiologists, 
pediatric 
neuropathologists, geneticists, infectious disease spe-
cialists, and other individuals and organizations de-
termined appropriate by the Secretary, shall— 
‘‘(A) develop guidelines for a standard au-
topsy protocol for SUID; and 
‘‘(B) not less than every 5 years, review 
and, as appropriate, update such guidelines. 
‘‘(4) TRAINING.—The Secretary, in consultation 
with the Attorney General of the United States, 
may— 
‘‘(A) conduct or support—
‘‘(i) training activities for medical ex-
aminers, coroners, medicolegal death scene 
investigators, law enforcement personnel, 
and emergency medical technicians or 
paramedics concerning death scene inves-
tigations for SUID, including the use of 
standard death scene investigation proto-
cols disseminated under paragraph (2); 
and 
‘‘(ii) training activities for medical ex-
aminers, coroners, and forensic patholo-
gists concerning standard autopsy proto-
cols for SUID developed under paragraph 
(3); and 
‘‘(B) make recommendations to health pro-
fessional organizations regarding the integra-
tion of protocols disseminated or developed 
under this subsection, and training conducted 
or supported under this paragraph, into exist-
ing training and continuing education pro-
grams. 
‘‘(c) SUDDEN UNEXPLAINED DEATH IN CHILDHOOD 
ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary, acting through the Director 
of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall 
continue to carry out activities of the Centers relating to
sudden unexpected death in childhood (SUDC), including 
the following: 
‘‘(1) SURVEILLANCE.—The Secretary, in con-
sultation with the Director of the National Institutes 
of Health, shall provide for surveillance efforts to 
gather sociodemographic, death scene investigation, 
clinical history, and autopsy information on SUDC 
cases through the review of existing records on 
SUDC, including through the utilization of existing 
surveillance systems (including the Sudden Death in 
the Young Registry). 
‘‘(2) GUIDELINES FOR A STANDARD AUTOPSY 
PROTOCOL.—The Secretary, in consultation with the 
Attorney General of the United States, forensic pa-
thologists, medical examiners, coroners, pediatric pa-
thologists, 
pediatric 
cardiologists, 
pediatric 
neuropathologists, geneticists, infectious disease spe-
cialists, and other individuals and organizations de-
termined appropriate by the Secretary, may— 
‘‘(A) develop guidelines for a standard au-
topsy protocol for SUDC; and 
‘‘(B) not less than every 5 years, review 
and, as appropriate, update such guidelines. 
‘‘(3) REVIEW OF APPLICABILITY OF PROGRAMS 
AND ACTIVITIES.—Not later than 18 months after
the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary, 
acting through the Director of the Centers for Dis-
ease Control and Prevention, and in consultation 
with the Director of the National Institutes of 
Health, shall complete an evaluation of the possi-
bility of carrying out or intensifying, with respect to 
SUDC, the types of programs and activities that are 
authorized to be carried out under subsection (b) 
with respect to SUID. 
‘‘(d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 2 years 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, act-
ing through the Director of the Centers for Disease Con-
trol and Prevention, shall submit to the Congress a report 
on the implementation of this section. Such report shall 
include— 
‘‘(1) the results of the evaluation under sub-
section (c)(3); and 
‘‘(2) a description of any activities that— 
‘‘(A) are being carried out by the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention in consulta-
tion with the National Institutes of Health re-
lating to stillbirth, SUID, or SUDC; and 
‘‘(B) are in addition to the activities being 
carried out pursuant to this section. 
‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: