Mobile Courant

Last night, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville’s (R-AL) bipartisan Poison Control Centers Reauthorization Act of 2024 passed the U.S. House of Representatives without objection. Senator Tuberville’s legislation reauthorizes the Poison Control Centers (PCC) Network program through 2029, providing lifesaving care to millions of families.

The legislation is expected to be signed by President Biden next week.

“Poison Centers across the country play a critical role in keeping our families and kids safe,” said Senator Tuberville. “I’m particularly proud of Alabama’s Poison Center at Children’s of Alabama in Birmingham. In addition to providing life-saving treatments, these centers do a great job helping families in crisis, mitigating the burden on emergency rooms, and tracking valuable data about the flow of illicit drugs across the country. I’m proud to see this bipartisan legislation pass both chambers of Congress and look forward to President Biden signing this bill into law.”

U.S. Senator Tuberville is joined by U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), and Mitt Romney (R-UT) in introducing the legislation in the Senate.

In May, Senator Tuberville introduced the Poison Control Centers Reauthorization Act of 2024 with his Senate colleagues. Following the introduction of the bill, Senator Tuberville and his colleagues passed the legislation unanimously out of HELP committee, 21-0. After passing out of HELP committee, the Senate passed the bill by unanimous consent in July.

The PCC Network program runs the Poison Control National Toll-Free hotline (1-800-222-1222) and 55 poison control centers nationwide—medical support facilities staffed by toxicologists, nurses, and other professionals operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The program is supported by a combination of public and private funding. In 2022, the PCC Network responded to more than 2 million human exposures—receiving an exposure case every 15 seconds on average. Alabama’s Poison Information Center is housed at Children’s of Alabama in Birmingham.

The Poison Control Centers Reauthorization Act of 2024 reauthorizes the PCC Network program, Poison Control National Toll-Free phone number, and national media campaign through 2029.

Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, and HELP Committees.

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