I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5250 
To amend the Public Health Service Act regarding early detection, diagnosis, 
and treatment of hearing loss. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 27, 2006 
Mr. WALSH (for himself, Mr. RYUN of Kansas, Mrs. CAPPS, Mrs. MCCARTHY, 
Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. WAXMAN, 
Mr. PALLONE, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. MCHUGH, Mr. KING of New York, Mr. 
BOEHLERT, Mr. PASTOR, Mr. FOLEY, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. FARR, Mr. 
BACHUS, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. SWEENEY, 
Mr. KUHL of New York, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. WYNN, Mr. STRICKLAND, Mr. 
REYNOLDS, Mrs. KELLY, Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota, and Mr. GENE 
GREEN of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Public Health Service Act regarding early 
detection, diagnosis, and treatment of hearing loss. 
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 ‘‘Early Hearing Detec-
tion and Intervention Act of 2006’’. 
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SEC. 2. EARLY DETECTION, DIAGNOSIS, AND TREATMENT 
OF HEARING LOSS. 
Section 399M of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 280g–1) is amended— 
(1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘IN-
FANTS’’ and inserting ‘‘NEWBORNS, INFANTS, 
AND YOUNG CHILDREN’’; 
(2) in subsection (a)— 
(A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘NEWBORN 
AND INFANT’’ and inserting ‘‘NEWBORN, IN-
FANT, AND YOUNG CHILD’’; 
(B) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 
by striking ‘‘newborn and infant hearing screen-
ing, evaluation and intervention programs and 
systems’’ and inserting ‘‘newborn, infant, and 
young child hearing screening, evaluation, diag-
nosis, and intervention programs and systems, 
and to assist in the recruitment, retention, edu-
cation, and training of qualified personnel and 
health care providers,’’; and 
(C) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(1) To develop and monitor the efficacy of 
statewide programs and systems for hearing screen-
ing of newborns, infants, and young children; 
prompt evaluation and diagnosis of children referred 
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from screening programs; and appropriate edu-
cational, audiological, and medical interventions for 
children identified with hearing loss. Early interven-
tion includes referral to and delivery of information 
and services by schools and agencies, including com-
munity, consumer, and parent-based agencies and 
organizations and other programs mandated by part 
C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 
which offer programs specifically designed to meet 
the unique language and communication needs of 
deaf and hard of hearing newborns, infants, and 
young children. Programs and systems under this 
paragraph shall establish and foster family-to-family 
support mechanisms that are critical in the first 
months after a child is identified with hearing loss.’’; 
(D) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘new-
born and infant’’ and inserting ‘‘newborn, in-
fant, and young child’’; and 
(E) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) To develop efficient models to ensure that 
newborns, infants, and young children who are iden-
tified with a hearing loss through screening are not 
lost to follow-up by a qualified health care provider. 
These models shall be evaluated for their effective-
ness, and State agencies shall be encouraged to 
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adopt models that effectively reduce loss to follow- 
up. 
‘‘(4) To ensure an adequate supply of qualified 
personnel to meet the screening, evaluation, and 
early intervention needs of children.’’; 
(3) in subsection (b)— 
(A) in paragraph (1)— 
(i) by striking the term ‘‘newborn and 
infant’’ each place such term appears and 
inserting ‘‘newborn, infant, and young 
child’’; and 
(ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 
‘‘hearing loss screening, evaluation, and 
intervention 
programs’’ 
and 
inserting 
‘‘hearing loss screening, evaluation, diag-
nosis, and intervention programs’’; 
(B) in paragraph (2)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘for purposes of this 
section, continue’’ and insert the following: 
‘‘for purposes of this section— 
‘‘(A) continue’’; 
(ii) by striking the period at the end 
and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
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