BEST Practices Act

Battlefield Excellence through Superior Training Practices Act or BEST Practices Act - Requires the Secretary of Defense (DOD), no later than October 1, 2013, to only use human-based training methods for training members of the Armed Forces in the treatment of combat trauma injuries and the management of chemical and biological casualties. Prohibits the use of animals in such training.

[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4269 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4269

  To amend title 10, United States Code, to require the Secretary of 
  Defense to use only human-based methods for training members of the 
    Armed Forces in the treatment of severe combat and chemical and 
                          biological injuries.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 10, 2009

 Mr. Filner (for himself, Mr. Oberstar, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Andrews, Mr. 
  Moran of Virginia, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Stark, Mr. Farr, Ms. 
   Kaptur, Mr. Dicks, Mr. Peters, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. Rothman of New 
  Jersey, and Mr. Grijalva) introduced the following bill; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 10, United States Code, to require the Secretary of 
  Defense to use only human-based methods for training members of the 
    Armed Forces in the treatment of severe combat and chemical and 
                          biological injuries.

    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 ``Battlefield Excellence through 
Superior Training Practices Act'' or ``BEST Practices Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Department of Defense has made impressive strides 
        in the development and use of methods of medical training and 
        protection of members of the Armed Forces, such as the use of 
        tourniquets and improvements in body armor, that have likely 
        led to decreased battlefield fatalities.
            (2) The Department of Defense uses live monkeys to train 
        medical personnel to treat casualties of chemical and 
        biological agent attacks and uses live goats and pigs to teach 
        physicians, medics, corpsmen, and other personnel methods to 
        respond to severe battlefield injuries.
            (3) The civilian sector has almost exclusively phased-in 
        the use of superior human-based training methods for numerous 
        medical procedures currently taught in military courses with 
        the use of animals.
            (4) Human-based methods have been developed and validated 
        for training responses to common battlefield injuries and 
        chemical and biological agent attacks.
            (5) Management of hemorrhage, sucking chest wounds, airway 
        compromise, and many other combat trauma injuries can be taught 
        using numerous medical simulators and partial task trainers.
            (6) Entirely human-based curricula (consisting of medical 
        simulation and moulage training sessions) for the management of 
        patients exposed to biological and chemical agents are 
        widespread in civilian hospitals.

SEC. 3. REQUIREMENT TO USE HUMAN-BASED METHODS FOR CERTAIN MEDICAL 
              TRAINING.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 101 of title 10, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 2016. Requirement to use human-based methods for certain medical 
              training
    ``(a) Combat Trauma Injuries.--Not later than October 1, 2013, the 
Secretary of Defense--
            ``(1) shall only use human-based training methods for the 
        purpose of training members of the Armed Forces in the 
        treatment of combat trauma injuries; and
            ``(2) may not use animals for such purpose.
    ``(b) Chemical and Biological Casualty Management.--The Secretary--
            ``(1) shall only use human-based training methods for the 
        purpose of training members of the Armed Forces in the 
        management of chemical and biological casualties; and
            ``(2) may not use animals for such purpose.
    ``(c) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) The term `combat trauma injuries' means severe 
        injuries likely to occur during combat, including--
                    ``(A) hemorrhage related to a wound to the 
                extremities;
                    ``(B) sucking-chest wounds;
                    ``(C) compromises to the airway; and
                    ``(D) other injuries.
            ``(2) The term `human-based training methods' means, with 
        respect to training individuals in medical treatment, the use 
        of systems and devices that do not use animals, including--
                    ``(A) simulators;
                    ``(B) partial task trainers;
                    ``(C) moulage;
                    ``(D) simulated combat environments;
                    ``(E) human cadavers; and
                    ``(F) rotations in civilian and military trauma 
                centers.
            ``(3) The term `partial task trainers' means training aids 
        that allow individuals to learn or practice specific medical 
        procedures.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 101 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at 
the end the following new item:

``2016. Requirement to use human-based methods for certain medical 
                            training.''.
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