,i  #aacth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #cied  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,january #bh1        
#bjad,mrs4 ,beatty 7for herself1 ,mrs4  
,wagner1 ,mr4 ,rangel1 ,mr4 ,conyers1   
,ms4 ,kelly of ,illinois1 and ,ms4      
,wilson of ,florida7 introduced the     
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce1
 and in addition to the ,committees on  
,armed ,services and ,education and the 
,workforce1 for a period to be          
subsequently determined by the ,speaker1
 in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the           
jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
,a ,,bill  ,to provide for systemic     
research1 surveillance1 treatment1      
prevention1 awareness1 development of   
rules of play1 standards1 and           
dissemination of information with       
respect to sports-related and other     
concussions4  #a4 ,short title ,this    
,act may be cited as the ,concussion    
,awareness and ,education ,act of #bjad4

  #b4 ,table of contents ,the table of  
contents of this ,act is as follows3    
,sec4 #a4 ,short title4,sec4 #b4 ,table 
of contents4,sec4 #c4 ,findings2        
purposes4,sec4 #d4 ,surveillance of     
sports-related concussions4,sec4 #e4    
,research4,sec4 #f4 ,biological sample  
repository4,sec4 #g4 ,rules of          
play4,sec4 #h4 ,dissemination of        
information4,sec4 #i4 ,concussion       
,research ,commission4  #c4 ,findings2  
purposes  7a7 ,findings ,the ,congress  
finds as follows3 7#a7 ,there is        
currently no comprehensive system for   
acquiring accurate data on the incidence
 of sports- and recreation-related      
concussions across all youth age groups 
and sports4  7#b7 ,overall1 according to
 a report entitled ,sports-,related     
,concussions in ,youth3 ,improving the  
,science1 ,changing the ,culture1 issued
 by the ,national ,academies in #bjac1  
each year in the ,united ,states1 there 
are approximately #a4f to #c4h million  
sports- and recreation-related traumatic

 brain injuries1 including concussions  
and other head injuries4 ,these figures 
are based on conservative estimates4    
7#c7 ,a review of ,national ,collegiate 
,athletic ,association data for #ae     
sports showed that the overall reported 
concussion rate doubled from #a4g to    
#c4d concussions per #a1jjj athletic    
exposures over the past #ae years1      
covering the #aihh-aihi and #bjjc-bjjd  
academic years4  7#d7 ,between #bjja and
 #bjji1 the reported number of our youth
 ages #ai and under treated for         
concussion and other nonfatal1 sports-  
and recreation-related traumatic brain  
injuries increased from #aej1jjj to     
#bej1jjj4  7#e7 ,over the same time     
period between #bjja and #bjji1 the rate
 of emergency room visits for concussive
 injuries increased by #eg percent4     
7#f7 ,yet1 according to the ,national   
,academies there currently is-- 7,a7 a  
lack of data to accurately estimate the 
incidence of sports-related concussions 
across a variety of sports and for youth

 across the pediatric age spectrum2 and 
7,b7 no comprehensive system for        
acquiring accurate data on the incidence
 of sports- and recreation-related      
concussions across all youth age groups 
and sports4  7#g7 ,currently1 there are 
significant information gaps in the     
proper protocol for diagnosis and       
treatment of sports-related concussions 
and more research desperately is needed4
  7b7 ,purposes ,the purposes of this   
,act are-- 7#a7 to increase awareness   
and knowledge about concussions through 
development of1 implementation of1 and  
evaluation of the effectiveness of1     
large-scale collaborative efforts and   
research by entities including1 but not 
limited to1 national sports             
associations1 ,state high school        
associations1 trainers' associations1   
appropriate ,federal entities1 and other
 stakeholders such as parents1 coaches1 
and students2 and  7#b7 to change the   
culture 7including social norms1        
attitudes1 and behaviors7 surrounding   

concussions among elementary school     
through college-aged youth and their    
parents1 coaches1 sports officials1     
educators1 trainers1 and health care    
professionals1 taking into account      
demographic variations across population
 groups1 where appropriate4  #d4        
,surveillance of sports-related         
concussions ,title ,,iii of the ,public 
,health ,service ,act is amended by     
inserting after section #cag,t of such  
,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bdg;b-#bb7 the     
following3  #cag,u4 ,surveillance of    
sports-related concussions  7a7 ,in     
general ,the ,secretary of ,health and  
,human ,services1 acting through the    
,director of the ,centers for ,disease  
,control and ,prevention1 and taking    
into account other ,federal data        
collection efforts1 shall-- 7#a7        
establish and oversee a national system 
to accurately determine the incidence of
 sports-related concussions2 and  7#b7  
begin implementation of such system not 
later than #a year after the date of    

enactment of the ,concussion ,awareness 
and ,education ,act of #bjad4  7b7 ,data
 ,to ,be ,collected ,the data collected 
under subsection 7a7 shall1 to the      
extent feasible1 include each of the    
following3 7#a7 ,the incidence of sports
 related concussions in individuals #e  
through #ba years of age4  7#b7         
,demographic information of the injured 
individuals1 including age1 sex1 race1  
and ethnicity4  7#c7 ,pre-existing      
conditions of the injured individuals1  
such as attention deficit hyperactivity 
disorder and learning disabilities4     
7#d7 ,the concussion history of the     
injured individuals1 such as the number 
and dates of prior concussions4  7#e7   
,the use of protective equipment and    
impact monitoring devices4  7#f7 ,the   
qualifications of personnel diagnosing  
the concussions4  7#g7 ,the cause1      
nature1 and extent of the concussive    
injury1 including-- 7,a7 the sport or   
activity involved2  7,b7 the            
recreational or competitive level of the

 sport or activity involved2  7,c7 the  
event type involved1 including whether  
it was practice or competition2  7,d7   
the impact location on the body2  7,e7  
the impact nature1 such as contact with 
a playing surface1 another player1 or   
equipment2 and  7,f7 signs and symptoms 
consistent with a concussion4  4  #e4   
,research  7a7 ,in general ,beginning   
not later than #a year after the date of
 enactment of this ,act1 the ,director  
of the ,national ,institutes of ,health 
and the ,secretary of ,defense1 acting  
in coordination1 shall conduct or       
support-- 7#a7 research designed to--   
7,a7 establish objective1 sensitive1 and
 specific metrics and markers of        
concussion diagnosis1 prognosis1 and    
recovery in youth2 and  7,b7 inform the 
creation of age-specific1 evidence-based
 guidelines for the management of short-
 and long-term sequelae of concussion in
 youth2  7#b7 controlled1 longitudinal1 
large-scale studies to assess short- and
 long-term cognitive1 emotional1        

behavioral1 neurobiological1 and        
neuropathological consequences of       
concussions and repetitive head impacts 
over a life span1 including-- 7,a7 an   
examination of the effects of           
concussions and repetitive head impacts 
on quality of life and the activities of
 daily living2 and  7,b7 identification 
of predictors and modifiers of outcomes1
 including the influence of             
socioeconomic status1 race1 ethnicity1  
sex1 and comorbidities2 and  7#c7       
research on age- and sex-related        
biomechanical determinants of injury    
risk for concussion in youth1 including 
how injury thresholds are modified by   
the number of and time interval between 
head impacts and concussions4  7b7      
,sports and physical training at        
military academies and for military     
personnel ,beginning not later than #a  
year after the date of enactment of this
 ,act1 the ,secretary of ,defense shall 
conduct a rigorous scientific evaluation
 of the effectiveness of techniques1    

rules1 and playing1 practice1 and       
training standards in reducing          
concussions and sequelae for sports and 
physical training1 including combatives1
 at military service academies and for  
military personnel4  7c7 ,sense of      
,congress ,it is the sense of the       
,congress that the ,national ,collegiate
 ,athletic ,association1 in conjunction 
with the ,national ,federation of ,state
 ,high ,school ,associations1 national  
governing bodies for youth sports1 and  
youth sports organizations1 should      
undertake a rigorous scientific         
evaluation of the effectiveness of      
age-appropriate techniques1 rules1 and  
playing and practice standards in       
reducing sports-related concussions and 
sequelae4  #f4 ,biological sample       
repository  7a7 ,in general ,to aid     
research under this ,act and any other  
similar research1 the ,secretary of     
,health and ,human ,services1 acting    
through the ,director of the ,national  
,institutes of ,health1 shall maintain a

 national brain tissue and biological   
sample repository to collect1 archive1  
and distribute material for research on 
concussions4  7b7 ,timing ,the          
,secretary shall begin implementation of
 the repository not later than #a year  
after the date of enactment of this     
,act4  #g4 ,rules of play  7a7          
,development ,the ,director of the      
,national ,institutes of ,health and the
 ,secretary of ,defense1 taking into    
consideration the results of research1  
shall develop standards1 best practices1
 and guidelines for the rules of play   
and training1 respectively1 for sports1 
athletic1 and military training and     
engagement that-- 7#a7 are designed to  
prevent or reduce the incidence of      
concussions2 and  7#b7 include-- 7,a7   
standards for effective protective      
equipment2 and  7,b7 recommendations on 
impact-monitoring systems4  7b7 ,timing 
,the ,director of the ,national         
,institutes of ,health and the          
,secretary of ,defense shall-- 7#a7     

begin development of the rules of play  
under this section not later than #a    
year after the date of enactment of this
 ,act2 and  7#b7 after such rules of    
play are finalized1 periodically review 
and update such rules of play as        
appropriate4  #h4 ,dissemination of     
information  7a7 ,in general ,the       
,secretary of ,health and ,human        
,services1 acting through the ,director 
of the ,centers for ,disease ,control   
and ,prevention1 shall develop and      
disseminate to the public information   
regarding concussions4  7b7             
,arrangements with other entities ,in   
carrying out paragraph 7#a71 the        
,secretary may disseminate information  
through arrangements with nonprofit     
organizations1 consumer groups1         
institutions of higher education1       
,federal1 ,state1 or local agencies1 or 
the media4  #i4 ,concussion ,research   
,commission  7a7 ,establishment ,there  
is established a ,concussion ,research  
,commission 7referred to in this section

 as the ,commission74  7b7 ,membership  
7#a7 ,appointment ,the ,commission shall
 be composed of the following nine      
members3 7,a7 ,five shall be appointed  
by the ,president4  7,b7 ,one shall be  
appointed by the ,speaker of the ,house 
of ,representatives4  7,c7 ,one shall be
 appointed by the minority leader of the
 ,house of ,representatives4  7,d7 ,one 
shall be appointed by the majority      
leader of the ,senate4  7,e7 ,one shall 
be appointed by the minority leader of  
the ,senate4  7#b7 ,qualifications ,to  
be eligible for appointment under       
paragraph 7#a71 an individual shall--   
7,a7 have experience with research1     
treatment1 and prevention with respect  
to all types of concussive injuries2 and
  7,b7 be a leading medical or          
scientific expert1 or an otherwise      
authoritatively qualified expert1 in one
 or more relevant fields4  7#c7 ,terms  
,each member of the ,commission shall be
 appointed for the life of the          
,commission4  7#d7 ,vacancies ,any      

member appointed to fill a vacancy      
occurring before the expiration of the  
term for which the member's predecessor 
was appointed shall be appointed only   
for the remainder of that term4 ,a      
member may serve after the expiration of
 that member's term until a successor   
has taken office4 ,a vacancy in the     
,commission shall be filled in the      
manner in which the original appointment
 was made4  7#e7 ,no pay ,the members of
 the ,commission shall serve without    
pay4 ,members of the ,commission who are
 full-time officers or employees of the 
,united ,states or ,members of ,congress
 may not receive additional pay1        
allowances1 or benefits by reason of    
their service on the ,commission4  7#f7 
,travel expenses ,each member of the    
,commission shall receive travel        
expenses1 including per diem in lieu of 
subsistence1 in accordance with         
applicable provisions under subchapter  
,i of chapter #eg of title #e1 ,united  
,states ,code4  7#g7 ,resources ,the    

,secretary shall ensure that appropriate
 personnel1 funding1 and other resources
 are provided to the ,committee to carry
 out its responsibilities4  7c7         
,meetings ,the ,commission shall meet at
 least #d times each year4  7d7 ,staff  
of ,federal agencies ,upon request of   
the ,commission1 the head of any        
,federal department or agency may       
detail1 without reimbursement1 any of   
the personnel of that department or     
agency to the ,commission to assist in  
carrying out this section4  7e7 ,study  
,the ,commission shall-- 7#a7 study the 
programs and activities conducted       
pursuant to this ,act2 and  7#b7 based  
on the results of such programs and     
activities1 formulate systemic          
recommendations for furthering the      
purposes of this ,act1 as described in  
section #c7;b74  7f7 ,review of         
,national ,academies report ,the        
,commission shall review the report of  
the ,national ,academies entitled       
,sports-,related ,concussions in ,youth3

 ,improving the ,science1 ,changing the 
,culture and recommend corrections or   
updates to such report1 as the          
,commission determines appropriate4  7g7
 ,reporting  7#a7 ,interim reports      
,every #f months1 the ,commission shall 
submit to the appropriate committees of 
,congress an interim report on the      
,commission's activities4  7#b7 ,final  
report ,not later than #cf months after 
the date of enactment of this ,act1 the 
,commission shall submit to the         
appropriate committees of ,congress1 and
 make available to the public1 a final  
report on the results of the            
,commission's study under subsection 7e7
 and review under subsection 7f74  7h7  
,termination ,the ,commission shall     
terminate upon the date of submission of
 the final report required by subsection
 7g77#b71 unless the ,secretary of      
,health and ,human ,services chooses to 
maintain the ,commission beyond such    
date4