ConTACT Act of 2010

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1347, the ``Concussion Treatment and Care Tools Act of 2009'' or the ``ConTACT Act of 2009.'' This legislation directs the Department of Health and Human Services, acting through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to establish concussion management guidelines for preventing, identifying, treating, and managing concussions in children between the ages of 5 and 18.

As Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, I convened four hearings and forums beginning on October 28, 2009 to examine and highlight the growing evidence linking concussions sustained while playing football to long-term brain damage.

Brain injuries are the leading cause of death and disability for children in our Nation. According to research by The New York Times, at least 50 high school or younger football players in more than 20 States since 1997 have been killed or have sustained serious concussions on the football field.

With 1.2 million high school athletes and approximately 3 million American youngsters between the ages of 6 and 14 playing tackle football, many kids continue to be at risk.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that more than 300,000 athletes lose consciousness from concussions every year in the United States, and that the total number of concussions could be as high as 3.8 million.

Since most brains aren't fully developed until age 25, a concussion is even more dangerous for a youth than for an adult.

Furthermore, a repeat concussion--one that occurs before the brain recovers from a previous concussion--can be even more devastating.

Research indicates that younger, less-developed brains are at even greater risk of second-impact syndrome. This syndrome may include brain swelling, permanent brain damage, and death.

Given that young athletes are more susceptible to second-impact syndrome, it is troubling that there is a shortage of trainers available to attend to young players on the football field.

According to the National Athletic Trainers' Association, 58 percent of high schools nationwide do not have a certified athletic trainer available for players.

And as former National Football League player Merril Hoge testified at our first hearing on football head injuries last year, trainers are virtually non-existent at the youth level, where he coaches his children.

Even if high school or youth teams do have a sideline trainer available, these individuals often have little experience in the subtleties of concussion management.

This fact may explain the alarming results of a recent study by the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. The study found that as many as 41 percent of high school athletes who suffer concussions on the field may be returning to play too soon.

In part because of the Judiciary Committee's scrutiny, the National Football League has made significant changes with respect to concussion prevention, identification, treatment, and education. However, it is not clear whether these changes are filtering down to younger levels of football or to other contact sports.

That is why I applaud Representative Bill Pascrell's effort to bring some nationwide uniformity for the management of concussions in school- aged children. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1347.

Mr. Speaker, as you know, Speaker Pelosi gaveled in the 110th Congress on behalf of America's children. Today I am proud to say the House will consider this bipartisan bill to protect our children in youth sports.

As cochair of the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force with Congressman Platts from Pennsylvania, I have worked for the last 9 years on the issue of brain injury for our troops, as well as those who are playing sports, all sports, men and women.

Back then, we had no idea how prevalent brain jury would become for our youth. A study published this month in Pediatrics found that between 1997 and 2007, the number of children seeking emergency medical care for concussions doubled.

To address this growing problem for schools, Congressman Todd Platts and I introduced the ConTACT Act, H.R. 1347, to create Federal guidelines on concussion management and a grant program for States to implement these policies.

This bill is dedicated to kids like Ryne Dougherty, a constituent of mine who died after returning to a football game without recovering from a previous concussion, and Niki Popyer, who suffered over 11 concussions from basketball. While we did not have the proper guidelines in place to protect them on the field of play, this bill would create Federal guidelines, not by the Congress but by professionals, to protect other student athletes so they can excel not only in sports but in school.

I want to thank Speaker Pelosi, and I want to thank Majority Leader Hoyer for recognizing the importance of bringing this bill to the floor, and Chairman Waxman and Chairman Pallone for helping this particular bill through the committee process.

I want to thank the organizations that supported the bill, that recognized its value for our citizens: The Brain Injury Association, Easter Seals, the NFL, the NFL Players Association, the Parkinson's Action Network, the National Athletic Trainers Association, the National Association of Head Injury Administrators, the New Jersey Council of General Hospitals, and the American College of Rehabilitation Medicine.

This is a big deal for the kids that are our children, our grandchildren, throughout the United States. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, Mr. Minority Leader.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1347) to amend title III of the Public Health Service Act to provide for the establishment and implementation of concussion management guidelines with respect to school-aged children, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the Record.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1347, or the ConTACT Act, will help to reduce the number of concussion-related injuries nationally by improving a school's ability to guide return-to-play decisions and by raising awareness for parents, students, health professionals, and others of the consequences of multiple concussions.

I want to thank Mr. Shimkus and Mr. Barton for their willingness to work on this bill with me and, of course, thank the sponsor of the bill, my colleague from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell) who has worked so hard on this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the sponsor of the bill, my colleague from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell). I just want to say he has worked tirelessly as an advocate for this bill, doing investigations and having a hearing that we held in the State of New Jersey. As you know, he was very aggressive in a very positive way to make sure this bill came to the floor.

Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers. I would yield back the balance of my time and urge passage of this important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1347, the Concussion Treatment and Care Tools Act seeks to reduce the number of concussions sustained by our young people.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 1.7 million people sustain a traumatic brain injury each year. Some of these are sustained by children while they are playing sports. This bill will help reduce that number.

The bill would require the Centers for Disease Control to develop model guidelines that address the prevention, identification, treatment, and management of concussions in school-age children, including standards for student athletes to return to play after a concussion.

The bill also would direct the secretary to convene a conference of experts to develop the model guidelines. The secretary would be allowed, but not required, to award grants to States to help implement these guidelines. I must also note that the bill would ensure that the Centers for Disease Control uses its existing budget to award these grants if they deem them necessary. It does not create a separate funding source for these grants.

I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.