IV 

107TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 526

Providing for the concurrence by the House with an amendment in the 

amendments of the Senate to H.R. 3253. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 17, 2002

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey submitted the following resolution; which was 

considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION

Providing for the concurrence by the House with an 

amendment in the amendments of the Senate to H.R. 3253.

1 Resolved, That, upon the adoption of this resolution, 

2 the House shall be considered to have taken from the 

3 Speaker’s table the bill H.R. 3253, with the Senate 

4 amendments thereto, and to have concurred in the Senate 

5 amendment to the title of the bill and to have concurred 

6 in the Senate amendment to the text of the bill with the 

7 following amendment: 

8 In lieu of the matter proposed to be inserted by the 

9 amendment of the Senate to the text of the bill, insert 

10 the following:
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Department of Vet3 erans Affairs Emergency Preparedness Act of 2002’’. 

4 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF MEDICAL EMERGENCY PRE5 PAREDNESS CENTERS AT DEPARTMENT OF 

6 VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL CENTERS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Subchapter II of chapter 73 

8 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at 

9 the end the following new section: 

10 ‘‘§ 7325. Medical emergency preparedness centers 

11 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF CENTERS.—(1) The Sec12 retary shall establish four medical emergency prepared13 ness centers in accordance with this section. Each such 

14 center shall be established at a Department medical center 

15 and shall be staffed by Department employees. 

16 ‘‘(2) The Under Secretary for Health shall be respon17 sible for supervising the operation of the centers estab18 lished under this section. The Under Secretary shall pro19 vide for ongoing evaluation of the centers and their com20 pliance with the requirements of this section. 

21 ‘‘(3) The Under Secretary shall carry out the Under 

22 Secretary’s functions under paragraph (2) in consultation 

23 with the Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs with re24 sponsibility for operations, preparedness, security, and law 

25 enforcement functions. 
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1 ‘‘(b) MISSION.—The mission of the centers shall be 

2 as follows: 

3 ‘‘(1) To carry out research on, and to develop 

4 methods of detection, diagnosis, prevention, and 

5 treatment of injuries, diseases, and illnesses arising 

6 from the use of chemical, biological, radiological, in7 cendiary or other explosive weapons or devices pos8 ing threats to the public health and safety. 

9 ‘‘(2) To provide education, training, and advice 

10 to health care professionals, including health care 

11 professionals outside the Veterans Health Adminis12 tration, through the National Disaster Medical Sys13 tem established pursuant to section 2811(b) of the 

14 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300hh–11(b)) 

15 or through interagency agreements entered into by 

16 the Secretary for that purpose. 

17 ‘‘(3) In the event of a disaster or emergency re18 ferred to in section 1785(b) of this title, to provide 

19 such laboratory, epidemiological, medical, or other 

20 assistance as the Secretary considers appropriate to 

21 Federal, State, and local health care agencies and 

22 personnel involved in or responding to the disaster 

23 or emergency. 

24 ‘‘(c) SELECTION OF CENTERS.—(1) The Secretary 

25 shall select the sites for the centers on the basis of a com-
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1 petitive selection process. The Secretary may not des2 ignate a site as a location for a center under this section 

3 unless the Secretary makes a finding under paragraph (2) 

4 with respect to the proposal for the designation of such 

5 site. To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary 

6 shall ensure the geographic dispersal of the sites through7 out the United States. Any such center may be a consor8 tium of efforts of more than one medical center. 

9 ‘‘(2) A finding by the Secretary referred to in para10 graph (1) with respect to a proposal for designation of 

11 a site as a location of a center under this section is a find12 ing by the Secretary, upon the recommendations of the 

13 Under Secretary for Health and the Assistant Secretary 

14 with responsibility for operations, preparedness, security, 

15 and law enforcement functions, that the facility or facili16 ties submitting the proposal have developed (or may rea17 sonably be anticipated to develop) each of the following: 

18 ‘‘(A) An arrangement with a qualifying medical 

19 school and a qualifying school of public health (or a 

20 consortium of such schools) under which physicians 

21 and other persons in the health field receive edu22 cation and training through the participating De23 partment medical facilities so as to provide those 

24 persons with training in the detection, diagnosis, 

25 prevention, and treatment of injuries, diseases, and 
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1 illnesses induced by exposures to chemical and bio2 logical substances, radiation, and incendiary or other 

3 explosive weapons or devices. 

4 ‘‘(B) An arrangement with a graduate school 

5 specializing in epidemiology under which students 

6 receive education and training in epidemiology 

7 through the participating Department facilities so as 

8 to provide such students with training in the epide9 miology of contagious and infectious diseases and 

10 chemical and radiation poisoning in an exposed pop11 ulation. 

12 ‘‘(C) An arrangement under which nursing, so13 cial work, counseling, or allied health personnel and 

14 students receive training and education in recog15 nizing and caring for conditions associated with ex16 posures to toxins through the participating Depart17 ment facilities. 

18 ‘‘(D) The ability to attract scientists who have 

19 made significant contributions to the development of 

20 innovative approaches to the detection, diagnosis, 

21 prevention, or treatment of injuries, diseases, and ill22 nesses arising from the use of chemical, biological, 

23 radiological, incendiary or other explosive weapons 

24 or devices posing threats to the public health and 

25 safety. 
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1 ‘‘(3) For purposes of paragraph (2)(A)—

2 ‘‘(A) a qualifying medical school is an accred3 ited medical school that provides education and 

4 training in toxicology and environmental health haz5 ards and with which one or more of the participating 

6 Department medical centers is affiliated; and 

7 ‘‘(B) a qualifying school of public health is an 

8 accredited school of public health that provides edu9 cation and training in toxicology and environmental 

10 health hazards and with which one or more of the 

11 participating Department medical centers is affili12 ated. 

13 ‘‘(d) RESEARCH ACTIVITIES.—Each center shall con14 duct research on improved medical preparedness to protect 

15 the Nation from threats in the area of that center’s exper16 tise. Each center may seek research funds from public and 

17 private sources for such purpose. 

18 ‘‘(e) DISSEMINATION OF RESEARCH PRODUCTS.—(1) 

19 The Under Secretary for Health and the Assistant Sec20 retary with responsibility for operations, preparedness, se21 curity, and law enforcement functions shall ensure that 

22 information produced by the research, education and 

23 training, and clinical activities of centers established under 

24 this section is made available, as appropriate, to health25 care providers in the United States. Dissemination of such 
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1 information shall be made through publications, through 

2 programs of continuing medical and related education pro3 vided through regional medical education centers under 

4 subchapter VI of chapter 74 of this title, and through 

5 other means. Such programs of continuing medical edu6 cation shall receive priority in the award of funding. 

7 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall ensure that the work of the 

8 centers is conducted in close coordination with other Fed9 eral departments and agencies and that research products 

10 or other information of the centers shall be coordinated 

11 and shared with other Federal departments and agencies. 

12 ‘‘(f) COORDINATION OF ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary 

13 shall take appropriate actions to ensure that the work of 

14 each center is carried out—

15 ‘‘(1) in close coordination with the Department 

16 of Defense, the Department of Health and Human 

17 Services, and other departments, agencies, and ele18 ments of the Government charged with coordination 

19 of plans for United States homeland security; and 

20 ‘‘(2) after taking into consideration applicable 

21 recommendations of the working group on the pre22 vention, preparedness, and response to bioterrorism 

23 and other public health emergencies established 

24 under section 319F(a) of the Public Health Service 

25 Act (42 U.S.C. 247d–6(a)) or any other joint inter-
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1 agency advisory group or committee designated by 

2 the President or the President’s designee to coordi3 nate Federal research on weapons of mass destruc4 tion. 

5 ‘‘(g) ASSISTANCE TO OTHER AGENCIES.—The Sec6 retary may provide assistance requested by appropriate 

7 Federal, State, and local civil and criminal authorities in 

8 investigations, inquiries, and data analyses as necessary 

9 to protect the public safety and prevent or obviate biologi10 cal, chemical, or radiological threats. 

11 ‘‘(h) DETAIL OF EMPLOYEES FROM OTHER AGEN12 CIES.—Upon approval by the Secretary, the Director of 

13 a center may request the temporary assignment or detail 

14 to the center, on a nonreimbursable basis, of employees 

15 from other departments and agencies of the United States 

16 who have expertise that would further the mission of the 

17 center. Any such employee may be so assigned or detailed 

18 on a nonreimbursable basis pursuant to such a request. 

19 ‘‘(i) FUNDING.—(1) Amounts appropriated for the 

20 activities of the centers under this section shall be appro21 priated separately from amounts appropriated for the De22 partment for medical care. 

23 ‘‘(2) In addition to funds appropriated for a fiscal 

24 year specifically for the activities of the centers pursuant 

25 to paragraph (1), the Under Secretary for Health shall 
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1 allocate to such centers from other funds appropriated for 

2 that fiscal year generally for the Department medical care 

3 account and the Department medical and prosthetics re4 search account such amounts as the Under Secretary de5 termines appropriate to carry out the purposes of this sec6 tion. Any determination by the Under Secretary under the 

7 preceding sentence shall be made in consultation with the 

8 Assistant Secretary with responsibility for operations, pre9 paredness, security, and law enforcement functions. 

10 ‘‘(3) There are authorized to be appropriated for the 

11 centers under this section $20,000,000 for each of fiscal 

12 years 2003 through 2007.’’. 

13 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such 

14 chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating 

15 to section 7324 the following new item:

‘‘7325. Medical emergency preparedness centers.’’.

16 (b) PEER REVIEW FOR DESIGNATION OF CEN17 TERS.—(1) In order to assist the Secretary of Veterans 

18 Affairs and the Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for 

19 Health in selecting sites for centers under section 7325 

20 of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection 

21 (a), the Under Secretary shall establish a peer review 

22 panel to assess the scientific and clinical merit of pro23 posals that are submitted to the Secretary for the designa24 tion of such centers. The peer review panel shall be estab25 lished in consultation with the Assistant Secretary of Vet-
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1 erans Affairs with responsibility for operations, prepared2 ness, security, and law enforcement functions. 

3 (2) The peer review panel shall include experts in the 

4 fields of toxicological research, infectious diseases, radi5 ology, clinical care of patients exposed to such hazards, 

6 and other persons as determined appropriate by the Sec7 retary. Members of the panel shall serve as consultants 

8 to the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

9 (3) The panel shall review each proposal submitted 

10 to the panel by the officials referred to in paragraph (1) 

11 and shall submit to the Under Secretary for Health its 

12 views on the relative scientific and clinical merit of each 

13 such proposal. The panel shall specifically determine with 

14 respect to each such proposal whether that proposal is 

15 among those proposals which have met the highest com16 petitive standards of scientific and clinical merit. 

17 (4) The panel shall not be subject to the Federal Ad18 visory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 

19 SEC. 3. EDUCATION AND TRAINING PROGRAMS ON MED20 ICAL RESPONSES TO CONSEQUENCES OF 

21 TERRORIST ACTIVITIES. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Subchapter II of chapter 73 

23 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding 

24 after section 7325, as added by section 2(a)(1), the fol25 lowing new section: 
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1 ‘‘§ 7326. Education and training programs on medical 

2 response to consequences of terrorist ac3 tivities 

4 ‘‘(a) EDUCATION PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall 

5 carry out a program to develop and disseminate a series 

6 of model education and training programs on the medical 

7 responses to the consequences of terrorist activities. 

8 ‘‘(b) IMPLEMENTING OFFICIAL.—The program shall 

9 be carried out through the Under Secretary for Health, 

10 in consultation with the Assistant Secretary of Veterans 

11 Affairs with responsibility for operations, preparedness, 

12 security, and law enforcement functions. 

13 ‘‘(c) CONTENT OF PROGRAMS.—The education and 

14 training programs developed under the program shall be 

15 modelled after programs established at the F. Edward 

16 Hebe ́rt School of Medicine of the Uniformed Services Uni17 versity of the Health Sciences and shall include, at a min18 imum, training for health care professionals in the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(1) Recognition of chemical, biological, radio21 logical, incendiary, or other explosive agents, weap22 ons, or devices that may be used in terrorist activi23 ties. 

24 ‘‘(2) Identification of the potential symptoms of 

25 exposure to those agents. 
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1 ‘‘(3) Understanding of the potential long-term 

2 health consequences, including psychological effects, 

3 resulting from exposure to those agents, weapons, or 

4 devices. 

5 ‘‘(4) Emergency treatment for exposure to 

6 those agents, weapons, or devices. 

7 ‘‘(5) An appropriate course of followup treat8 ment, supportive care, and referral. 

9 ‘‘(6) Actions that can be taken while providing 

10 care for exposure to those agents, weapons, or de11 vices to protect against contamination, injury, or 

12 other hazards from such exposure. 

13 ‘‘(7) Information on how to seek consultative 

14 support and to report suspected or actual use of 

15 those agents. 

16 ‘‘(d) POTENTIAL TRAINEES.—In designing the edu17 cation and training programs under this section, the Sec18 retary shall ensure that different programs are designed 

19 for health-care professionals in Department medical cen20 ters. The programs shall be designed to be disseminated 

21 to health professions students, graduate health and med22 ical education trainees, and health practitioners in a vari23 ety of fields. 

24 ‘‘(e) CONSULTATION.—In establishing education and 

25 training programs under this section, the Secretary shall 
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1 consult with appropriate representatives of accrediting, 

2 certifying, and coordinating organizations in the field of 

3 health professions education.’’. 

4 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such 

5 chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating 

6 to section 7325, as added by section 2(a)(2), the following 

7 new item:

‘‘7326. Education and training programs on medical response to consequences 

of terrorist activities.’’.

8 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The Secretary of Veterans 

9 Affairs shall implement section 7326 of title 38, United 

10 States Code, as added by subsection (a), not later than 

11 the end of the 90-day period beginning on the date of the 

12 enactment of this Act. 

13 SEC. 4. AUTHORITY TO FURNISH HEALTH CARE DURING 

14 MAJOR DISASTERS AND MEDICAL EMER15 GENCIES. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Subchapter VIII of chapter 17 

17 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at 

18 the end the following new section: 

19 ‘‘§ 1785. Care and services during certain disasters 

20 and emergencies 

21 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE HOSPITAL CARE AND

22 MEDICAL SERVICES.—During and immediately following 

23 a disaster or emergency referred to in subsection (b), the 

24 Secretary may furnish hospital care and medical services 
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1 to individuals responding to, involved in, or otherwise af2 fected by that disaster or emergency. 

3 ‘‘(b) COVERED DISASTERS AND EMERGENCIES.—A 

4 disaster or emergency referred to in this subsection is any 

5 disaster or emergency as follows: 

6 ‘‘(1) A major disaster or emergency declared by 

7 the President under the Robert B. Stafford Disaster 

8 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

9 5121 et seq.). 

10 ‘‘(2) A disaster or emergency in which the Na11 tional Disaster Medical System established pursuant 

12 to section 2811(b) of the Public Health Service Act 

13 (42 U.S.C. 300hh–11(b)) is activated by the Sec14 retary of Health and Human Services under para15 graph (3)(A) of that section or as otherwise author16 ized by law. 

17 ‘‘(c) APPLICABILITY TO ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS WHO

18 ARE VETERANS.—The Secretary may furnish care and 

19 services under this section to an individual described in 

20 subsection (a) who is a veteran without regard to whether 

21 that individual is enrolled in the system of patient enroll22 ment under section 1705 of this title. 

23 ‘‘(d) REIMBURSEMENT FROM OTHER FEDERAL DE24 PARTMENTS AND AGENCIES.—(1) The cost of any care or 

25 services furnished under this section to an officer or em-
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1 ployee of a department or agency of the United States 

2 other than the Department or to a member of the Armed 

3 Forces shall be reimbursed at such rates as may be agreed 

4 upon by the Secretary and the head of such department 

5 or agency or the Secretary concerned, in the case of a 

6 member of the Armed Forces, based on the cost of the 

7 care or service furnished. 

8 ‘‘(2) Amounts received by the Department under this 

9 subsection shall be credited to the Medical Care Collec10 tions Fund under section 1729A of this title. 

11 ‘‘(e) REPORT TO CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.—

12 Within 60 days of the commencement of a disaster or 

13 emergency referred to in subsection (b) in which the Sec14 retary furnishes care and services under this section (or 

15 as soon thereafter as is practicable), the Secretary shall 

16 submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen17 ate and the House of Representatives a report on the Sec18 retary’s allocation of facilities and personnel in order to 

19 furnish such care and services. 

20 ‘‘(f) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe 

21 regulations governing the exercise of the authority of the 

22 Secretary under this section.’’. 

23 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of that 

24 chapter is amended by adding at the end the following 

25 new item:

‘‘1785. Care and services during certain disasters and emergencies.’’.
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1 (b) MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES ON ACTIVE

2 DUTY.—Section 8111A(a) of such title is amended—

3 (1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para4 graph (4); 

5 (2) by designating the second sentence of para6 graph (1) as paragraph (3); and 

7 (3) by inserting between paragraph (1) and 

8 paragraph (3), as designated by paragraph (2) of 

9 this subsection, the following new paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(2)(A) During and immediately following a disaster 

11 or emergency referred to in subparagraph (B), the Sec12 retary may furnish hospital care and medical services to 

13 members of the Armed Forces on active duty responding 

14 to or involved in that disaster or emergency. 

15 ‘‘(B) A disaster or emergency referred to in this sub16 paragraph is any disaster or emergency as follows: 

17 ‘‘(i) A major disaster or emergency declared by 

18 the President under the Robert B. Stafford Disaster 

19 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

20 5121 et seq.). 

21 ‘‘(ii) A disaster or emergency in which the Na22 tional Disaster Medical System established pursuant 

23 to section 2811(b) of the Public Health Service Act 

24 (42 U.S.C. 300hh–11(b)) is activated by the Sec25 retary of Health and Human Services under para-
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1 graph (3)(A) of that section or as otherwise author2 ized by law.’’. 

3 SEC. 5. 10-YEAR EXTENSION OF EXPIRED AUTHORITY. 

4 Effective September 30, 2002, subsection (d) of sec5 tion 1722A of title 38, United States Code, is amended 

6 by striking ‘‘September 30, 2002’’ and inserting ‘‘Sep7 tember 30, 2012’’. 

8 SEC. 6. INCREASE IN NUMBER OF ASSISTANT SECRETARIES 

9 OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

10 (a) INCREASE.—Subsection (a) of section 308 of title 

11 38, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘six’’ in 

12 the first sentence and inserting ‘‘seven’’. 

13 (b) FUNCTIONS.—Subsection (b) of such section is 

14 amended by adding at the end the following new para15 graph: 

16 ‘‘(11) Operations, preparedness, security, and 

17 law enforcement functions.’’. 

18 (c) NUMBER OF DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRE19 TARIES.—Subsection (d)(1) of such section is amended by 

20 striking ‘‘18’’ and inserting ‘‘19’’. 

21 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 5315 of 

22 title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘(6)’’ 

23 after ‘‘Assistant Secretaries, Department of Veterans Af24 fairs’’ and inserting ‘‘(7)’’.
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1 SEC. 7. CODIFICATION OF DUTIES OF SECRETARY OF VET2 ERANS AFFAIRS RELATING TO EMERGENCY 

3 PREPAREDNESS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Subchapter I of chapter 81 

5 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at 

6 the end the following new section:

7 ‘‘§ 8117. Emergency preparedness 

8 ‘‘(a) READINESS OF DEPARTMENT MEDICAL CEN9 TERS.—(1) The Secretary shall take appropriate actions 

10 to provide for the readiness of Department medical centers 

11 to protect the patients and staff of such centers from 

12 chemical or biological attack or otherwise to respond to 

13 such an attack so as to enable such centers to fulfill their 

14 obligations as part of the Federal response to public health 

15 emergencies. 

16 ‘‘(2) Actions under paragraph (1) shall include—

17 ‘‘(A) the provision of decontamination equip18 ment and personal protection equipment at Depart19 ment medical centers; and 

20 ‘‘(B) the provision of training in the use of such 

21 equipment to staff of such centers. 

22 ‘‘(b) SECURITY AT DEPARTMENT MEDICAL AND RE23 SEARCH FACILITIES.—(1) The Secretary shall take appro24 priate actions to provide for the security of Department 

25 medical centers and research facilities, including staff and 

26 patients at such centers and facilities. 
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1 ‘‘(2) In taking actions under paragraph (1), the Sec2 retary shall take into account the results of the evaluation 

3 of the security needs at Department medical centers and 

4 research facilities required by section 154(b)(1) of the 

5 Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness 

6 and Response Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–188; 116 

7 Stat. 631), including the results of such evaluation relat8 ing to the following needs: 

9 ‘‘(A) Needs for the protection of patients and 

10 medical staff during emergencies, including a chem11 ical or biological attack or other terrorist attack. 

12 ‘‘(B) Needs, if any, for screening personnel en13 gaged in research relating to biological pathogens or 

14 agents, including work associated with such re15 search. 

16 ‘‘(C) Needs for securing laboratories or other 

17 facilities engaged in research relating to biological 

18 pathogens or agents. 

19 ‘‘(c) TRACKING OF PHARMACEUTICALS AND MED20 ICAL SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT.—The Secretary shall 

21 develop and maintain a centralized system for tracking the 

22 current location and availability of pharmaceuticals, med23 ical supplies, and medical equipment throughout the De24 partment health care system in order to permit the ready 

25 identification and utilization of such pharmaceuticals, sup-
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1 plies, and equipment for a variety of purposes, including 

2 response to a chemical or biological attack or other ter3 rorist attack. 

4 ‘‘(d) TRAINING.—The Secretary shall ensure that the 

5 Department medical centers, in consultation with the ac6 credited medical school affiliates of such medical centers, 

7 develop and implement curricula to train resident physi8 cians and health care personnel in medical matters relat9 ing to biological, chemical, or radiological attacks or at10 tacks from an incendiary or other explosive weapon. 

11 ‘‘(e) PARTICIPATION IN NATIONAL DISASTER MED12 ICAL SYSTEM.—(1) The Secretary shall establish and 

13 maintain a training program to facilitate the participation 

14 of the staff of Department medical centers, and of the 

15 community partners of such centers, in the National Dis16 aster Medical System established pursuant to section 

17 2811(b) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

18 300hh–11(b)). 

19 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall establish and maintain the 

20 training program under paragraph (1) in accordance with 

21 the recommendations of the working group on the preven22 tion, preparedness, and response to bioterrorism and other 

23 public health emergencies established under section 

24 319F(a) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

25 247d–6(a)). 
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1 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall establish and maintain the 

2 training program under paragraph (1) in consultation 

3 with the following: 

4 ‘‘(A) The Secretary of Defense. 

5 ‘‘(B) The Secretary of Health and Human 

6 Services. 

7 ‘‘(C) The Director of the Federal Emergency 

8 Management Agency. 

9 ‘‘(f) MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELING.—(1) With re10 spect to activities conducted by personnel serving at De11 partment medical centers, the Secretary shall develop and 

12 maintain various strategies for providing mental health 

13 counseling and assistance, including counseling and assist14 ance for post-traumatic stress disorder, following a bioter15 rorist attack or other public health emergency to the fol16 lowing persons: 

17 ‘‘(A) Veterans. 

18 ‘‘(B) Local and community emergency response 

19 providers. 

20 ‘‘(C) Active duty military personnel. 

21 ‘‘(D) Individuals seeking care at Department 

22 medical centers. 

23 ‘‘(2) The strategies under paragraph (1) shall include 

24 the following: 
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1 ‘‘(A) Training and certification of providers of 

2 mental health counseling and assistance. 

3 ‘‘(B) Mechanisms for coordinating the provision 

4 of mental health counseling and assistance to emer5 gency response providers referred to in paragraph 

6 (1). 

7 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall develop and maintain the 

8 strategies under paragraph (1) in consultation with the 

9 Secretary of Health and Human Services, the American 

10 Red Cross, and the working group referred to in sub11 section (e)(2).’’.

12 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such 

13 chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating 

14 to section 8116 the following new item:

‘‘8117. Emergency preparedness.’’.

15 (b) REPEAL OF CODIFIED PROVISIONS.—Subsections 

16 (a), (b)(2), (c), (d), (e), and (f) of section 154 of the Pub17 lic Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and 

18 Response Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–188; 38 U.S.C. 

19 note prec. 8101) are repealed. 

20 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Subsection (g) of 

21 such section is amended—

22 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘of section 

23 8117 of title 38, United States Code’’ after ‘‘sub24 section (a)’’; and 
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1 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘subsections 

2 (b) through (f)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (b)(1) of 

3 this section and subsections (b) through (f) of sec4 tion 8117 of title 38, United States Code’’.

Æ