Cell Phone Right to Know Act
Latest action · Aug 3, 2012 Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedAug 3, 2012
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Cell Phone Right to Know Act - Requires the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to: (1) conduct or support a comprehensive research program to determine whether exposure to electromagnetic fields from mobile communication devices causes adverse biological effects in humans, including vulnerable subpopulations such as children, pregnant women, those with compromised immune systems and hypersensitivity reactions, men and women of reproductive age, and the elderly; (2) disseminate research results to the general public; and (3) report findings and conclusions to Congress.
Directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to promulgate regulations to allow a subscriber to access personally or to give consent to allow researchers with institutional review board approval to access specific usage data required to investigate the link between electromagnetic radiation exposure and potential adverse biological effects in humans.
Directs the EPA to promulgate regulations establishing maximum exposure level goals and maximum exposure levels for exposure to electromagnetic fields generated by mobile communication devices.
Directs the Commissioner of Food and Drugs (FDA) to promulgate regulations to provide for labeling (including exposure ratings and the maximum allowable exposure levels and goals) on mobile communication devices, packaging, instruction manuals, and at points of sale in stores and on websites.
Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to increase: (1) the number and size of grants to institutions for training scientists in the field of examining the relationship between electromagnetic fields and human health; and (2) the number of career development awards for such training for health professionals pursuing careers in pediatric basic and clinical research, including pediatric pharmacological research.
Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish a graduate educational loan repayment program and authorize national awards for researchers in such fields.
Amends the Communications Act of 1934 with respect to the prohibition on state or local government zoning regulation of personal wireless service facilities on the basis of the environmental effects of radiofrequency emissions. Excludes from such prohibition state or local regulation based on the adverse human health effects of emissions of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields.
Cosponsors 3
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Aug 3, 2012 to Sep 10, 2012; 2 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-ME | Chellie Pingree | Original | Aug 3, 2012 |
| D-CA | Grace F. Napolitano | Original | Aug 3, 2012 |
| D-MD | Elijah E. Cummings | Sep 10, 2012 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Energy and Commerce Committee | Referred Aug 3, 2012 |
| Health Subcommittee | Referred Aug 3, 2012 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Aug 3, 2012Introduced in House
- Aug 3, 2012Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
- Aug 3, 2012Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the page H5717.
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To examine, label, and communicate adverse human biological effects associated with exposure to electromagnetic fields from cell phones and other wireless devices, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Cell Phone Right to Know Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications.
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Advisory bodies
- Aging
- Child health
- Consumer affairs
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Education programs funding
- Environmental health
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- Environmental regulatory procedures
- Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
- Government information and archives
- Health information and medical records
- Health programs administration and funding
- Higher education
- Medical research
- Product safety and quality
- Radiation
- Research administration and funding
- Science and engineering education
- Science, Technology, Communications
- Sex and reproductive health
- Student aid and college costs
- Telephone and wireless communication
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Aug 3, 2012Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
