II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5327 

To establish the National Task Force on the Response of the United States 

to the COVID–19 Pandemic. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 20, 2022 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. MARSHALL, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. BALDWIN, and Ms. ERNST) introduced the following bill; which was read twice 

and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To establish the National Task Force on the Response of 

the United States to the COVID–19 Pandemic. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Task Force 

5 on the COVID-19 Pandemic Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF THE COVID–19 RE7 SPONSE. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE.—There is es9 tablished in the legislative branch a task force to be known 


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1 as the ‘‘National Task Force on the Response of the 

2 United States to the COVID–19 Pandemic’’ (referred to 

3 in this section as the ‘‘Task Force’’). 

4 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Task Force are 

5 to— 

6 (1) examine, assess, and report upon the 

7 United States preparedness for, and response to, the 

8 COVID–19 pandemic, including— 

9 (A) the initial Federal, State, local, and 

10 territorial responses in the United States; 

11 (B) the ongoing Federal, State, local, and 

12 territorial responses in the United States, in13 cluding the activities, policies, and decisions of 

14 the Trump Administration and the Biden Ad15 ministration; 

16 (C) the impact of the pandemic on public 

17 health and health care systems; and 

18 (D) the initial outbreak in Wuhan, China, 

19 including efforts to determine the potential 

20 causes for the emergence of the SARS–CoV–2 

21 virus, and Federal actions to mitigate its spread 

22 internationally; 

23 (2) build upon existing or ongoing evaluations 

24 and avoid unnecessary duplication, by reviewing the 

25 findings, conclusions, and recommendations of other 


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1 appropriate task forces, committees, commissions, or 

2 entities established by other public or nonprofit pri3 vate entities related to the United States prepared4 ness for, and response to, the COVID–19 pandemic; 

5 (3) identify gaps in public health preparedness 

6 and medical response policies, processes, and activi7 ties, including disparities in COVID–19 infection 

8 and mortality rates among people of color, older 

9 adults, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable 

10 or at-risk groups, and how such gaps impacted the 

11 ability of the United States to respond to the 

12 COVID–19 pandemic; and 

13 (4) submit a report to the President and to 

14 Congress on its findings, conclusions, and rec15 ommendations to improve the United States pre16 paredness for, and response to, future public health 

17 emergencies, including a public health emergency re18 sulting from an emerging infectious disease. 

19 (c) COMPOSITION OF TASK FORCE; MEETINGS.— 

20 (1) MEMBERS.—The Task Force shall be com21 posed of 12 members, of whom— 

22 (A) 1 member shall be appointed by the 

23 majority leader of the Senate; 

24 (B) 1 member shall be appointed by the 

25 minority leader of the Senate; 


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1 (C) 2 members shall be appointed by the 

2 chair of the Committee on Health, Education, 

3 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; 

4 (D) 2 members shall be appointed by the 

5 ranking member of the Committee on Health, 

6 Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; 

7 (E) 1 member shall be appointed by the 

8 Speaker of the House of Representatives; 

9 (F) 1 member shall be appointed by the 

10 minority leader of the House of Representa11 tives; 

12 (G) 2 members shall be appointed by the 

13 chair of the Committee on Energy and Com14 merce of the House of Representatives; and 

15 (H) 2 members shall be appointed by the 

16 ranking member of the Committee on Energy 

17 and Commerce of the House of Representatives. 

18 (2) CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR.—Not later than 30 

19 days after the date on which all members of the 

20 Task Force are appointed under paragraph (1), such 

21 members shall meet to elect a Chair and Vice Chair 

22 from among such members. The Chair and Vice 

23 Chair shall each be elected to serve upon an affirma24 tive vote from not less than 8 members of the Task 


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1 Force. The Chair and Vice Chair shall not be reg2 istered members of the same political party. 

3 (3) QUALIFICATIONS.— 

4 (A) POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATION.—Not 

5 more than 6 members of the Task Force shall 

6 be registered members of the same political 

7 party. 

8 (B) NONGOVERNMENTAL APPOINTEES.— 

9 An individual appointed to the Task Force may 

10 not be an officer or employee of the Federal 

11 Government or any State, local, Tribal, or terri12 torial government. 

13 (C) QUALIFICATIONS.—It is the sense of 

14 Congress that individuals appointed to the Task 

15 Force should be highly qualified citizens of the 

16 United States. Members appointed under para17 graph (1) may include individuals with expertise 

18 in— 

19 (i) public health, health disparities 

20 and at-risk populations, medicine, and re21 lated fields; 

22 (ii) State, local, Tribal, or territorial 

23 government, including public health and 

24 medical preparedness and response and 


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1 emergency management and other relevant 

2 public administration; 

3 (iii) research regarding, or the devel4 opment, manufacturing, distribution, and 

5 regulation of, medical products; 

6 (iv) national security and foreign rela7 tions, including global health; and 

8 (v) commerce, including transpor9 tation, supply chains, and small business. 

10 (4) DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENT.—All mem11 bers of the Task Force shall be appointed not later 

12 than 90 days after the date of enactment of this 

13 Act. 

14 (5) MEETINGS.—The Task Force shall meet 

15 and begin the operations of the Task Force as soon 

16 as practicable. After its initial meeting, the Task 

17 Force shall meet upon the call of the Chair and Vice 

18 Chair or not less than 8 of its members. 

19 (6) QUORUM; VACANCIES.— 

20 (A) QUORUM.—Eight members of the 

21 Task Force shall constitute a quorum. 

22 (B) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Task 

23 Force shall not affect its powers, but shall be 

24 filled in the same manner in which the original 

25 appointment was made. 


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1 (d) FUNCTIONS OF TASK FORCE.—The functions of 

2 the Task Force are to— 

3 (1) conduct a review that— 

4 (A) examines the initial outbreak of the 

5 SARS–CoV–2 virus in Wuhan, China, includ6 ing— 

7 (i) engaging with willing partner gov8 ernments and global experts; 

9 (ii) seeking access to relevant records; 

10 and 

11 (iii) examining the potential causes of 

12 the emergence and source of the virus; 

13 (B) examines the United States prepara14 tion for, and response to, the COVID–19 pan15 demic, including— 

16 (i) relevant laws, policies, regulations, 

17 and processes that were in place prior to, 

18 or put into place during, the public health 

19 emergency declared by the Secretary of 

20 Health and Human Services under section 

21 319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 

22 U.S.C. 247d) with respect to COVID–19, 

23 including any that are put into place re24 lated to such public health emergency after 

25 the date of enactment of this Act and prior 


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1 to the issuance of the final report pursuant 

2 to subsection (j)(2); 

3 (ii) relevant actions taken by, and co4 ordination between, Federal, State, local, 

5 Tribal, and territorial governments, non6 governmental organizations, and inter7 national organizations on preparedness and 

8 response efforts, including coordination be9 tween governments and other public and 

10 private entities, during the— 

11 (I) initial response in the United 

12 States; 

13 (II) response during the Trump 

14 Administration; and 

15 (III) ongoing response during the 

16 Biden Administration; 

17 (iii) communication of public health 

18 and scientific information related to the 

19 COVID–19 pandemic, including processes 

20 for the development, approval, and dis21 semination of Federal public health and 

22 other relevant public health or scientific 

23 guidance; and 

24 (iv) actions taken to support the de25 velopment, manufacturing, and distribution 


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1 of medical countermeasures and related 

2 medical supplies to prevent, detect, and 

3 treat COVID–19; and 

4 (C) may include assessments relating to— 

5 (i) the capacity and capabilities of 

6 Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial 

7 governments to respond to the COVID–19 

8 pandemic; 

9 (ii) the capacity and capabilities of 

10 health care facilities and the health care 

11 workforce to respond to the COVID–19 

12 pandemic; 

13 (iii) medical countermeasure research 

14 and development and the supply chains of 

15 medical products necessary to respond to 

16 the COVID–19 pandemic; 

17 (iv) international preparedness for 

18 and response to COVID–19, and Federal 

19 decision-making processes related to new 

20 global health threats; 

21 (v) containment and mitigation meas22 ures related to domestic and international 

23 travel in response to COVID–19; and 

24 (vi) the impact of the COVID–19 pan25 demic and related mitigation efforts on 


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1 hard-to-reach and at-risk or underserved 

2 populations, including related health dis3 parities; 

4 (2) identify, review, and evaluate the lessons 

5 learned from the COVID–19 pandemic, including ac6 tivities to prepare for, and respond to, future poten7 tial pandemics and related public health emer8 gencies; and 

9 (3) submit to the President and Congress such 

10 reports as are required by this Act containing such 

11 findings, conclusions, and recommendations as the 

12 Task Force shall determine. 

13 (e) POWERS OF TASK FORCE.— 

14 (1) HEARINGS.—The Task Force may— 

15 (A) hold such hearings and sit and act at 

16 such times and places, take such testimony, re17 ceive such evidence as determined by the Chair 

18 and Vice Chair, and administer such oaths as 

19 the Task Force or a designated member, as de20 termined by the Chair or Vice Chair, may de21 termine advisable to be necessary to carry out 

22 the functions of the Task Force; and 

23 (B) subject to paragraph (2)(A), require, 

24 by subpoena or otherwise, the attendance and 

25 testimony of such witnesses and the production 


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1 of such books, records, correspondence, memo2 randa, papers, and documents, as the person 

3 described in paragraph (2)(A)(i) may determine 

4 advisable. 

5 (2) SUBPOENAS.— 

6 (A) ISSUANCE.— 

7 (i) IN GENERAL.—A subpoena may be 

8 issued under this subsection only— 

9 (I) by the agreement of the Chair 

10 and the Vice Chair; or 

11 (II) by the affirmative vote of not 

12 less than 9 members of the Task 

13 Force. 

14 (ii) SIGNATURE.—Subpoenas issued 

15 under this subsection may be issued under 

16 the signature of the Chair or any member 

17 designated by a majority of the Task 

18 Force, and may be served by any person 

19 designated by the Chair or by a member 

20 designated by agreement of the majority of 

21 the Task Force. 

22 (B) ENFORCEMENT.—In the case of contu23 macy or failure to obey a subpoena issued 

24 under subsection, the United States district 

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1 poenaed person resides, is served, or may be 

2 found, or where the subpoena is returnable, 

3 may issue an order requiring such person to ap4 pear at any designated place to testify or to 

5 produce documentary or other evidence. Any 

6 failure to obey the order of the court may be 

7 punished by the court as a contempt of that 

8 court. 

9 (3) CONTRACTING.—The Task Force may, to 

10 such extent and in such amounts as are provided in 

11 appropriation Acts, enter into contracts to enable 

12 the Task Force to discharge its duties under this 

13 Act. 

14 (4) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Task Force may 

16 access from any executive department, bureau, 

17 agency, board, commission, office, independent 

18 establishment, or instrumentality of the Federal 

19 Government, such information, documents, sug20 gestions, estimates, and statistics as the Task 

21 Force considers necessary to carry out this sec22 tion. 

23 (B) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—On 

24 written request of the Chair, each department, 

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1 pendent establishment, or instrumentality shall, 

2 to the extent authorized by law, provide such 

3 information to the Task Force. 

4 (C) RECEIPT, HANDLING, STORAGE, AND

5 DISSEMINATION.—Information shall only be re6 ceived, handled, stored, and disseminated by 

7 members of the Task Force and its staff con8 sistent with all applicable statutes, regulations, 

9 and executive orders. 

10 (5) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

11 (A) GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRA12 TION.—On request of the Chair and Vice Chair, 

13 the Administrator of the General Services Ad14 ministration shall provide to the Task Force, on 

15 a reimbursable basis, administrative support 

16 and other assistance necessary for the Task 

17 Force to carry out its duties. 

18 (B) OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND AGEN19 CIES.—In addition to the assistance provided 

20 for in subparagraph (A), departments and 

21 agencies of the United States may provide to 

22 the Task Force such assistance as such depart23 ments and agencies may determine advisable 

24 and as authorized by law. 


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1 (6) DONATIONS.—The Task Force may accept, 

2 use, and dispose of gifts or donations of services or 

3 property. Not later than 5 days after the acceptance 

4 of a donation under this subsection, the Task Force 

5 shall publicly disclose— 

6 (A) the name of the entity that provided 

7 such donation; 

8 (B) the service or property provided 

9 through such donation; 

10 (C) the value of such donation; and 

11 (D) how the Task Force plans to use such 

12 donation. 

13 (7) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Task Force may 

14 use the United States mails in the same manner and 

15 under the same conditions as a department or agen16 cy of the United States. 

17 (f) APPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COM18 MITTEE ACT.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Advisory Com20 mittee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall apply to the Task 

21 Force. 

22 (2) PUBLIC MEETINGS AND RELEASE OF PUB23 LIC VERSIONS OF REPORTS.—The Task Force 

24 shall— 


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1 (A) hold public hearings and meetings to 

2 the extent appropriate; and 

3 (B) release public versions of the reports 

4 required under paragraphs (1) and (2) of sub5 section (j). 

6 (3) PUBLIC HEARINGS.—Any public hearings of 

7 the Task Force shall be conducted in a manner con8 sistent with the protection of information provided 

9 to or developed for or by the Task Force as required 

10 by any applicable statute, regulation, or Executive 

11 order. 

12 (g) STAFF OF TASK FORCE.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

14 (A) APPOINTMENT AND COMPENSATION.— 

15 The Chair of the Task Force, in agreement 

16 with the Vice Chair, in accordance with rules 

17 agreed upon by the Task Force, may appoint 

18 and fix the compensation of a staff director and 

19 such other personnel as may be necessary to en20 able the Task Force to carry out its functions, 

21 without regard to the provisions of title 5, 

22 United States Code, governing appointments in 

23 the competitive service, and without regard to 

24 the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III 

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1 tion and General Schedule pay rates, except 

2 that no rate of pay fixed under this subsection 

3 may exceed the equivalent of that payable for a 

4 position at level V of the Executive Schedule 

5 under section 5316 of title 5, United States 

6 Code. 

7 (B) PERSONNEL AS FEDERAL EMPLOY8 EES.— 

9 (i) IN GENERAL.—The staff director 

10 and any personnel of the Task Force who 

11 are employees shall be employees under 

12 section 2105 of title 5, United States 

13 Code, for purposes of chapters 63, 81, 83, 

14 84, 85, 87, 89, and 90 of that title. 

15 (ii) MEMBERS OF TASK FORCE.— 

16 Clause (i) shall not be construed to apply 

17 to members of the Task Force. 

18 (2) DETAILEES.—Upon request of the Chair 

19 and Vice Chair of the Task Force, the head of any 

20 executive department, bureau, agency, board, com21 mission, office, independent establishment, or instru22 mentality of the Federal Government employee may 

23 detail, without reimbursement, any of its personnel 

24 to the Task Force to assist in carrying out its duties 

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1 out interruption or loss of civil service status or 

2 privilege. 

3 (3) CONSULTANT SERVICES.—The Task Force 

4 is authorized to procure the services of experts and 

5 consultants in accordance with section 3109 of title 

6 5, United States Code, but at rates not to exceed the 

7 daily rate paid a person occupying a position at level 

8 IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of 

9 title 5, United States Code. 

10 (h) COMPENSATION AND TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each 

11 member of the Task Force shall serve without compensa12 tion, but shall receive travel expenses, including per diem 

13 in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for an employee 

14 of an agency under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 

15 5, United States Code. 

16 (i) SECURITY CLEARANCES FOR TASK FORCE MEM17 BERS AND STAFF.—The appropriate Federal agencies or 

18 departments shall cooperate with the Task Force in expe19 ditiously providing to the Task Force members and staff 

20 appropriate security clearances, consistent with existing 

21 procedures and requirements. No person shall be provided 

22 with access to classified information under this section 

23 without the appropriate security clearances. 

24 (j) REPORTS OF TASK FORCE; TERMINATION.— 


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1 (1) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than 180 

2 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

3 Task Force shall submit to the President, the Com4 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

5 of the Senate, and the Committee on Energy and 

6 Commerce of the House of Representatives an in7 terim report containing such findings, conclusions, 

8 and recommendations as have been agreed to by not 

9 less than 8 members of the Task Force. Such in10 terim report shall be made available online in a man11 ner that does not compromise national security. 

12 (2) FINAL REPORT.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 

14 months after the date on which the last member 

15 of the Task Force is appointed, the Task Force 

16 shall submit to the President, the Committee on 

17 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 

18 Senate, and the Committee on Energy and 

19 Commerce of the House of Representatives a 

20 final report containing such findings, conclu21 sions, and recommendations as have been 

22 agreed to by not less than 8 members of the 

23 Task Force. The final report shall be made 

24 available online in a manner that does not com25 promise national security. 


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1 (B) EXTENSIONS.— 

2 (i) IN GENERAL.—The submission 

3 and publication of the final report, as de4 scribed in subparagraph (A), may be de5 layed by 6 months upon the agreement of 

6 not less than 8 members of the Task 

7 Force. 

8 (ii) NOTIFICATION.—The Task Force 

9 shall notify the President, the Committee 

10 on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen11 sions of the Senate, the Committee on En12 ergy and Commerce of the House of Rep13 resentatives, and the public of any exten14 sion granted under clause (i). 

15 (C) SPECIAL RULES AND CONSIDER16 ATIONS.— 

17 (i) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Noth18 ing in this subsection shall be construed as 

19 authorizing the Task Force to publicly dis20 close information otherwise prohibited from 

21 disclosure by law. 

22 (ii) SPECIAL TIMING CONSIDER23 ATIONS.—Notwithstanding any other pro24 vision of this section, the Task Force shall 

25 not publish or make available any interim 


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1 or final report during the 60-day periods 

2 ending November 5, 2024, and November 

3 3, 2026. 

4 (3) TERMINATION.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Task Force, and 

6 all the authorities of this section, shall termi7 nate 60 days after the date on which the final 

8 report is submitted under paragraph (2). 

9 (B) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES BEFORE

10 TERMINATION.—The Task Force may use the 

11 60-day period referred to in subparagraph (A) 

12 for the purpose of concluding its activities, in13 cluding providing testimony to committees of 

14 Congress concerning its reports and dissemi15 nating the final report. 

16 (k) FUNDING.— 

17 (1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

18 There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as 

19 may be necessary to carry out this Act. 

20 (2) DURATION OF AVAILABILITY.—Amounts 

21 made available to the Task Force under paragraph 

22 (1) shall remain available until the termination of 

23 the Task Force. 

Æ 


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