I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7531 

To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to increase Federal 

efforts to prepare for and respond to public health emergencies with 

respect to the spread of infectious diseases, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 9, 2020 

Mr. HIGGINS of New York introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to 

increase Federal efforts to prepare for and respond to 

public health emergencies with respect to the spread 

of infectious diseases, 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 ‘‘Infectious Disease Epi5 demic and Pandemic Preparedness Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. INCREASED PREPARATION AND RESPONSE FOR IN2 FECTIOUS DISEASES. 

3 (a) NATIONAL MEDICAL COMMAND.—Title III of the 

4 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 241 et seq.) is 

5 amended by inserting after section 319M the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 319N. NATIONAL MEDICAL COMMAND. 

7 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, in consulta8 tion with the appropriate Federal agencies and depart9 ments, shall establish an interagency task force to be 

10 known as the National Medical Command to prepare for 

11 and respond to a public health emergency for which a dec12 laration is in effect under section 319 with respect to an 

13 infectious disease. 

14 ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The National Medical Command 

15 shall— 

16 ‘‘(1) coordinate measures between Federal 

17 agencies to prevent and respond to a public health 

18 emergency described in subsection (a); 

19 ‘‘(2) taking into consideration the coordinated 

20 strategy required under section 2802(a), develop a 

21 strategic plan to respond to a pandemic, including 

22 identifying strategies that may not be identified in 

23 such coordinated strategy; and 

24 ‘‘(3) in coordination with the Director of the 

25 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, develop 

26 a public health surveillance system with respect to 


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1 any infectious diseases that has a high mortality 

2 rate. 

3 ‘‘(c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

4 ‘‘(1) REPRESENTED OFFICES, AGENCIES, AND

5 DEPARTMENTS.—The National Medical Command 

6 shall be composed of representatives of Federal 

7 agencies, offices, and departments, which shall in8 clude the following: 

9 ‘‘(A) The Centers for Disease Control and 

10 Prevention. 

11 ‘‘(B) The National Institute of Allergy and 

12 Infectious Diseases. 

13 ‘‘(C) The Office of the Assistant Secretary 

14 for Preparedness and Response of the Depart15 ment of Health and Human Services. 

16 ‘‘(D) The Office of Global Affairs of the 

17 Department of Health and Human Services. 

18 ‘‘(E) The Occupational Safety and Health 

19 Administration. 

20 ‘‘(F) The Federal Emergency Management 

21 Agency. 

22 ‘‘(G) The Department of Defense. 

23 ‘‘(H) The Department of Transportation. 

24 ‘‘(I) The Department of State. 


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1 ‘‘(J) The Environmental Protection Agen2 cy. 

3 ‘‘(K) The National Security Council. 

4 ‘‘(L) The Agency for International Devel5 opment. 

6 ‘‘(M) The intelligence community. 

7 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—Each representative 

8 under paragraph (1) shall— 

9 ‘‘(A) have appropriate technical expertise 

10 with respect to the duties of the National Med11 ical Command; and 

12 ‘‘(B) be selected by the head of the agency, 

13 department, or office described in such para14 graph. 

15 ‘‘(d) NATIONAL MEDICAL COMMANDER.—The Sec16 retary shall appoint a chair of the National Medical Com17 mand from among the members of the National Medical 

18 Command to be known as the Medical Commander for 

19 Pandemic Preparedness and Response (in this section re20 ferred to as the ‘Medical Commander’). 

21 ‘‘(e) DURATION.—Notwithstanding section 14(a) of 

22 the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the National Medical 

23 Command shall continue in existence until otherwise pro24 vided by law.’’. 


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1 (b) EARLY DETECTION AND EARLY WARNING SYS2 TEMS MANAGEMENT.—Section 319D of the Public Health 

3 Service Act (247d–4) is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘, in coordi5 nation with the National Medical Command’’ after 

6 the first instance of ‘‘Secretary’’; and 

7 (2) in subsection (c), in paragraph (1), by strik8 ing ‘‘Secretary,’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary, in coordi9 nation with the National Medical Command and’’. 

10 (c) ADMINISTRATION OVER NATIONAL STRATEGIC

11 STOCKPILE.—Section 319F–2(a) of the Public Health 

12 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d–6b(a)) is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Response’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘Response, the Medical Commander 

15 for Pandemic Preparedness and Response,’’; and 

16 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

17 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

18 (i) by striking ‘‘Secretary’’ and insert19 ing ‘‘Secretary, in collaboration with the 

20 Medical Commander for Pandemic Pre21 paredness and Response,’’; 

22 (ii) by striking ‘‘an annual’’ and in23 serting ‘‘a biannual’’; and 

24 (iii) by inserting ‘‘and September 15’’ 

25 after ‘‘March 15’’; and 


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1 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘an2 nual’’ and inserting ‘‘biannual’’. 

3 (d) STRATEGIC PLAN TO ADDRESS INFECTIOUS DIS4 EASES.— 

5 (1) STRATEGIC PLAN.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

7 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

8 Director of the National Institutes of Health 

9 (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Director’’), 

10 in consultation with the Director of the Bio11 medical Advanced Research and Development 

12 Authority and the Commissioner of Food and 

13 Drugs, shall prepare and submit to Congress a 

14 strategic plan for fiscal years 2021 through 

15 2030 to identify, treat, and develop vaccines for 

16 infectious diseases. Such plan shall take into 

17 consideration, the coordinated strategy devel18 oped pursuant to section 2802(a) of the Public 

19 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300hh–1(a)). 

20 (B) CONTENT.—The plan under subpara21 graph (A) shall address the following: 

22 (i) Research of pathogens, including 

23 research on the origins of zoonotic patho24 gens. 


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1 (ii) The development of cooperative 

2 partnerships to determine treatments and 

3 vaccines for COVID–19, and other similar 

4 infectious diseases. 

5 (iii) A strategy to fund clinical trials 

6 to determine which pathogens demonstrate 

7 a high mortality rate and high rate of in8 fection. 

9 (iv) The development of partnerships 

10 with private entities to allow such entities 

11 to eliminate industry risk. 

12 (2) EXPEDITED APPROVAL.—The Secretary of 

13 Health and Human Services, acting through the 

14 Commissioner of Food and Drugs, may designate a 

15 treatment or vaccine identified in the plan under 

16 this subsection as a breakthrough therapy, a fast 

17 track product, or eligible for accelerated approval as 

18 appropriate under section 506 of the Federal Food, 

19 Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 356). 

20 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

21 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Di22 rector to carry out this subsection $1,000,000,000 

23 for each fiscal year from 2021 through 2030. 

24 (e) COMMUNITY-BASED PREVENTION STRATEGIES

25 GRANT PROGRAM.— 


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

2 Human Services shall award grants to community3 based organizations for the purpose of preventing, 

4 identifying, tracking, and responding to infectious 

5 diseases, including reducing or eliminating health 

6 disparities with respect to race, gender, and socio7 economic status. 

8 (2) PRIORITY.—The Secretary may give priority 

9 to organizations that prioritize vulnerable popu10 lations and the treatment of individuals who are at 

11 a higher risk of mortality as a result of an infectious 

12 disease, including— 

13 (A) the elderly; 

14 (B) children; 

15 (C) the immunocompromised; 

16 (D) the homeless; and 

17 (E) individuals who have a low income. 

Æ 


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