I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6305 

To amend title III of the Public Health Service Act to impose a limitation 

on regulations relating to the control of communicable diseases, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 8, 2023 

Mrs. LUNA (for herself, Mrs. MILLER of Illinois, and Mr. CRANE) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 

Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to 

be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To amend title III of the Public Health Service Act to 

impose a limitation on regulations relating to the control 

of communicable 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 ‘‘Terminate CDC Over5 reach Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON REGULATIONS RELATING TO CON2 TROL OF COMMUNICABLE DISEASES. 

3 (a) SCOPE OF AUTHORITY.—Section 361 of the Pub4 lic Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 264) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘of the Sec6 retary’’ and inserting ‘‘of the Secretary, and subject 

7 to subsection (d),’’; and 

8 (2) in subsection (d)— 

9 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Regula10 tions prescribed under this section may provide 

11 for the apprehension and examination of any 

12 individual’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to paragraph 

13 (5), regulations may only be prescribed under 

14 this section to prevent the introduction, trans15 mission, or spread of communicable diseases 

16 among individuals’’; 

17 (B) in paragraph (2), in the matter pre18 ceding subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘as dem19 onstrated through a positive clinical test, rig20 orous contact tracing, or clinical presentation’’ 

21 after ‘‘such disease’’; and 

22 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(3) The term ‘clinical test’ means a test used in the 

24 collection, preparation, analysis, or in vitro clinical exam25 ination of specimens taken or derived from the human 

26 body for purposes of the diagnosis of a particular disease 


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1 by a health care professional, including any such test that 

2 is— 

3 ‘‘(A) designed, manufactured, and used within 

4 a single laboratory; or 

5 ‘‘(B) approved, cleared, granted marketing au6 thorization, or authorized for emergency use for 

7 such purpose under the Federal Food, Drug, and 

8 Cosmetic Act. 

9 ‘‘(4)(A) Effective beginning on the date of the enact10 ment of the Terminate CDC Overreach Act, the Secretary 

11 may not, except as specified in subparagraph (B), issue 

12 a rule under this section with respect to control of a com13 municable disease that is unrelated to the prevention of 

14 the interstate spread of disease by identifying, isolating, 

15 or destroying the disease itself. 

16 ‘‘(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply with respect 

17 to— 

18 ‘‘(i) the authority of the Secretary to carry out 

19 any provision of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cos20 metic Act; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) the authorities of the Commissioner of 

22 Food and Drugs under this section (as in effect 

23 prior to the day before the date of the enactment of 

24 this Act).’’. 


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1 (b) PROCEDURE FOR DISAPPROVAL.—Section 361(d) 

2 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 264(d)) as 

3 amended by subsection (a) is further amended by adding 

4 at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(5)(A) Effective beginning on the date of the enact6 ment of the Terminate CDC Overreach Act, the Secretary 

7 may prescribe a regulation with respect to control of a 

8 communicable disease— 

9 ‘‘(i) that is intended to be applied with respect 

10 to individuals who may be infected with a commu11 nicable disease in a qualifying stage and who are 

12 reasonably believed— 

13 ‘‘(I) to be moving or about to move from 

14 a State to another State; or 

15 ‘‘(II) to be a probable source of infection 

16 to individuals who, while infected with such dis17 ease in a qualifying stage, will be moving from 

18 a State to another State; 

19 ‘‘(ii) which shall be transmitted to the Con20 gress; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) which shall only be effective until the ear22 lier of— 

23 ‘‘(I) the date on which the Secretary deter24 mines such regulation is no longer necessary; or 


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1 ‘‘(II) the date on which a joint resolution 

2 of disapproval described in subparagraph (B) is 

3 enacted. 

4 ‘‘(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term 

5 ‘joint resolution of disapproval’ means a joint resolution— 

6 ‘‘(i) which does not have a preamble; 

7 ‘‘(ii) the title of which is as follows: ‘Joint reso8 lution relating to the disapproval of regulations 

9 under section 361 of the Public Health Service Act 

10 relating to llll’ (The blank space being appro11 priately filled in); and 

12 ‘‘(iii) the matter after the resolving clause of 

13 which is as follows: ‘That Congress disapproves the 

14 regulations issued under section 361(d)(5) of the 

15 Public Health Service Act relating to llll, and 

16 such regulations shall have no force or effect.’ (The 

17 blank space being appropriately filled in). 

18 ‘‘(C) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply with respect 

19 to— 

20 ‘‘(i) the authority of the Secretary to carry out 

21 any provision of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cos22 metic Act, including any regulation providing for 

23 such controls as may be necessary to ensure that 

24 blood products or other specimens that may carry a 


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1 communicable disease in a qualifying stage do not 

2 move from a State to another State; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) the authorities of the Commissioner of 

4 Food and Drugs under this section (as in effect 

5 prior to the day before the date of the enactment of 

6 this Act).’’. 

7 (c) SUB-REGULATORY GUIDANCE.—Section 361 of 

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

9 by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(f)(1) Effective beginning on the date of the enact11 ment of the Terminate CDC Overreach Act, the Secretary 

12 may not publish any rule or sub-regulatory recommenda13 tion, guidance, or policy with respect to control of a com14 municable disease that is intended to have broad applica15 bility unless the Secretary includes in such sub-regulatory 

16 recommendation, guidance, or policy (and publishes on the 

17 public website of the Department of Health and Human 

18 Services) the evidence supporting the sub-regulatory rec19 ommendation, guidance, or policy, which shall include, up20 dated science briefs, and such other evidence as may be 

21 necessary, such as— 

22 ‘‘(A) scientific data or studies; or 

23 ‘‘(B) clinical observation or expertise. 

24 ‘‘(2) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘broad 

25 applicability’ means with respect to any sub-regulatory 


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1 recommendation, guidance, or policy with respect to con2 trol of a communicable disease any such recommendation, 

3 guidance, or policy that is intended to influence the gen4 eral public. 

5 ‘‘(3) Paragraph (1) shall not apply with respect to— 

6 ‘‘(A) the authority of the Secretary to carry out 

7 any provision of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cos8 metic Act; or 

9 ‘‘(B) the authorities of the Commissioner of 

10 Food and Drugs under this section (as in effect 

11 prior to the day before the date of the enactment of 

12 this Act).’’. 

13 (d) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION OF JOINT RESOLU14 TION OF DISAPPROVAL.—Section 361 of the Public 

15 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 264), as amended by sub16 section (c), is further amended by adding at the end the 

17 following: 

18 ‘‘(g) FAST TRACK CONSIDERATION IN HOUSE OF

19 REPRESENTATIVES.— 

20 ‘‘(1) RECONVENING.—Upon receipt of a regula21 tion under subsection (d)(5), the Speaker, if the 

22 House would otherwise be adjourned, shall notify the 

23 Members of the House that, pursuant to this sec24 tion, the House shall convene not later than the sec25 ond calendar day after receipt of such regulation. 


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1 ‘‘(2) REPORTING AND DISCHARGE.—Any com2 mittee of the House of Representatives to which a 

3 joint resolution is referred shall report it to the 

4 House not later than 5 calendar days after the date 

5 of receipt of the regulation under subsection (d)(5). 

6 If a committee fails to report the joint resolution 

7 within that period, the committee shall be dis8 charged from further consideration of the joint reso9 lution and the joint resolution shall be referred to 

10 the appropriate calendar. 

11 ‘‘(3) PROCEEDING TO CONSIDERATION.—After 

12 each committee authorized to consider a joint resolu13 tion reports it to the House or has been discharged 

14 from its consideration, it shall be in order, not later 

15 than the sixth day after Congress receives the regu16 lation under subsection (d)(5), to move to proceed to 

17 consider the joint resolution in the House. All points 

18 of order against the motion are waived. Such a mo19 tion shall not be in order after the House has dis20 posed of a motion to proceed on the joint resolution. 

21 The previous question shall be considered as ordered 

22 on the motion to its adoption without intervening 

23 motion. The motion shall not be debatable. A motion 

24 to reconsider the vote by which the motion is dis25 posed of shall not be in order. 


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1 ‘‘(4) CONSIDERATION.—The joint resolution 

2 shall be considered as read. All points of order 

3 against the joint resolution and against its consider4 ation are waived. The previous question shall be con5 sidered as ordered on the joint resolution to its pas6 sage without intervening motion except two hours of 

7 debate equally divided and controlled by the pro8 ponent and an opponent. A motion to reconsider the 

9 vote on passage of the joint resolution shall not be 

10 in order. 

11 ‘‘(h) FAST TRACK CONSIDERATION IN SENATE.— 

12 ‘‘(1) RECONVENING.—Upon receipt of a regula13 tion under subsection (d)(5), if the Senate has ad14 journed or recessed for more than 2 days, the major15 ity leader of the Senate, after consultation with the 

16 minority leader of the Senate, shall notify the Mem17 bers of the Senate that, pursuant to this section, the 

18 Senate shall convene not later than the second cal19 endar day after receipt of such message. 

20 ‘‘(2) PLACEMENT ON CALENDAR.—Upon intro21 duction in the Senate, the joint resolution shall be 

22 placed immediately on the calendar. 

23 ‘‘(3) FLOOR CONSIDERATION.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding Rule 

25 XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, it is 


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1 in order at any time during the period begin2 ning on the 4th day after the date on which 

3 Congress receives a regulation under subsection 

4 (d)(5) and ending on the 6th day after the date 

5 on which Congress receives a regulation under 

6 subsection (d)(5) (even though a previous mo7 tion to the same effect has been disagreed to) 

8 to move to proceed to the consideration of the 

9 joint resolution, and all points of order against 

10 the joint resolution (and against consideration 

11 of the joint resolution) are waived. The motion 

12 to proceed is not debatable. The motion is not 

13 subject to a motion to postpone. A motion to 

14 reconsider the vote by which the motion is 

15 agreed to or disagreed to shall not be in order. 

16 If a motion to proceed to the consideration of 

17 the resolution is agreed to, the joint resolution 

18 shall remain the unfinished business until dis19 posed of. 

20 ‘‘(B) DEBATE.—Debate on the joint reso21 lution, and on all debatable motions and ap22 peals in connection therewith, shall be limited 

23 to not more than 10 hours, which shall be di24 vided equally between the majority and minority 

25 leaders or their designees. A motion further to 


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1 limit debate is in order and not debatable. An 

2 amendment to, or a motion to postpone, or a 

3 motion to proceed to the consideration of other 

4 business, or a motion to recommit the joint res5 olution is not in order. 

6 ‘‘(C) VOTE ON PASSAGE.—The vote on 

7 passage shall occur immediately following the 

8 conclusion of the debate on a joint resolution, 

9 and a single quorum call at the conclusion of 

10 the debate if requested in accordance with the 

11 rules of the Senate. 

12 ‘‘(D) RULINGS OF THE CHAIR ON PROCE13 DURE.—Appeals from the decisions of the Chair 

14 relating to the application of the rules of the 

15 Senate, as the case may be, to the procedure re16 lating to a joint resolution shall be decided 

17 without debate. 

18 ‘‘(i) RULES RELATING TO SENATE AND HOUSE OF

19 REPRESENTATIVES.— 

20 ‘‘(1) COORDINATION WITH ACTION BY OTHER

21 HOUSE.—If, before the passage by one House of a 

22 joint resolution of that House, that House receives 

23 from the other House a joint resolution, then the fol24 lowing procedures shall apply: 


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1 ‘‘(A) The joint resolution of the other 

2 House shall not be referred to a committee. 

3 ‘‘(B) With respect to a joint resolution of 

4 the House receiving the resolution— 

5 ‘‘(i) the procedure in that House shall 

6 be the same as if no joint resolution had 

7 been received from the other House; but 

8 ‘‘(ii) the vote on passage shall be on 

9 the joint resolution of the other House. 

10 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF JOINT RESOLUTION OF

11 OTHER HOUSE.—If one House fails to introduce or 

12 consider a joint resolution under this section, the 

13 joint resolution of the other House shall be entitled 

14 to expedited floor procedures under this section. 

15 ‘‘(3) TREATMENT OF COMPANION MEASURES.— 

16 If, following passage of the joint resolution in the 

17 Senate, the Senate then receives the companion 

18 measure from the House of Representatives, the 

19 companion measure shall not be debatable. 

20 ‘‘(4) CONSIDERATION FOLLOWING PRESI21 DENTIAL VETO.—If the President vetoes the joint 

22 resolution debate on a veto message in the Senate 

23 under this section shall be 1 hour equally divided be24 tween the majority and minority leaders or their des25 ignees. 


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1 ‘‘(5) RULES OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

2 AND SENATE.—This subsection and subsections 

3 (d)(5), (g), and (h) are enacted by Congress— 

4 ‘‘(A) as an exercise of the rulemaking 

5 power of the Senate and House of Representa6 tives, respectively, and as such are deemed a 

7 part of the rules of each House, respectively, 

8 but applicable only with respect to the proce9 dure to be followed in that House in the case 

10 of a joint resolution, and supersede other rules 

11 only to the extent inconsistent with such rules; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(B) with full recognition of the constitu14 tional right of either House to change the rules 

15 (so far as relating to the procedure of that 

16 House) at any time, in the same manner, and 

17 to the same extent as in the case of any other 

18 rule of that House.’’. 

Æ 


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