United States Senate
Bill S.948 - CAMRA Act
Sponsor: Senator Lieberman, Joseph I. [CT] (introduced 3/21/2007)
Co-sponsors and date: Senator Clinton, Hillary Rodham [NY] - 3/21/2007
Senator Brownback, Sam [KS] - 3/21/2007
Senator Durbin, Richard [IL] - 3/21/2007
Senator Casey, Robert P., Jr. [PA] - 3/21/2007
Senator Bayh, Evan [IN] - 4/23/2007
Senator Brown, Sherrod [OH] - 4/23/2007
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
Mr. LIEBERMAN (for himself, Mr. BROWNBACK, Mrs. CLINTON, Mr. DURBIN, and Mr. CASEY) introduced the following bill; which was
read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
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To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize funding for the establishment of a program on children and the media within the
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to study the role and impact of electronic media in the development of
children.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 21, 2007
Mr. LIEBERMAN (for himself, Mr. BROWNBACK, Mrs. CLINTON, Mr. DURBIN, and Mr. CASEY) introduced the following bill; which was
read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize funding for the establishment of a program on children and the media within the
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to study the role and impact of electronic media in the development of
children.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Children and Media Research Advancement Act' or the `CAMRA Act'.
SECTION 2. PURPOSE.
It is the purpose of this Act to enable the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to--
(1) examine the role and impact, both positive and negative, of electronic media in children's and adolescents'
cognitive, social, emotional, physical, and behavioral development; and
(2) provide for a report to Congress containing the empirical evidence and other results produced by the research funded through
grants under this Act.
SECTION 3. RESEARCH ON THE ROLE AND IMPACT OF ELECTRONIC MEDIA IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN AND
ADOLESCENTS.
Subpart 7 of part C of title IV of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 285g et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
`SEC. 452H. RESEARCH ON THE ROLE AND IMPACT OF ELECTRONIC MEDIA IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN AND
ADOLESCENTS.
(a) In General- Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Institute), shall enter into
a contract with the National Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with the Institute of Medicine or another appropriate entity to
review, synthesize, and report on research, and establish research priorities, regarding the roles and impact of electronic media
(including television, motion pictures, DVD's, interactive video games, digital music, the Internet, and cell phones) and exposures
to such media on youth in the following core areas of development:
(1) COGNITIVE- Cognitive areas such as language development, attention span, problem solving skills (such as the ability to
conduct multiple tasks or `multitask'), visual and spatial skills, reading, and other learning abilities.
(2) PHYSICAL- Physical areas such as physical coordination, diet, exercise, sleeping and eating routines.
(3) SOCIO-BEHAVIORAL- Socio-behavioral areas such as family activities and peer relationships including indoor and outdoor
play time, interactions with parents, consumption habits, social relationships, aggression, and positive social behavior.
(b) Research Program-
`
(1) IN GENERAL- Taking into account the report provided for under subsection
(a), the Secretary, acting through the Director, shall, subject to the availability of appropriations, award grants for research
concerning the role and impact of electronic media on the cognitive, physical, and socio-behavioral development of youth.
(2) REQUIREMENTS- The research provided for under paragraph
(1) shall comply with the following requirements:
(A) Such research shall focus on the impact of factors such as media content (whether direct or indirect), format, length
of exposure, age of youth, venue, and nature of parental involvement.
` (B) Such research shall not duplicate other Federal research activities.
` (C) For purposes of such research, electronic media shall include television, motion pictures, DVD's, interactive video
games, digital music, the Internet, and cell phones.
` (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES- To be eligible to receive a grant under this subsection, an entity shall--
` (A) prepare and submit to the Director an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the
Director shall require; and
` (B) agree to use amounts received under the grant to carry out activities as described in this subsection.
` (c) Reports-
` (1) REPORT TO THE DIRECTOR- Not later than 15 months after the date of the enactment of this section, the report
provided for under subsection (a) shall be submitted to the Director and to the appropriate committees of Congress.
` (2) REPORT TO CONGRESS- Not later than December 31, 2013, the Secretary, acting through the Director, shall
prepare and submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report that--
` (A) synthesizes the results of--
` (i) research carried out under the grant program under subsection (b); and
` (ii) other related research, including research conducted by the private or public sector and other Federal
entities; and
` (B) outlines existing research gaps in light of the information described in subparagraph (A).
` (d) Authorization of Appropriations- There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, $10,000,000 for fiscal
year 2008, $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2009, $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2010, $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2011, and
$25,000,000 for fiscal year 2012.'.
Source: Thomas Directory: http://thomas.loc.gov/home/c110query.html
Senate Bill S.948
www.miketomich.com
Synopsis: A bill to provide $95 million for a study to be conducted by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
on the impact of electronic media in the physical and mental development of children, including but not limited to, television,
motion pictures, DVD's, interactive video games, digital music, the Internet, and cell phones, over a 5-year period. miketomich
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