II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1834 

To amend title XXVIII of the Public Health Service Act to establish a 

National Advisory Committee on Seniors and Disasters. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017 

Mr. NELSON (for himself, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. CASEY, and Ms. COLLINS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend title XXVIII of the Public Health Service Act 

to establish a National Advisory Committee on Seniors 

and Disasters. 

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 ‘‘Protecting Seniors 

5 During Disasters Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON SENIORS AND 

2 DISASTERS. 

3 Subtitle B of title XXVIII of the Public Health Serv4 ice Act (42 U.S.C. 300hh et seq.) is amended by inserting 

5 after section 2811A the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 2811B. NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON SEN7 IORS AND DISASTERS. 

8 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, in consulta9 tion with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Sec10 retary of Veterans Affairs, shall establish an advisory com11 mittee to be known as the ‘National Advisory Committee 

12 on Seniors and Disasters’ (referred to in this section as 

13 the ‘Advisory Committee’). 

14 ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The Advisory Committee shall— 

15 ‘‘(1) provide advice and consultation with re16 spect to the activities carried out pursuant to section 

17 2814, as applicable and appropriate; 

18 ‘‘(2) evaluate and provide input with respect to 

19 the medical and public health needs of seniors as 

20 they relate to preparation for, response to, and re21 covery from all-hazards emergencies; and 

22 ‘‘(3) provide advice and consultation with re23 spect to State emergency preparedness and response 

24 activities and seniors, including related drills and ex25 ercises pursuant to the preparedness goals under 

26 section 2802(b). 


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1 ‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL DUTIES.—The Advisory Committee 

2 may provide advice and recommendations to the Secretary 

3 with respect to seniors and the medical and public health 

4 grants and cooperative agreements as applicable to pre5 paredness and response activities authorized under this 

6 title and title III. 

7 ‘‘(d) MEMBERSHIP.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta9 tion with such other Secretaries as may be appro10 priate, shall appoint not to exceed 15 members to 

11 the Advisory Committee. In appointing such mem12 bers, the Secretary shall ensure that the total mem13 bership of the Advisory Committee is an odd num14 ber. 

15 ‘‘(2) REQUIRED MEMBERS.—The Secretary, in 

16 consultation with such other Secretaries as may be 

17 appropriate, may appoint to the Advisory Committee 

18 under paragraph (1) such individuals as may be ap19 propriate to perform the duties described in sub20 sections (b) and (c), which may include— 

21 ‘‘(A) the Assistant Secretary for Prepared22 ness and Response; 

23 ‘‘(B) the Director of the Biomedical Ad24 vanced Research and Development Authority; 


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1 ‘‘(C) the Director of the Centers for Dis2 ease Control and Prevention; 

3 ‘‘(D) the Commissioner of Food and 

4 Drugs; 

5 ‘‘(E) the Director of the National Insti6 tutes of Health; 

7 ‘‘(F) the Administrator of the Centers for 

8 Medicare & Medicaid Services; 

9 ‘‘(G) the Administrator for Community 

10 Living; 

11 ‘‘(H) the Administrator of the Federal 

12 Emergency Management Agency; 

13 ‘‘(I) the Under Secretary for Health, Vet14 erans Health Administration; 

15 ‘‘(J) at least two non-Federal health care 

16 professionals with expertise in medical disaster 

17 planning, preparedness, response, or recovery; 

18 ‘‘(K) at least two representatives from 

19 State, local, territorial, or tribal agencies with 

20 expertise in disaster planning, preparedness, re21 sponse, or recovery; and 

22 ‘‘(L) representatives from such Federal 

23 agencies (such as the Department of Energy 

24 and the Department of Homeland Security) as 

25 determined necessary to fulfill the duties of the 


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1 Advisory Committee, as established under sub2 sections (b) and (c). 

3 ‘‘(e) MEETINGS.—The Advisory Committee shall 

4 meet not less than biannually. 

5 ‘‘(f) SUNSET.—The Advisory Committee shall termi6 nate on September 30, 2021.’’. 

Æ 


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