[Senate Report 109-323]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 585
109th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 109-323
======================================================================
CHILDREN AND MEDIA RESEARCH ADVANCEMENT ACT OR THE CAMRA ACT
_______
September 5, 2006.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Enzi, from the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 1902]
The Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, to
which was referred the bill (S. 1902) to amend the Public
Health Service Act to authorize funding for the establishment
of a program on children and the media within the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention to study the role and impact of
electronic media in the development of children, having
considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an
amendment in the nature of a substitute and recommends that (as
amended) do pass.
CONTENTS
I. Purpose and Summary of the Bill..................................1
II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History and Committee Action.........................2
IV. Explanation of Bill and Committee Views..........................3
V. Cost Estimate....................................................5
VI. Application of Law to the Legislative Branch.....................7
VII. Regulatory Impact Statement......................................7
VIII.Section-by-Section Analysis......................................7
IX. Changes in Existing Law..........................................8
I. Purpose and Summary of the Bill
The purpose of the Children and Media Research Advancement
Act is to establish a centralized research program within the
Federal Government to examine the impact of electronic media on
children and adolescents. Children today live and develop in a
world of media, where access is at the fingertips of almost
every child. This emerging digital world is well known to
children, but its effects on their development are not well
understood. Reports vary as to the amount of time that children
spend either watching media or engaged in activities on a
computer screen. However, we know very little about how
exposure to media, particularly the newer interactive media,
affects children's development.
S. 1902 amends Title III of the Public Health Service Act
to establish a program within the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention to examine the role and impact of media on
children's and adolescents' cognitive, social, emotional,
physical and behavioral development, and to award research
grants based on a coordinated research agenda. The bill calls
on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to contract
with the National Academies or other entity to review,
synthesize, and report on existing research on children and
media, and to establish priorities for a subsequent research
program on the impact of media on children.
II. Background and Need for the Legislation
The committee directs the National Academies or other
entity to perform such a review and to establish such research
priorities by working with recognized experts in the relevant
field of study. Taking into consideration these
recommendations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
will--subject to appropriations--and in coordination with the
Director of the National Institutes of Health award research
grants to examine the role of media in children's cognitive,
social, emotional, physical, and behavioral development. Such
research will examine all forms of electronic media, including
television, movies, DVDs, interactive video games, cell phones,
digital music, and the Internet. It may examine effects among
children of all ages--from infancy through adolescence.
Not later than 15 months after the bill is enacted, the
National Academies or other entities shall submit a report
reviewing and synthesizing research on children and media to
the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
and the appropriate committees of Congress. Not later than the
end of the calendar year 2012, the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention shall submit to Congress a report synthesizing
and reporting on the research conducted pursuant to grants
authorized under this act and elsewhere.
There are still many unanswered questions about media's
impact on children. For example, while Congress may agree that
there is a need to protect our children from online
pornography, there is insufficient research on whether, when,
how, and to what extent inadvertent exposure to online
pornography affects children, their behavior, moral values, and
standards of decency. We also know very little about how to
address even the most practical of questions, such as how to
prevent children from falling prey to adult strangers who
approach them online.
III. Legislative History and Committee Action
During the first session of the 109th Congress, S. 579, the
``Children and Media Research Advancement Act'' or the ``CAMRA
Act'' was introduced on March 9, 2005. CAMRA was re-introduced
on October 20, 2005 as S. 1902. S. 1902 modified S. 579 by
specifying that the Director of the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention rather than the Director of the National
Institute of Child Health and Human Development would oversee
the research provided for by CAMRA, as this research
complements ongoing efforts by the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
The Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
reported S. 1902 favorably with an amendment in the nature of a
substitute on March 8, 2006, by unanimous consent.
IV. Explanation of the Bill and Committee Views
The committee believes there is a need for the Federal
Government to sponsor research on the impact of media on
children and there is precedent for Congressional interest. For
example, Congress passed the Children's Television Act to
promote media that foster positive values like helping,
sharing, and cooperating among children. Congress also passed
the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) to
safeguard children from exploitation as they explore the
Internet. In addition, Congress passed the Communications
Decency Act and the Children's Internet Protection Act to
shield children from exposure to sexually-explicit online
content that may be harmful to minors.
The committee believes media can have positive and negative
effects on children's health, behavior and development, but
there is insufficient knowledge of the nature of these effects.
We have only some limited knowledge of the effects of
children's exposure to established media, and even less is
known about the effects of new, electronically based media. The
committee therefore believes that we need more research in
these areas. The committee wants to better understand how
interactive media can promote positive health awareness and
lifestyles. The committee views positively the development of
interactive media products to promote health--including
``exergames'' to promote physical activity, and media products
to train physicians and other medical professionals, to help
people manage chronic pain and other health conditions, and to
enhance cognitive development and educational outcomes. The use
and effectiveness of such products should be a subject of
research.
The committee agrees with the view that time spent with
computers can be good for children, teaching them the skills
that they will need for success in the 21st century. The
committee also expects that research could examine how the
newest kinds of interactive programs designed to teach as they
entertain can foster academic development and ensure that no
child is left behind. The committee would expect that research
could reveal more about how time spent with computers is
different from time spent in front of the television. Perhaps
it can help us understand some of the underlying mechanisms
that facilitate or disrupt children's learning from different
media? Can academic development, for example, be fostered by
the use of interactive online programs designed to teach as
they entertain? Thus, research can help us understand the
underlying mechanisms that facilitate or disrupt children's
learning from different media. In addition, research is needed
to understand the impact of marketing in electronic media on
children and their health and development, including
traditional television advertising as well as online
``stealth'' marketing including advergames and pop-up ads and
new forms of marketing such as advertisements on cellar phones.
The committee also believes that research in children is
needed to more fully understand the effects of violence in
media. Research is needed to understand the effects of violence
in new media technologies, including what features of violent
video games produce the strongest effects, whether the context
or venue in which a child plays such games moderates the
effects, and which children are most likely to be affected by
violent video games. The committee is also interested in
electronic media products marketed for toddlers and babies less
than 3 years of age, as media products for very young children
proliferate, it is important to better understand the impact of
such products.
The committee believes that the research conducted pursuant
to the legislation could help ensure that the recommendations
and public policy decisions made by Congress will be grounded
in objective behavioral, social, and scientific research. At
present no Federal research agency has the responsibility to
oversee and set a coherent media research agenda that can guide
public policy decisions. The committee anticipates that the
research will cover all forms of electronic media, including
television, movies, DVDs, interactive video games, cell phones,
digital music, and the Internet, and will examine children of
all ages. The legislation created by the committee also calls
for a report to Congress about the results and conclusions of
this research program.
The committee believes by passing the Children and Media
Research Advancement Act the Congress can advance knowledge and
enhance the constructive effects of media while looking to
minimize negative effects.Specifically, the Centers for Disease
Control, in cooperative arrangements with the National Academy of
Sciences and the Institute of Medicine will be directed by this
legislation to look at the following areas in which media may have an
impact on aspects of development of children:
Cognitive. The role and impact of media use and
exposure in the development of children and adolescents
within such cognitive areas 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.
Physical. The role and impact of media use and
exposure on children's and adolescents' physical
coordination, diet, exercise, sleeping and eating
routines, and other areas of physical development.
Socio-Behavioral. The influence of interactive media
on children's and adolescents' family activities and
peer relationships, including indoor and outdoor play
time, interaction with parents, consumption habits,
social relationships, aggression, prosocial behavior,
and other patterns of development.
To do our very best by children, the committee believes we
must make public policy decisions on the basis of sound
behavioral and social scientific research. Today, Federal
agencies fund media research in a piecemeal fashion resulting
in a patchwork quilt of studies and findings. CAMRA is intended
to coordinate research projects and contribute to the
development of a comprehensive view of the role of media in
children's cognitive, social, emotional, physical, and
behavioral development.
The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) recently released a
report on electronic media in the lives of infants, toddlers,
and preschoolers-ages 0 to 6 years old. The study found that
children today are reared in a media saturated environment.
According to the study, 99 percent of all children live in a
home with a TV set and 50 percent of these children live in a
home with three or more TVs of which 36 percent have a TV in
their bedroom. Thirty percent of children ages 0 to 3 years and
43 percent of 4 to 6 year olds have a TV in their bedroom.
The committee believes that parents have the primary
responsibility to examine the positive and negative effects
media may have on their children--whether it encourages
creativity in children or has the capability of harmful affects
on children. However, there is insufficient information to
enable parents to make informed decisions about how media,
particularly the newer digital media, affects children's
health, education, and development. America is a media-rich
society, but despite the incredible amounts of information, we
still lack the most important piece of all--the effect that
media has on our children.
It is essential to provide parents and guardians with the
most accurate information and current research on the impact of
media has on their children. In spite of the lack of research,
parents already feel very strongly about what is portrayed in
the media. According to a recent study by Common Sense Media,
approximately 9 out of 10 American parents believe today's
media contribute to their own children becoming too
materialistic, using more coarse and vulgar language, engaging
in sexual activity at younger ages, experiencing a loss of
innocence too early, and behaving in violent or anti-social
ways.
Hopefully, through a better understanding of the power of
media, we can use it in a healthy and productive way to educate
our children and give parents helpful tools to raise their
children.
V. Cost Estimate
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, August 17, 2006.
Hon. Mike Enzi,
Chairman, Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1902, the Children
and Media Research Advancement Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Tim
Gronniger.
Sincerely,
Donald B. Marron,
Acting Director.
Enclosure.
S. 1902--Children and Media Research Advancement Act
Summary: S. 1902 would direct the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) to promote research on the effects
of electronic media on children. The bill would authorize the
appropriation of such sums as are necessary to implement those
policies. Based on information from CDC and comparison with
similar activities, assuming appropriation of necessary funds,
CBO estimates that implementing S. 1902 would cost less than
$500,000 in 2007 and about $5 million over the 2007-2011
period. S. 1902 would not affect direct spending or receipts.
S. 1902 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal
governments.
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated
budgetary impact of S. 1902 is shown in the following table.
The costs of this legislation fall within budget function 550
(health).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
--------------------------------------------
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
Estimated authorization level...................................... 1 1 1 1 1
Estimated outlays.................................................. * 1 1 1 1
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: *= increase of less than $500,000. Amounts do not sum to totals in the text because of rounding.
Basis of estimate: S. 1902 would modify the Public Health
Service Act to require the CDC to pursue research on the
effects of electronic media--including television, movies,
DVDs, video games, digital music, the Internet, and cell
phones--on childhood development. In particular, the CDC would
be required to contract with either the National Academy of
Sciences or another research organization to conduct a study
summarizing existing research on the topic and to provide
recommendations for future research. Taking account of the
recommendations of that report, the Director of the CDC would
then be required to provide grants to fund research on the
effects of electronic media on the cognitive, physical, and
socio-behavioral development of youth. The bill would authorize
the appropriation of such sums as may be necessary for that
research for fiscal years 2007 through 2011.
We estimate that the CDC would require the appropriation of
$1 million for 2007 to contract with the National Academy of
Sciences or a similar organization for the initial report. In
subsequent years the CDC would fund research in each of the
three areas targeted by the bill--at a cost of about $400,000
per area per year--for a total of about $1.2 million per year
for fiscal years 2008 through 2011. That estimate is based on
comparison with past CDC activities and information provided by
CDC staff, Based on historical rates of spending for funds
appropriated to CDC, and assuming appropriation of the
necessary amounts, CBO estimates that implementing S. 1902
would cost less than $500,000 in 2007 and about $5 million over
the 2007-2011 period.
Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 1902
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in UMRA and would not affect the budgets of state,
local, or tribal governments.
Estimate prepared by: Federal costs: Tim Gronniger. Impact
on state, local, and tribal governments: Leo Lex. Impact on the
private sector: Peter Richmond.
Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
VI. Application of Law to the Legislative Branch
The committee has determined that there is no impact of
this law on the Legislative Branch.
VII. Regulatory Impact Statement
In accordance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the committee has determined that
there will be no increase in the regulatory burden imposed by
this bill.
VIII. Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1. Short title
``Children and the Media Research Advancement Act'' or the
``CAMRA Act.''
Section 2. Purpose
This section indicates that the purpose of the Act is to
enable the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to
examine the role and impact of electronic media in children's
development, and to provide a report to Congress summarizing
research in this area.
Section 3. Research on the Role and Impact of Electronic Media in the
Development of Children and Adolescents
This section requires the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention to contract with the National Academies of Science
(NAS) or another appropriate entity to review, synthesize, and
report on the research concerning the effect of exposure to
media on children and adolescents' cognitive, physical, and
socio-behavioral development, and to establish research
priorities in this area. The NAS or other entity shall review,
synthesize and report on scientifically valid and peer reviewed
studies in its report. The committee assumes that the National
Academies or other entity will conduct this review and
establish these research priorities by convening a panel of
media experts through the Institute of Medicine and other
relevant Divisions and Boards, including the Board on Children,
Youth and Families.
Taking into account these recommendations, the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention is required to award grants for
research concerning the role and impact of electronic media in
children's development--subject to appropriations. This
research shall focus on the impact of such factors as the
format, length of exposure, age of youth, nature of parental
involvement, and venue (i.e., the place or setting in which
media is consumed, such as at school or at home). It may also
focus on the impact of direct and indirect media content.
Direct media content refers to media content that is not
intended to promote or sell a product. Indirect media content
refers to media content that is intended to promote or sell a
product, including advertising, ``advergames,'' product
placement, and other forms of marketing. However, the program
will not duplicate other research including other Federal
Research activities.
To receive a grant under this section, entities shall
submit applications to the Director of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention at such time, in such manner, and
containing such information as the Director requires. They
shall use amounts received under the grant to carry out
activities as described in this subsection.
Not later than 15 months after the bill is enacted, the
report prepared by the National Academies or other entity shall
be submitted to the Director of the Centers for Disease Control
and to the appropriate committees of Congress. Not later than
December 31, 2012 the Secretary of Health and Human Services,
acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control,
shall submit a report synthesizing the findings of research
provided for by CAMRA and other related research to the
appropriate committees of Congress.
This section further authorizes to be appropriated to carry
out this section such sums as may be necessary for 2007 through
2012.
IX. Changes in Existing Law
In compliance with rule XXVI paragraph 12 of the Standing
Rules of the Senate, the following provides a print of the
statute or the part or section thereof to be amended or
replaced (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in
black brackets, new matter is printed in italic, existing law
in which no change is proposed is shown in roman):
PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT
* * * * * * *
TITLE III--GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES OF PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE
Part A--Research and Investigation
IN GENERAL
* * * * * * *
Part P--Additional Programs
SEC. 399L. [280G] CHILDREN'S ASTHMA TREATMENT GRANTS PROGRAM.
(a) Authority To Make Grants.--
(1) In general.--* * *
* * * * * * *
SEC. [399O] 399P. [1280K-4] GRANTS TO FOSTER PUBLIC HEALTH RESPONSES TO
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT,
AND STALKING.
(a) Authority To Award Grants.--* * *
* * * * * * *
SEC. 399Q. 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 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (referred to in
this section as the ``Director''), shall enter into a contract
with the National Academy of Science 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, interactionswith 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 and in coordination with
the Director of the National Institutes of Health,
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,
2012, 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, such sums as may
be necessary for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2012.
* * * * * * *