Legislative Update (September 2003)

NHLBI Home | Information for Patients and the Public | Express Home | Your Government, Your Institute

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

October 2004

Fiscal year (FY) 2004 appropriations bills

Legislation related to cardiovascular, pulmonary, or hematologic diseases

Asthmatic Schoolchildren’s Treatment and Health Management Act of 2004
Sickle Cell Treatment Act of 2003
Patient Navigator Outreach and Chronic Disease Prevention Act of 2004
Sickle Cell Treatment Act of 2003 (S. 874)

[Top of Page]

Fiscal year (FY) 2005 appropriations bills

On September 9, 2004, the House of Representatives passed its version of the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education 2005 appropriations act (H.R. 2660). As requested in the President’s budget, the bill includes $2,963,953,000 for the NHLBI. This is an increase of 3.0 percent over the $2,878,691,000 that the NHLBI received in FY 2004.

The Senate version (S. 2810), which the appropriations committee approved on September 15, includes $2,985,900,000 for the NHLBI.

Both the House (House Report 108-636) and Senate (Senate Report 108-345) reports mention NHLBI activities related to:
Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Hemophilia. Marfan syndrome. Myelodysplasia and myeloproliferative disorders. Neurofibromatosis. Obstructive sleep apnea.	Pulmonary hypertension. Scleroderma. Tissue engineering of blood vessels. Training of allied health personnel. Von Willebrand disease.
Both Chambers encourage the NHLBI to develop education and awareness campaigns about:
Chronic Obstructive Ppulmonary Disease. Primary immunodeficiency diseases. Sleep.
Moreover, the House would like the NHLBI to inform health care professionals and the public about:
Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. Heart disease and stroke risks for individuals who have diabetes.
The Senate encourages the NHLBI to conduct more research on:
Airway diseases that disproportionately affect minority groups. Asthma in children. Cardio-thoracic surgery. Cardiovascular imaging.	Cystic fibrosis. Exercise. Thrombosis and thrombophilia.
The House is interested in NHLBI support of research on:
Angiogenesis. Juvenile diabetes. Coronary heart disease and diabetes.
And, the House encourages the NHLBI to:
Improve the safety of the blood supply by developing methods to detect and inactivate blood-borne causative agents for human transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. Promote the use of stem cells in studies of respiratory failure and lung repair. Work with the NIDDK to address the association between heart disease and kidney disease.

[Top of Page]

Legislation related to cardiovascular, pulmonary, or hematologic diseases

Asthmatic Schoolchildren's Treatment and Health Management Act of 2004

Number: H.R. 2023
Latest action:Passed in the Senate on October 11. The bill has been forwarded to the President to be signed into law.
Highlights: Requires the Secretary, DHHS, when making grants to states for asthma-related activities, to give preference to states that require schools to allow students to self-administer medication to treat their asthma or anaphylaxis.

Sickle Cell Treatment Act of 2003

Number: The Sickle Cell Treatment Act of 2003 was included as an amendment to
H.R. 4520, the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004.
Latest action: Passed in the Senate on October 11. The bill has been forwarded to the President to be signed into law.
Highlights: Amends title XIX of the Social Security Act to include, as medical assistance under the Medicaid program, primary and secondary preventative medical strategies for children and adults who have sickle cell disease.

Patient Navigator Outreach and Chronic Disease Prevention Act of 2004

Number: H.R. 918
Sponsor: Representative Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
Latest action: Passed in the House on October 5.
Highlights: Would require the National Cancer Institute, Health Resources and Services Administration, and Indian Health Service to provide

early detection of cancer and chronic diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, for populations affected by health disparities.
treatment and follow-up care services for those who have cancer or chronic diseases.

A concurrent resolution expressing the sense of the Congress that private health insurance companies should take a proactive role in promoting healthy lifestyles, and for other purposes.

Number: H. Con. Res. 34
Sponsor: Representative Karen McCarthy (D-MO)
Latest action: Passed on October 5.
Highlights: By passing H. Con. Res. 34, the House of Representatives

commended Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson for urging private health insurance companies to encourage people to become more active.
urged private health insurance companies to
- encourage people to adopt healthier and more active lifestyles.
- provide discounted premiums to those who exercise regularly.
- encourage screening to detect diseases that are easily treatable in their early stages.

A concurrent resolution recognizing community organization of public access defibrillation programs

Number: H. Con. Res. 250
Sponsor: Representative Sherrod Brown (D-OH
Latest action: Passed on October 5.
Highlights: By passing H. Con. Res. 250, the House of Representatives

acknowledged community activists, organizations, and municipal governments that have established public access defibrillation (PAD) programs.
indicated its support for the continued implementation and expansion of PAD programs.

Content last modified:10/20/2004
[Top of Page]
[Legislative Update (September 2004)]
NHLBI Express
NHLBI Home

Please send us your feedback, comments, and questions
by using the appropriate link on the page, Contact the NHLBI.

Note to users of screen readers and other assistive technologies: please report your problems here.