II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3545 

To amend the Public Health Service Act with respect to public health data 

accessibility, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 14, 2023 

Mr. KAINE (for himself, Mr. MURPHY, and Ms. SMITH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act with respect to 

public health data accessibility, 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 ‘‘Improving Data Acces5 sibility Through Advancements in Public Health Act’’ or 

6 the ‘‘Improving DATA in Public Health Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. SUPPORTING PUBLIC HEALTH DATA AVAILABILITY 

8 AND ACCESS. 

9 (a) DESIGNATION OF PUBLIC HEALTH DATA STAND10 ARDS.—Section 2823(a)(2) of the Public Health Service 


ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 3545 IS

1 Act (42 U.S.C. 300hh–33(a)(2)) is amended by adding at 

2 the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(D) SELECTION OF DATA AND TECH4 NOLOGY STANDARDS.—The standards des5 ignated as described in subparagraph (A) may 

6 include standards to improve— 

7 ‘‘(i) the exchange of electronic health 

8 information for— 

9 ‘‘(I) electronic case reporting; 

10 ‘‘(II) syndromic surveillance; 

11 ‘‘(III) reporting of vital statistics; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(IV) reporting test orders and 

14 results electronically, including from 

15 laboratories; 

16 ‘‘(ii) automated electronic reporting to 

17 relevant public health data systems of the 

18 Centers for Disease Control and Preven19 tion; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) such other uses as the Secretary 

21 determines appropriate. 

22 ‘‘(E) CONSIDERATIONS.—Standards des23 ignated under this paragraph shall include 

24 standards and implementation specifications 

25 necessary to ensure the appropriate capture, exVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:30 Jan 02, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3545.IS S3545

ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 3545 IS

1 change, access, and use of information regard2 ing race, ethnicity, sex (including sexual ori3 entation and gender identity), disability status, 

4 veteran status, housing status, age, functional 

5 status, and other elements.’’. 

6 (b) IMPROVING INFORMATION SHARING AND AVAIL7 ABILITY OF PUBLIC HEALTH DATA.—Section 310B of the 

8 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 242u) is amended 

9 to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 310B. IMPROVING INFORMATION SHARING AND 

11 AVAILABILITY OF PUBLIC HEALTH DATA. 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary acting through 

13 the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Pre14 vention (in this section referred to as the ‘Secretary’) may 

15 require the reporting of public health and health care data 

16 and information to the Centers for Disease Control and 

17 Prevention by— 

18 ‘‘(1) health care providers and facilities, includ19 ing pharmacies; 

20 ‘‘(2) public health, clinical, and other labora21 tories and diagnostic testing entities; 

22 ‘‘(3) State, local, and Tribal health depart23 ments; and 

24 ‘‘(4) other entities, as determined appropriate 

25 by the Secretary. 


ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 3545 IS

1 ‘‘(b) CONTENT, FORM, MANNER, AND FRE2 QUENCY.— 

3 ‘‘(1) COLLABORATION.—The Secretary shall 

4 collaborate with representatives of State, local, and 

5 Tribal health departments and other entities on de6 termining the content, form, manner, and frequency 

7 of the reporting of public health and health care 

8 data and information required pursuant to sub9 section (a). 

10 ‘‘(2) SIMULTANEOUS REPORTING.—In deter11 mining the content, form, manner, and frequency of 

12 the reporting of public health and health care data 

13 and information pursuant to subsection (a), where a 

14 disease, condition, or related event is reportable 

15 under applicable State or local law, the Secretary 

16 shall require the data and information to be reported 

17 first or simultaneously to the appropriate State or 

18 local jurisdiction. 

19 ‘‘(3) ALIGNMENT WITH STANDARDS AND IM20 PLEMENTATION SPECIFICATIONS.—The content, 

21 form, manner, and frequency requirements required 

22 pursuant to this section shall align with the stand23 ards and implementation specifications adopted by 

24 the Secretary under section 3004, where applicable. 


ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 3545 IS

1 ‘‘(4) REASONABLE EFFORTS TO LIMIT REPORT2 ING.—The Secretary shall make reasonable efforts 

3 to limit the public health and health care data and 

4 information required to be reported under this sec5 tion to the minimum necessary to accomplish the in6 tended public health purpose. 

7 ‘‘(5) IMPLEMENTATION AND REGULATIONS.— 

8 The Secretary— 

9 ‘‘(A) may promulgate by regulation the 

10 content, form, manner, and frequency in which 

11 public health and health care data and informa12 tion is required to be reported under this sec13 tion; and 

14 ‘‘(B) in the event of a public health emer15 gency declared under section 319, or where the 

16 Secretary determines there is a significant po17 tential for such an emergency to exist, may 

18 issue such requirements— 

19 ‘‘(i) by guidance in accordance with 

20 this section; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) without regard to the procedures 

22 otherwise required by section 553 of title 

23 5, United States Code. 


ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 3545 IS

1 ‘‘(c) ENSURING THAT DATA IS ACCESSIBLE IN A

2 TIMELY MANNER TO STATE, LOCAL, AND TRIBAL

3 HEALTH AUTHORITIES.— 

4 ‘‘(1) COLLABORATION.—The Secretary shall 

5 collaborate with representatives of State, local, and 

6 Tribal health departments, and entities representing 

7 such departments, to ensure that data and informa8 tion that is collected by the Centers for Disease Con9 trol and Prevention pursuant to this section are ac10 cessible, as appropriate, in a timely manner, to 

11 State, local, and Tribal health authorities. 

12 ‘‘(2) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

13 this section shall be construed— 

14 ‘‘(A) to prevent any Federal agency, State, 

15 local, or Tribal health department, or other en16 tity from collecting data or information under 

17 other applicable law; or 

18 ‘‘(B) to limit the authority of the Centers 

19 for Disease Control and Prevention to share 

20 public health surveillance data with State, local, 

21 or Tribal health authorities. 

22 ‘‘(3) REASONABLE EFFORTS TO REDUCE RE23 PORTING BURDENS AND POTENTIAL DUPLICA24 TION.—The Secretary shall make reasonable efforts 

25 to collaborate with representatives of Federal agenVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:30 Jan 02, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3545.IS S3545

ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 3545 IS

1 cies and State, local, and Tribal health departments 

2 to reduce reporting burdens and potential duplica3 tion of reporting requirements. Such efforts may in4 clude ensuring simultaneous sharing of data and in5 formation described in subsection (b) with State, 

6 local, and Tribal public health authorities. 

7 ‘‘(d) CONFIDENTIALITY AND PROTECTION OF

8 DATA.—Any identifiable, sensitive information reported to 

9 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pursuant 

10 to this section shall not be further disclosed or provided 

11 to any other individual or party, including any party in12 volved in civil, criminal, or administrative litigation, ex13 cept— 

14 ‘‘(1) as necessary for public health purposes, in15 cluding with relevant Federal, State, local, or tribal 

16 public health authorities; 

17 ‘‘(2) as required under section 552a(d)(1) of 

18 title 5, United States Code; 

19 ‘‘(3) as required by applicable Federal laws, ex20 cluding instances of disclosure in any Federal, State, 

21 or local civil, criminal, administrative, legislative, or 

22 other proceeding; or 

23 ‘‘(4) with the consent of each individual to 

24 whom the information pertains. 


ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 3545 IS

1 ‘‘(e) EXEMPTION OF CERTAIN PUBLIC HEALTH

2 DATA FROM DISCLOSURE.—The Secretary may exempt 

3 from disclosure under section 552(b)(3) of title 5, United 

4 States Code, public health and health care data and infor5 mation collected by the Centers for Disease Control and 

6 Prevention pursuant to this section or any other authority 

7 under which the Centers collects public health or health 

8 care data and information if— 

9 ‘‘(1) an individual is identified through such 

10 data or information; or 

11 ‘‘(2) there is at least a very small risk, as deter12 mined by current scientific practices or statistical 

13 methods, that some combination of the data or in14 formation, the request for disclosure under such sec15 tion 552(b)(3), and other available data sources or 

16 the application of technology could be used to de17 duce the identity of the individuals to which such 

18 data or information pertains.’’. 

19 (c) PUBLIC HEALTH INFORMATION SHARING AND

20 AVAILABILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—Part A of title III 

21 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 241 et seq.) 

22 is amended by adding at the end the following: 


ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 3545 IS

1 ‘‘SEC. 310C. PUBLIC HEALTH INFORMATION SHARING AND 

2 AVAILABILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

3 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting 

4 through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control 

5 and Prevention, shall establish an advisory committee, to 

6 be known as the Public Health Information Sharing and 

7 Availability Advisory Committee, to advise, and make rec8 ommendations to, the Director with respect to the imple9 mentation of public health and health care data and infor10 mation reporting and sharing under section 310B. 

11 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The membership of the advisory 

12 committee established pursuant to this section shall in13 clude— 

14 ‘‘(1) individuals with subject matter expertise 

15 or experience in the following areas of public health 

16 and health care data and information, including— 

17 ‘‘(A) State, territorial, local, and Tribal 

18 health department data systems or practices; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(B) health care data; 

21 ‘‘(2) ex officio members, including from relevant 

22 Federal agencies such as the Office of the National 

23 Coordinator for Health Information Technology, the 

24 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Cen25 ters for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Of26 fice of the Assistant Secretary for Health; 


ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 3545 IS

1 ‘‘(3) representatives of national organizations, 

2 including the Council of State and Territorial Epi3 demiologists, the Association of Public Health Lab4 oratories, the Association of State and Territorial 

5 Health Officials, the National Association of County 

6 and City Health Officials, and the Big Cities Health 

7 Coalition; and 

8 ‘‘(4) such additional members as the Secretary 

9 determines appropriate. 

10 ‘‘(c) FACA APPLICABILITY.—The advisory com11 mittee established pursuant to this section is deemed to 

12 be an advisory committee subject to the Federal Advisory 

13 Committee Act.’’. 

14 (d) IMPROVING PUBLIC HEALTH DATA COLLEC15 TION.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

17 Human Services (referred to in this subsection as 

18 the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall award grants, contracts, or 

19 cooperative agreements to eligible entities for pur20 poses of identifying, developing, or disseminating 

21 best practices in the collection of electronic health 

22 information and the use of designated data stand23 ards and implementation specifications— 

24 (A) to improve the quality and complete25 ness of data, including demographic data, colVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:30 Jan 02, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3545.IS S3545

ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 3545 IS

1 lected, accessed, or used for public health pur2 poses; and 

3 (B) to address health disparities and re4 lated health outcomes. 

5 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to re6 ceive an award under this subsection an entity 

7 shall— 

8 (A) be a health care provider, academic 

9 medical center, community-based organization, 

10 State, local governmental entity, Indian Tribe 

11 or Tribal organization (as such terms are de12 fined in section 4 of the Indian Self Determina13 tion and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 

14 5304)), Urban Indian organization (as defined 

15 in section 4 of the Indian Health Care Improve16 ment Act (25 U.S.C. 1603)), or other appro17 priate public or private nonprofit entity, or a 

18 consortia of any such entities; and 

19 (B) submit an application to the Secretary 

20 at such time, in such manner, and containing 

21 such information as the Secretary may require. 

22 (3) ACTIVITIES.—Entities receiving awards 

23 under this subsection shall use such award to de24 velop and test best practices for training health care 

25 providers to use standards and implementation specVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:30 Jan 02, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3545.IS S3545

ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 3545 IS

1 ifications that assist in the capture, access, ex2 change, and use of electronic health information, in3 cluding demographic information, disability status, 

4 veteran status, housing status, functional status, 

5 and other data elements. Such activities shall, at a 

6 minimum, include— 

7 (A) improving, understanding, and using 

8 data standards and implementation specifica9 tions; 

10 (B) developing or identifying methods to 

11 improve communication with patients in a cul12 turally and linguistically appropriate manner, 

13 including to better capture information related 

14 to demographics of such individuals; 

15 (C) developing methods for accurately cat16 egorizing and recording patient responses using 

17 available data standards; 

18 (D) educating providers regarding the util19 ity of such information for public health pur20 poses and the importance of accurate collection 

21 and recording of such data; and 

22 (E) other activities, as the Secretary deter23 mines appropriate. 

24 (4) REPORTING.— 


ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 3545 IS

1 (A) REPORTING BY AWARD RECIPIENTS.— 

2 Each recipient of an award under this sub3 section shall submit to the Secretary a report 

4 on the results of best practices identified, devel5 oped, or disseminated through such award. 

6 (B) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later 

7 than 1 year after the completion of the program 

8 under this subsection, the Secretary shall sub9 mit a report to Congress on the success of the 

10 best practices developed under such program, 

11 opportunities for further dissemination of such 

12 best practices, and recommendations for im13 proving the capture, access, exchange, and use 

14 of information to improve public health and re15 duce health disparities. 

16 (5) NONDUPLICATION OF EFFORTS.—The Sec17 retary shall ensure that the activities and programs 

18 carried out under this subsection are free of unnec19 essary duplication of effort. 

20 (6) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

21 There is authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 

22 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2026 to carry 

23 out this subsection. 


ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 3545 IS

1 (e) INFORMATION COLLECTION.—Section 319D(a) of 

2 the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d–4(a)) is 

3 amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(5) INFORMATION COLLECTION.—Subchapter 

5 I of chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, shall 

6 not apply to information collection by the Centers 

7 for Disease Control and Prevention, including the 

8 Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 

9 that are part of investigations, research, surveil10 lance, or evaluations undertaken for public health 

11 purposes under any available authority.’’. 

Æ 


ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS