II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3383 

To reform the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, limit the scope 

of public health authorities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 30, 2023 

Mr. SCHMITT (for himself and Mr. BRAUN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To reform the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 

limit the scope of public health authorities, and for other 

purposes. 

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 ‘‘End COVID Tyranny 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

7 It is the sense of Congress that— 

8 (1) the vaccine mandate in response to 

9 COVID–19 that applied to military personnel and 


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1 the resulting discharge of servicemen and service2 women threatened our military readiness; 

3 (2) prolonged school closures in response to 

4 COVID–19 directly impacted students’ schooling 

5 and contributed to learning loss; 

6 (3) steps to distribute vaccines based on race do 

7 not reflect the values of the United States; 

8 (4) during the COVID–19 public health emer9 gency, Federal agencies colluded with private cor10 porations to stifle legitimate political speech and in11 fringe on the first amendment rights of Americans; 

12 (5) economic lockdowns threatened the liveli13 hoods of American families, and directly led to 

14 record closures of small businesses; 

15 (6) on account of the Centers for Disease Con16 trol and Prevention’s inconsistent and confusing 

17 messaging, which was not based on science, the 

18 United States relinquished its ability to effectively 

19 control the pandemic; 

20 (7) forced lockdowns worsened an already 

21 pressing mental health crisis, leading to an increase 

22 in suicides rates and drug abuse; and 

23 (8) the roles of the Centers for Disease Control 

24 and Prevention and other agencies and offices of the 

25 Department of Health and Human Services are 


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1 strictly advisory, and such agencies and offices have 

2 not been empowered by Congress to establish laws or 

3 mandates. 

4 SEC. 3. PROHIBITIONS ON IMPOSING A MASK MANDATE IN 

5 EDUCATION SETTINGS. 

6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 (1) APPLICABLE PERIOD.—The term ‘‘applica8 ble period’’ means the period that begins on the date 

9 of enactment of this Act and ends on December 31, 

10 2024. 

11 (2) HEAD START PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Head 

12 Start program’’ means such a program, including an 

13 Early Head Start program, carried out under the 

14 Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.). 

15 (3) MASK.—The term ‘‘mask’’ means a mate16 rial covering the nose and mouth of the wearer, ex17 cluding face shields. 

18 (4) MASK MANDATE.—The term ‘‘mask man19 date’’ means an order, directive, or ordinance, in re20 sponse to a public health emergency, that requires 

21 an individual to wear a mask to enter, or remain in, 

22 a facility. 

23 (b) RESTRICTION ON THE USE OF FEDERAL

24 FUNDS.—During the applicable period, notwithstanding 

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1 gated or expended to propose, establish, implement, or en2 force, directly or indirectly through the imposition of a 

3 condition on receipt of Federal funds, any requirement 

4 that an individual wear a mask or comply with a mask 

5 mandate while in a facility of a Head Start program. 

6 (c) NO MASK REQUIREMENTS IN SCHOOLS OR INSTI7 TUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—Notwithstanding any 

8 other provision of law, during the applicable period, nei9 ther the President nor any other Federal officer, employee, 

10 agency, or office, shall issue or enforce a mask mandate 

11 requiring individuals to wear a mask in any facility of a 

12 Head Start program. 

13 (d) NO AUTHORITY TO REFUSE ACCESS TO EDU14 CATION.—During the applicable period, a Head Start pro15 gram shall not refuse entry to, or participation in, any 

16 educational service or activity to a child, teacher, parent, 

17 or other individual on the basis that the child, teacher, 

18 parent, or other individual refuses to wear a mask or com19 ply with a mask mandate during the educational service 

20 or activity. 

21 (e) NO AUTHORITY TO ISSUE OR ENFORCE MASK

22 MANDATES IN EDUCATIONAL SETTINGS IN RESPONSE TO

23 A PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.—Section 361 of the 

24 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 264) is amended 

25 by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(f) Nothing in this section authorizes the Secretary 

2 to require individuals to comply with a mask mandate (as 

3 defined in section 2(a) of the End COVID Tyranny Act) 

4 in any facility of a Head Start program (as defined in 

5 such section 2(a)) in response to a public health emer6 gency declared under section 319 during the applicable pe7 riod (as defined in such section 2(a)).’’. 

8 SEC. 4. APPOINTMENT AND AUTHORITY OF THE DIRECTOR 

9 OF THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL 

10 AND PREVENTION; TERMS OF CDC AND NIH 

11 DIRECTORS. 

12 (a) APPOINTMENT AUTHORITY.—Section 2101(b) of 

13 the Prepare for and Respond to Existing Viruses, Emerg14 ing New Threats, and Pandemics Act (Public Law 117– 

15 328) is amended by striking ‘‘January 20, 2025’’ and in16 serting ‘‘the date of enactment of the End COVID Tyr17 anny Act’’. 

18 (b) TERM OF CDC DIRECTOR.—Section 305(a) of 

19 the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 242c(a)) is 

20 amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘No indi21 vidual may serve as Director for a total period of more 

22 than 12 years.’’. 

23 (c) TERM OF NIH DIRECTOR.—Section 402(a) of the 

24 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 282(a)) is amended 

25 by adding at the end the following: ‘‘No individual may 


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1 serve as Director of NIH for a total period of more than 

2 12 years.’’. 

3 SEC. 5. LIMITING THE CDC STRATEGIC PLAN. 

4 Section 305(c)(2)(A) of the Public Health Service Act 

5 (42 U.S.C. 242c–1(c)(2)(A)) is amended— 

6 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and noncommu7 nicable diseases or conditions, and addressing inju8 ries, and occupational and environmental hazards’’ 

9 and inserting ‘‘diseases’’; 

10 (2) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘or conditions’’; 

11 (3) in clause (iii), by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

12 (4) in clause (iv), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and in13 serting a period; and 

14 (5) by striking clause (v). 

15 SEC. 6. ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO THE CDC DIRECTOR. 

16 Section 305A(c) of the Public Health Service Act (42 

17 U.S.C. 242c–1(c)) is amended— 

18 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘by the Sec19 retary under’’ and inserting ‘‘as described in’’; and 

20 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking subparagraphs 

21 (A) and (B) and inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘(A) Three members shall be appointed by 

23 the Secretary of Health and Human Services— 


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1 ‘‘(i) 1 of whom shall be appointed to 

2 represent the Department of Health and 

3 Human Services; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) 1 of whom shall be a public 

5 health official. 

6 ‘‘(B) Two members shall be appointed by 

7 the majority leader of the Senate. 

8 ‘‘(C) Two members shall be appointed by 

9 the minority leader of the Senate. 

10 ‘‘(D) Two members shall be appointed by 

11 the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

12 ‘‘(E) Two members shall be appointed by 

13 the minority leader of the House of Representa14 tives. 

15 ‘‘(F) Four members shall be appointed by 

16 the Comptroller General of the United States.’’. 

17 SEC. 7. LIMITING THE SCOPE OF REGULATIONS OF THE DE18 PARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERV19 ICES TO CONTROL COMMUNICABLE DIS20 EASES. 

21 Section 361(a) of the Public Health Service Act (42 

22 U.S.C. 264(a)) is amended to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(a) To prevent the introduction, transmission, or 

24 spread of communicable diseases from foreign countries 

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1 sion into any other State or possession, the Secretary may 

2 make and enforce regulations for the inspection, fumiga3 tion, disinfection, sanitation, pest extermination, or de4 struction of animals or articles found to be so infected or 

5 contaminated as to be sources of dangerous infection to 

6 human beings.’’. 

7 SEC. 8. ELIGIBILITY FOR ORGAN TRANSPLANTATION. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi9 sion of law— 

10 (1) no individual may be determined to be ineli11 gible for organ donation or receipt of an organ 

12 transplant on the basis of the COVID–19 vaccina13 tion status of the individual; 

14 (2) no individual may be given a higher or 

15 lower priority for such a donation or receipt on such 

16 basis; and 

17 (3) the incidence of COVID–19 positive rates in 

18 a geographic area or region, as determined by public 

19 health officials, may not be a factor in determining 

20 eligibility to donate organs or to receive organs. 

21 (b) APPLICATION OF REQUIREMENTS.—Paragraphs 

22 (1) through (3) of subsection (a) shall apply with respect 

23 to all organ donations and receipt of organ transplants 

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1 tered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the laws 

2 administered by the Secretary of Defense. 

3 (c) ORGAN PROCUREMENT AND TRANSPLANTATION

4 NETWORK.—Section 372(b) of the Public Health Service 

5 Act (42 U.S.C. 274(b)) is amended by adding at the end 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘(4) CLARIFICATION REGARDING COVID–19 VAC8 CINATION STATUS.—The criteria and standards es9 tablished under paragraph (2) may not include any 

10 consideration of the COVID–19 vaccination status of 

11 organ donors or recipients, or of the incidence of 

12 COVID–19 positive rates in a geographic area or re13 gion, as determined by public health officials.’’. 

14 SEC. 9. CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL FOR PUBLIC HEALTH 

15 EMERGENCIES. 

16 Section 319(a) of the Public Health Service Act (42 

17 U.S.C. 247d(a)) is amended by striking the third and 

18 fourth sentences and inserting the following: ‘‘Determina19 tions that terminate under the preceding sentence may be 

20 renewed by a majority vote in both chambers of Congress, 

21 and such a renewal period terminates upon the Secretary 

22 declaring that the emergency no longer exists or the expi23 ration of the 90-day period beginning on the date on which 

24 both chambers of Congress have voted in favor of such 

25 renewal, whichever occurs first. Not later than 48 hours 


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1 after making a determination under this subsection of a 

2 public health emergency, the Secretary shall submit to the 

3 Congress written notification of the determination.’’. 

4 SEC. 10. HOSPITAL VISITATION. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1861(e)(8) of the Social 

6 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(e)(8)) is amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

8 end; 

9 (2) by redesignating paragraph (9) as para10 graph (10); and 

11 (3) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol12 lowing new paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(9) has written policies and procedures regard14 ing the visitation rights of individuals receiving 

15 items and services at the institution, which shall in16 clude— 

17 ‘‘(A) a description of any clinically nec18 essary or reasonable restriction or limitation 

19 that such institution may need to place on such 

20 rights and the reasons for the clinical restric21 tion or limitation; and 

22 ‘‘(B) a requirement that such institution 

23 inform each such individual of— 

24 ‘‘(i) the right, subject to the individ25 ual’s consent, to receive the visitors whom 


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1 the individual designates, including a 

2 spouse, another family member, or a 

3 friend; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) the individual’s right to withdraw 

5 or deny such consent at any time; and’’. 

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

7 1861(e)(8) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

8 1395x(e)(8)) is amended, in the flush matter following 

9 paragraph (1), as redesignated by subsection (a)(2)— 

10 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘para11 graph (9)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (10)’’; and 

12 (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘para13 graph (9)’’ each place it appears and inserting 

14 ‘‘paragraph (10)’’. 

15 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

16 subsection (a) shall take effect on the date that is 1 year 

17 after the date of enactment of this section. 

18 SEC. 11. FOREIGN LABORATORY INSPECTIONS AND CER19 TIFICATION. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 495 of the Public Health 

21 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 289d) is amended by adding at 

22 the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(f) INSPECTION AND CERTIFICATION OF FOREIGN

24 LABORATORIES.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of eligibility 

2 to perform research involving animals under a grant, 

3 contract, or cooperative agreement administered by 

4 the National Institutes of Health or any national re5 search institute, a laboratory located outside the 

6 United States that receives Federal funds shall be 

7 subject to quarterly inspections to evaluate compli8 ance with the requirements under this title. 

9 ‘‘(2) INSPECTION AND CERTIFICATION RE10 QUIREMENTS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) QUARTERLY INSPECTION PROCESS.— 

12 The Secretary, in consultation with appropriate 

13 foreign regulatory authorities and international 

14 organizations, shall establish and implement a 

15 process for conducting quarterly inspections of 

16 foreign laboratories that have received an Ani17 mal Welfare Assurance (as defined in section 

18 9.2 of title 42, Code of Federal Regulations) to 

19 ensure their continued compliance with the re20 quirements under this title. 

21 ‘‘(B) ASSURANCES.—The inspection proc22 ess established by the Secretary pursuant to 

23 subparagraph (A) shall evaluate the compliance 

24 of foreign laboratories with the requirements 

25 under subsection (c)(1), including— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the establishment and operation 

2 of animal care committees; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the review and evaluation of ani4 mal care and treatment; and 

5 ‘‘(iii) proper record-keeping and re6 porting procedures. 

7 ‘‘(3) CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE AND PUB8 LIC ACCESS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) ISSUANCE.—Following each quarterly 

10 inspection required under paragraph (2), the in11 specting authority shall issue a certification of 

12 compliance to the laboratories determined to be 

13 in compliance with the requirements under 

14 paragraph (2)(B). 

15 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC ACCESS.—Copies of the cer16 tificates of compliance issued pursuant to sub17 paragraph (A) shall be maintained by the Office 

18 of Laboratory Animal Welfare and shall remain 

19 publicly accessible with other information about 

20 currently issued Animal Welfare Assurances. 

21 ‘‘(C) CORRECTIVE ACTION.—Laboratories 

22 that fail to comply with the requirements under 

23 paragraph (2)(B) shall be given a reasonable 

24 opportunity to take corrective action. 


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1 ‘‘(4) SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF GRANT

2 OR CONTRACT FOR NON-COMPLIANT FOREIGN LAB3 ORATORIES.—If the Secretary determines that a for4 eign facility is not in compliance with the require5 ments under subsection (c)(1) and does not take ap6 propriate corrective action after given a reasonable 

7 opportunity to do so, the Secretary shall suspend or 

8 revoke the applicable grant, contract, or cooperative 

9 agreement involving research on animals under such 

10 conditions as the Director of NIH determines appro11 priate, in accordance with subsection (d). 

12 ‘‘(5) DESIGNATION OF INSPECTING AUTHOR13 ITY.—The Secretary, in consultation with the Direc14 tor of NIH, shall designate an appropriate authority 

15 to conduct the quarterly inspections required under 

16 paragraph (2) and issue certifications of compliance 

17 in accordance with paragraph (3). 

18 ‘‘(6) COORDINATION WITH FOREIGN AUTHORI19 TIES.—The Secretary and the Director of NIH shall 

20 coordinate with appropriate foreign regulatory au21 thorities and enter into agreements with foreign gov22 ernments, as needed, to facilitate the implementation 

23 and enforcement of this subsection while respecting 

24 the sovereignty and laws of foreign nations.’’. 


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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

2 subsection (a) shall take effect on the date that is 180 

3 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 12. TRANSFER OF OFFICES TO NIH. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Effective on the date that is 2 

6 years after the date of enactment of this Act, notwith7 standing any other provision of law, the authorities, func8 tions, personnel, and assets of the offices described in sub9 section (b) shall be transferred from the Centers for Dis10 ease Control and Prevention to the National Institutes of 

11 Health. 

12 (b) OFFICES DESCRIBED.—The offices described in 

13 this subsection are the following: 

14 (1) The National Center on Birth Defects and 

15 Developmental Disabilities. 

16 (2) The National Center for Chronic Disease 

17 Prevention and Health Promotion. 

18 (3) The National Center for Environmental 

19 Health. 

20 (4) The Agency for Toxic Substances and Dis21 ease Registry. 

22 (5) The National Center for Health Statistics. 

23 (6) The National Center for HIV, Viral Hepa24 titis, STD, and TB Prevention. 


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1 (7) The National Center for Injury Prevention 

2 and Control. 

3 (8) The National Institute for Occupational 

4 Safety and Health. 

5 SEC. 13. REGULATIONS. 

6 Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 

7 of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

8 shall issue such new or revised regulations as are nec9 essary to carry out this Act (including the amendments 

10 made by this Act). 

11 SEC. 14. PREEMPTION. 

12 The provisions of this Act (including the amendments 

13 made by this Act) shall supersede any provision of Fed14 eral, State, Tribal, territorial, or local law, declaration, 

15 guidance, or directive to the extent that such law, declara16 tion, guidance, or directive is inconsistent with this Act 

17 (including such amendments). 

Æ 


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