text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
      This Act may be cited as the ``Poison Center Support, Enhancement, 
  and Awareness Act of 2008''.
  SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
      Congress makes the following findings:
          (1) Poison control centers are the primary defense of the 
      United States against injury and deaths from poisoning. Twenty-four 
      hours a day, the general public as well as health care 
      practitioners contact their local poison control centers for help 
      in diagnosing and treating victims of poisoning. In 2007, more than 
      4,000,000 calls were managed by poison control centers providing 
      ready and direct access for all people of the United States, 
      including many underserved populations in the United States, with 
      vital emergency public health information and response.
          (2) Poisoning is the second most common form of unintentional 
      death in the United States. In any given year, there will be 
      between 3,000,000 and 5,000,000 poison exposures. Sixty percent of 
      these exposures will involve children under the age of 6 who are 
      exposed to toxins in their home. Poisoning accounts for 285,000 
      hospitalizations, 1,200,000 days of acute hospital care, and more 
      than 26,000 fatalities in 2005.
          (3) In 2008, the Harvard Injury Control Research Center 
      reported that poisonings from accidents and unknown circumstances 
      more than tripled in rate since 1990. In 2005, the last year for 
      which data are available, 26,858 people died from accidental or 
      unknown poisonings. This represents an increase of 20,000 since 
      1990 and an increase of 2,400 between 2004 and 2005. Fatalities 
      from poisoning are increasing in the United States in near epidemic 
      proportions. The funding of programs to reverse this trend is 
      needed now more than ever.
          (4) In 2004, The Institute of Medicine of the National Academy 
      of Sciences recommended that ``Congress should amend the current 
      Poison Control Center Enhancement and Awareness Act Amendments of 
      2003 to provide sufficient funding to support the proposed Poison 
      Prevention and Control System with its national network of poison 
      centers. Support for the core activities at the current level of 
      service is estimated to require more than $100 million annually.''.
          (5) Sustaining the funding structure and increasing 
      accessibility to poison control centers will promote the 
      utilization of poison control centers and reduce the inappropriate 
      use of emergency medical services and other more costly health care 
      services. The 2004 Institute of Medicine Report to Congress 
      determined that for every $1 invested in the Nation's poison 
      control centers $7 of health care costs are saved. In 2005, direct 
      Federal health care program savings totaled in excess of 
      $525,000,000 as the result of poison control center public health 
      services.
          (6) More than 30 percent of the cost savings and financial 
      benefits of the Nation's network of poison control centers are 
      realized annually by Federal health care programs (estimated to be 
      more than $1,000,000,000), yet Federal funding support (as 
      demonstrated by the annual authorization of $30,100,000 in Public 
      Law 108-194) comprises less than 11 percent of the annual network 
      expenditures of poison centers.
          (7) Real-time data collected from the Nation's certified poison 
      control centers can be an important source of information for the 
      detection, monitoring, and response for contamination of the air, 
      water, pharmaceutical, or food supply.
          (8) In the event of a terrorist event, poison control centers 
      will be relied upon as a critical source for accurate medical 
      information and public health emergency response concerning the 
      treatment of patients who have had an exposure to a chemical, 
      radiological, or biological agent.
  SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION OF POISON CONTROL CENTERS NATIONAL TOLL-FREE 
  NUMBER.
      Section 1271 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300d-71) 
  is amended to read as follows:
  ``SEC. 1271. MAINTENANCE OF THE NATIONAL TOLL-FREE NUMBER.
      ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall provide coordination and 
  assistance to poison control centers for the establishment of a 
  nationwide toll-free phone number, and the maintenance of such number, 
  to be used to access such centers.
      ``(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
  appropriated $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2009 to carry out this section, 
  and $700,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2014 for the 
  maintenance of the nationwide toll free phone number under subsection 
  (a).''.
  SEC. 4. REAUTHORIZATION OF NATIONWIDE MEDIA CAMPAIGN TO PROMOTE POISON 
  CONTROL CENTER UTILIZATION.
      (a) In General.--Section 1272 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
  U.S.C. 300d-72) is amended to read as follows:
  ``SEC. 1272. NATIONWIDE MEDIA CAMPAIGN TO PROMOTE POISON CONTROL CENTER 
  UTILIZATION.
      ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall carry out, and expand upon, 
  a national media campaign to educate the public and health care 
  providers about poison prevention and the availability of poison 
  control center resources in local communities and to conduct 
  advertising campaigns concerning the nationwide toll-free number 
  established under section 1271(a).
      ``(b) Contract With Entity.--The Secretary may carry out subsection 
  (a) by entering into contracts with one or more public or private 
  entities, including nationally recognized organizations in the field of 
  poison control and national media firms, for the development and 
  implementation of a nationwide poison prevention and poison control 
  center awareness campaign, which may include--
          ``(1) the development and distribution of poison prevention and 
      poison control center awareness materials;
          ``(2) television, radio, Internet, and newspaper public service 
      announcements; and
          ``(3) other activities to provide for public and professional 
      awareness and education.
      ``(c) Evaluation.--The Secretary shall--
          ``(1) establish baseline measures and benchmarks to 
      quantitatively evaluate the impact of the nationwide media campaign 
      carried out under this section; and
          ``(2) on an annual basis, prepare and submit to the appropriate 
      committees of Congress, an evaluation of the nationwide media 
      campaign.
      ``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
  appropriated to carry out this section, such sums as may be necessary 
  for fiscal year 2009, and $800,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 
  through 2014.''.
      (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall be 
  effective on the date of the enactment of this Act and shall apply to 
  contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2009.
  SEC. 5. REAUTHORIZATION OF THE POISON CONTROL CENTER GRANT PROGRAM.
      (a) In General.--Section 1273 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
  U.S.C. 300d-73) is amended to read as follows:
  ``SEC. 1273. MAINTENANCE OF THE POISON CONTROL CENTER GRANT PROGRAM.
      ``(a) Authorization of Program.--The Secretary shall award grants 
  to poison control centers certified under subsection (c) (or granted a 
  waiver under subsection (d)) and professional organizations in the 
  field of poison control for the purposes of preventing, and providing 
  treatment recommendations for, poisonings and complying with the 
  operational requirements needed to sustain the certification of the 
  center under subsection (c).
      ``(b) Additional Uses of Funds.--In addition to the purposes 
  described in subsection (a), a poison center or professional 
  organization awarded a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under 
  such subsection may also use amounts received under such grant, 
  contract, or cooperative agreement--
          ``(1) to establish and evaluate best practices in the United 
      States for poison prevention, poison control center outreach, and 
      emergency and preparedness programs;
          ``(2) to research, develop, implement, revise, and communicate 
      standard patient management guidelines for commonly encountered 
      toxic exposures;
          ``(3) to improve national toxic exposure surveillance by 
      enhancing cooperative activities between poison control centers in 
      the United States and the Centers for Disease Control and 
      Prevention;
          ``(4) to develop, support, and enhance technology and 
      capabilities of professional organizations in the field of poison 
      control to collect national poisoning, toxic occurrence, and 
      related public health data;
          ``(5) to develop initiatives to foster the enhanced public 
      health utilization of national poison data collected by 
      organizations described in paragraph (4);
          ``(6) to support and expand the toxicologic expertise within 
      poison control centers; and
          ``(7) to improve the capacity of poison control centers to 
      answer high volumes of calls and respond during times of national 
      crisis or other public health emergencies.
      ``(c) Certification.--Except as provided in subsection (d), the 
  Secretary may award a grant to a poison control center under subsection 
  (a) only if--
          ``(1) the center has been certified by a professional 
      organization in the field of poison control, and the Secretary has 
      approved the organization as having in effect standards for 
      certification that reasonably provide for the protection of the 
      public health with respect to poisoning; or
          ``(2) the center has been certified by a State government, and 
      the Secretary has approved the State government as having in effect 
      standards for certification that reasonably provide for the 
      protection of the public health with respect to poisoning.
      ``(d) Waiver of Certification Requirements.--
          ``(1) In general.--The Secretary may grant a waiver of the 
      certification requirements of subsection (c) with respect to a 
      noncertified poison control center that applies for a grant under 
      this section if such center can reasonably demonstrate that the 
      center will obtain such a certification within a reasonable period 
      of time as determined appropriate by the Secretary.
          ``(2) Renewal.--The Secretary may renew a waiver under 
      paragraph (1).
          ``(3) Limitation.--In no case may the sum of the number of 
      years for a waiver under paragraph (1) and a renewal under 
      paragraph (2) exceed 5 years. The preceding sentence shall take 
      effect as of the date of the enactment of the Poison Center 
      Support, Enhancement, and Awareness Act of 2008.
      ``(e) Supplement Not Supplant.--Amounts made available to a poison 
  control center under this section shall be used to supplement and not 
  supplant other Federal, State or local funds provided for such center.
      ``(f) Maintenance of Effort.--A poison control center, in utilizing 
  the proceeds of a grant under this section, shall maintain the 
  expenditures of the center for activities of the center at a level that 
  is not less than the level of expenditures maintained by the center for 
  the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which the grant is 
  received.
      ``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
  appropriated to carry out this section, $27,500,000 for fiscal year 
  2009, and $28,600,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2014. The 
  Secretary may utilize not to exceed 8 percent of the amount 
  appropriated under this preceding sentence in each fiscal year for 
  coordination, dissemination, technical assistance, program evaluation, 
  data activities, and other program administration functions that do not 
  include grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements under subsections 
  (a) and (b), which are determined by the Secretary to be appropriate 
  for carrying out the program under this section.''.
      (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall be 
  effective as of the date of the enactment of this Act and shall apply 
  to grants made on or after January 1, 2009.
  
                                 Speaker of the House of Representatives.
  
                              Vice President of the United States and    
                                                 President of the Senate.
target: Poison Center Support, Enhancement, and Awareness Act of 2008 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide coordination and assistance for the maintenance of the nationwide toll-free phone number to access poison control centers.
  
  Requires the Secretary to carry out and expand upon a national media campaign to educate the public and health care providers about poison prevention and the availability of poison control center resources in local communities. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into contracts with nationally recognized organizations in the field of poison control and national media firms for the development and implementation of a nationwide poison prevention and poison control center awareness campaign.
  
  Expands the poison control center grant program to allow the Secretary to award grants for poison control centers to comply with the operational requirements needed to sustain certification. Adds as the purposes for which such grants may be used: (1) to establish and evaluate best practices in the United States for poison prevention, poison control center outreach, and emergency and preparedness programs; (2) to implement standard patient management guidelines for commonly encountered toxic exposures; (3) to develop, support, and enhance technology and capabilities of professional organizations in the field of poison control to collect national poisoning, toxic occurrence, and related public health data; and (4) to develop initiatives to foster the enhanced public health utilization of national poison data. Eliminates matching requirements for such grants.
  
  Authorizes appropriations for FY2009-FY2014.
feat_title: A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize the poison center national toll-free number, national media campaign, and grant program to provide assistance for poison prevention, sustain the funding of poison centers, and enhance the public health of people of the United States.