I 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6215 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize and extend the 
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome prevention and services program, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 9, 2008 
Mr. PALLONE (for himself and Mr. RAMSTAD) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee 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 con-
cerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize and 
extend the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome prevention and serv-
ices program, 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 ‘‘Advancing FASD Re-
search, Prevention, and Services Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
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(1) Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) 
are the spectrum of serious, life-long disorders 
caused by prenatal exposure to alcohol, which in-
clude Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Alcohol-Related 
Neurodevelopmental Disorder, and Alcohol-Related 
Birth Defects. 
(2) In the decades that have passed since Fetal 
Alcohol Syndrome was first recognized in the United 
States, this fully preventable condition has continued 
to affect American children and families. 
(3) Prenatal alcohol exposure can cause brain 
damage that produces cognitive and behavioral im-
pairments. Prenatal alcohol exposure can cause cog-
nitive disability or low IQ and difficulties with learn-
ing, memory, attention, and problem solving. It can 
also create problems with executive functioning that 
impairs mental health and social interactions. Pre-
natal alcohol exposure does not always result in 
below average IQ or visible birth defects, which 
makes Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders difficult to 
identify, leading to improper treatment or denial of 
support services. 
(4) Prenatal alcohol exposure also can cause 
growth retardation, birth defects involving the heart, 
kidney, vision and hearing, and a characteristic pat-
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tern of facial abnormalities. Prenatal alcohol expo-
sure can also result in secondary behavioral charac-
teristics that may include anxiety, attention dis-
orders, aggression, truancy or trouble with the law, 
depression, and suicide. 
(5) According to the Substance Abuse and Men-
tal Health Services Administration, more than 1 in 
5 women report drinking alcohol in the first tri-
mester of pregnancy, 1 in 14 in the second tri-
mester, and 1 in 20 in the third trimester, even 
though there is no known safe level of alcohol con-
sumption during pregnancy. 
(6) The incidence rate for all Fetal Alcohol 
Spectrum Disorders is estimated in a publication of 
the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alco-
holism to be about 10 out of 1,000 births (1 percent 
of births) or 40,000 newborns each year. It is esti-
mated that as many as 2 per 1,000, or 20 percent 
of alcohol exposed newborns, have Fetal Alcohol 
Syndrome, the most serious of the Fetal Alcohol 
Spectrum Disorders. 
(7) As measured by the Fetal Alcohol Syn-
drome Surveillance Network, a partnership between 
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and 
5 different States, prevalence of Fetal Alcohol Spec-
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trum Disorders can be even higher in certain popu-
lations, such as Native Americans, adopted children 
from countries where alcohol consumption is more 
prevalent, and in certain areas, such as those char-
acterized by low socioeconomic status. 
(8) Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders pose ex-
traordinary financial costs to the Nation, including 
the cost of specialized health care, education, foster 
care, incarceration, job training, and general support 
services for individuals affected by Fetal Alcohol 
Spectrum Disorders. 
(9) Lifetime health costs for an individual with 
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is at least $2,000,000. The 
cost of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome in the United States 
is estimated to be at least $6,000,000,000 in 2007. 
Total economic costs would be even higher for all 
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. 
(10) There is a great need for research, surveil-
lance, prevention, treatment, and support services 
for individuals with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Dis-
orders and their families. 
(11) The National Institutes of Health, in co-
ordination with other Federal agencies, the Inter-
agency Coordinating Committee on Fetal Alcohol 
Syndrome, and the National Task Force on Fetal 
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Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effect, has an 
opportunity to advance research on Fetal Alcohol 
Spectrum Disorders in many areas, including the 
following: 
(A) The identification of the mechanisms 
that produce the cognitive and behavioral prob-
lems associated with fetal alcohol exposure. 
(B) The identification of a neurocognitive 
and neurobehavioral phenotype for Fetal Alco-
hol Syndrome and Alcohol-Related Neurodevel-
opmental Disorder. 
(C) The identification of specific structural 
and functional deficits within the brain respon-
sible for the neurocognitive and neurobehavioral 
phenotype. 
(D) The identification of biological mark-
ers that can be used to indicate fetal alcohol ex-
posure. 
(E) The identification of fetal and mater-
nal risk factors that increase susceptibility to 
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. 
(F) The investigation of behavioral and 
pharmacotherapies 
for 
alcohol-dependent 
women to determine new approaches for sus-
taining recovery. 
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