I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7093 

To provide for Congressional approval of public health emergency declarations, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 25, 2024 

Mr. MOORE of Alabama (for himself and Mr. BRECHEEN) 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 provide for Congressional approval of public health 

emergency declarations, 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 ‘‘Public Health Emer5 gency Accountability Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO DECLARATION AND 

2 RENEWAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH EMER3 GENCIES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 319(a) of the Public 

5 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d(a)) is amended to 

6 read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(a) DECLARATIONS AND RENEWALS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary makes a 

9 determination described in paragraph (2), then after 

10 consultation with such public health officials as may 

11 be necessary the Secretary shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) issue a declaration with respect to 

13 that determination that specifies the provisions 

14 of law under which the Secretary proposes that 

15 the Secretary or other officers will act; 

16 ‘‘(B) immediately publish in the Federal 

17 Register such declaration; and 

18 ‘‘(C) transmit to the Congress such dec19 laration and the report under subsection (i). 

20 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION THAT PUBLIC HEALTH

21 EMERGENCY EXISTS.—The determination described 

22 in this paragraph is a determination by the Sec23 retary that— 

24 ‘‘(A) a disease or disorder presents a pub25 lic health emergency; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) a public health emergency, including 

2 significant outbreaks of infectious diseases or 

3 bioterrorist attacks, otherwise exists. 

4 ‘‘(3) TERMINATION.— 

5 ‘‘(A) INITIAL DECLARATION.—Any initial 

6 declaration of a public health emergency under 

7 this section shall terminate on the earliest of— 

8 ‘‘(i) subject to subsection (j)(2)(B)(ii), 

9 the date that is 90 days after the date on 

10 which the declaration under paragraph (1) 

11 is published in the Federal Register; 

12 ‘‘(ii) the date on which such emer13 gency is terminated under a subsequently 

14 enacted Federal law; or 

15 ‘‘(iii) the date on which the Secretary 

16 issues a declaration terminating the public 

17 health emergency. 

18 ‘‘(B) RENEWALS.—Any renewal of a public 

19 health emergency under this section shall termi20 nate on the earliest of— 

21 ‘‘(i) subject to subsection (j)(2)(B)(ii), 

22 the date that is 1 year after the date on 

23 which the renewal under paragraph (4)(A) 

24 is published in the Federal Register; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the date described in clause (ii) 

2 or (iii) of subparagraph (A). 

3 ‘‘(4) RENEWALS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A public health emer5 gency declared under paragraph (1) (or any re6 newal thereof), may be renewed only if— 

7 ‘‘(i) the Secretary publishes in the 

8 Federal Register and transmits to Con9 gress a declaration renewing the emer10 gency (or the most recent renewal); and 

11 ‘‘(ii) there is enacted into law a joint 

12 resolution renewing the emergency pursu13 ant to subsection (j). 

14 ‘‘(B) NO RENEWAL IF ALREADY TERMI15 NATED.—A public health emergency declared 

16 under paragraph (1) may not be renewed if 

17 such emergency has already terminated under 

18 paragraph (3). 

19 ‘‘(C) SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR DECLARA20 TIONS.—Any declaration under paragraph (1) 

21 that is based on circumstances stemming from 

22 a nexus of facts or events that is substantially 

23 similar to that on which an earlier declaration 

24 under such paragraph was issued shall be treatVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:00 Jan 31, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7093.IH H7093

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1 ed as a renewal of the earlier declaration for 

2 purposes of this section. 

3 ‘‘(5) EFFECT OF TERMINATION.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Effective on the date 

5 of the termination of a public health emergency 

6 under paragraph (3)— 

7 ‘‘(i) except as provided by subpara8 graph (B), any authorities exercised by 

9 reason of the emergency shall cease to be 

10 exercised; 

11 ‘‘(ii) any amounts reprogrammed or 

12 transferred under any provision of law 

13 with respect to the emergency that remain 

14 unobligated on that date shall be returned 

15 and made available for the purpose for 

16 which such amounts were appropriated; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(iii) any contracts entered into under 

19 any provision of law for construction relat20 ing to the emergency shall be terminated 

21 unless construction commenced under the 

22 contract before that date. 

23 ‘‘(B) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Except as spe24 cifically provided in subparagraph (A), the terVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:00 Jan 31, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7093.IH H7093

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1 mination of a public health emergency shall not 

2 affect— 

3 ‘‘(i) any action taken or proceeding 

4 pending not finally concluded or deter5 mined on the date of the termination 

6 under paragraph (3); 

7 ‘‘(ii) any action or proceeding based 

8 on any act committed prior to that date; or 

9 ‘‘(iii) any rights or duties that ma10 tured or penalties that were incurred prior 

11 to that date.’’. 

12 (b) REPORTS.—Section 319 of the Public Health 

13 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) is amended by adding at 

14 the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(i) REPORTS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) REPORTS ON EMERGENCIES.—The Sec17 retary shall transmit to Congress, with any declara18 tion of a public health emergency under subsection 

19 (a) (or any renewal thereof), including any such 

20 emergency of a duration that is less than 90 days, 

21 a report, in writing, that includes the following: 

22 ‘‘(A) A description of— 

23 ‘‘(i) the circumstances necessitating 

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1 gency or the renewal of such an emer2 gency; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) the use of any emergency author4 ity specified in the declaration or renewal 

5 thereof. 

6 ‘‘(B) The estimated duration of the public 

7 health emergency. 

8 ‘‘(C) A summary of the actions the Sec9 retary or other officers intend to take, including 

10 any reprogramming or transfer of funds, and 

11 the statutory authorities the Secretary and such 

12 officers expect to rely on in addressing the pub13 lic health emergency. 

14 ‘‘(D) In the case of a renewal of a public 

15 health emergency, a summary of the actions the 

16 Secretary or other officers have taken during 

17 the preceding declaration or renewal, including 

18 any reprogramming or transfer of funds, to ad19 dress the emergency. 

20 ‘‘(2) PROVISION OF INFORMATION TO CON21 GRESS.—In addition to reports under paragraph (1), 

22 the Secretary shall provide to Congress such other 

23 information as Congress may request in connection 

24 with any public health emergency in effect under 

25 this section. 


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1 ‘‘(3) PERIODIC REPORTS ON STATUS OF EMER2 GENCIES.—The Secretary shall report to Congress 

3 on the status of any public health emergency, includ4 ing any such emergency of a duration that is less 

5 than 90 days, declared under this section and the 

6 actions the Secretary or other officers have taken 

7 and authorities the Secretary and such officers have 

8 relied on in addressing the emergency. Such reports 

9 shall be made not less frequently than every 90 days 

10 for the duration of the public health emergency (or 

11 renewal thereof). 

12 ‘‘(j) JOINT RESOLUTIONS OF APPROVAL OR TERMI13 NATION.— 

14 ‘‘(1) JOINT RESOLUTION DEFINED.—For pur15 poses of this section, the term ‘joint resolution’ 

16 means a joint resolution that contains each of the 

17 following provisions after its resolving clause: 

18 ‘‘(A) A provision approving or terminating 

19 a declaration of a public health emergency 

20 made under subsection (a) (or a renewal there21 of). 

22 ‘‘(B) A provision approving or terminating 

23 the use of the authorities specified in such dec24 laration or renewal. 


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1 ‘‘(2) PROCEDURES FOR CONSIDERATION OF

2 JOINT RESOLUTIONS.— 

3 ‘‘(A) INTRODUCTION.—After the Secretary 

4 transmits to Congress a declaration of a public 

5 health emergency under subsection (a) (or a re6 newal thereof), a joint resolution may be intro7 duced in either House of Congress by any mem8 ber of that House. 

9 ‘‘(B) REQUESTS TO CONVENE CONGRESS

10 DURING RECESSES.— 

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If, when the Sec12 retary transmits to Congress a declaration 

13 of a public health emergency under sub14 section (a) (or a renewal thereof), Con15 gress has adjourned sine die or has ad16 journed for any period in excess of 3 cal17 endar days, the Speaker of the House of 

18 Representatives and the President pro 

19 tempore of the Senate, if they deem it ad20 visable (or if petitioned by at least one21 third of the membership of their respective 

22 Houses) shall jointly request the President 

23 to convene Congress in order that it may 

24 consider the declaration and take appro25 priate action pursuant to this section. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION IF CONGRESS IS UN2 ABLE TO CONVENE.—If Congress is phys3 ically unable to convene as a result of an 

4 armed attack upon the United States or 

5 another national emergency, the 90-day pe6 riod under subsection (a)(3)(A) or the 1- 

7 year period under subsection (a)(3)(B), as 

8 applicable, shall begin on the first day 

9 Congress convenes for the first time after 

10 the attack or other emergency. 

11 ‘‘(C) COMMITTEE REFERRAL.—A joint res12 olution shall be referred to the Committee on 

13 Energy and Commerce of the House of Rep14 resentatives and the Committee on Health, 

15 Education, Labor and Pensions of the Senate 

16 and any other committee or committees having 

17 jurisdiction over the emergency authorities in18 voked by the declaration that is the subject of 

19 the joint resolution. 

20 ‘‘(D) CONSIDERATION IN SENATE.—In the 

21 Senate, the following shall apply: 

22 ‘‘(i) REPORTING AND DISCHARGE.—If 

23 the committee to which a joint resolution 

24 has been referred has not reported it at 

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1 duction, that committee shall be automati2 cally discharged from further consideration 

3 of the resolution and it shall be placed on 

4 the calendar. 

5 ‘‘(ii) PROCEEDING TO CONSIDER6 ATION.—Notwithstanding rule XXII of the 

7 Standing Rules of the Senate, when the 

8 committee to which a joint resolution is re9 ferred has reported the resolution, or when 

10 that committee is discharged under clause 

11 (i) from further consideration of the reso12 lution, it is at any time thereafter in order 

13 (even though a previous motion to the 

14 same effect has been disagreed to) for a 

15 motion to proceed to the consideration of 

16 the joint resolution to be made, and all 

17 points of order against the joint resolution 

18 (and against consideration of the joint res19 olution) are waived. The motion to proceed 

20 is subject to 4 hours of debate divided 

21 equally between those favoring and those 

22 opposing the joint resolution. The motion 

23 is not subject to amendment, or to a mo24 tion to postpone, or to a motion to proceed 

25 to the consideration of other business. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) FLOOR CONSIDERATION.—A 

2 joint resolution shall be subject to 10 

3 hours of debate, to be divided evenly be4 tween the proponents and opponents of the 

5 resolution. 

6 ‘‘(iv) AMENDMENTS.— 

7 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Except as 

8 provided in subclause (II), no amend9 ments shall be in order with respect to 

10 a joint resolution. 

11 ‘‘(II) AMENDMENTS TO STRIKE

12 OR ADD SPECIFIED PROVISIONS OF

13 LAW.—Subclause (I) shall not apply 

14 with respect to any amendment to 

15 strike from or add to the list required 

16 by paragraph (1)(B) a provision or 

17 provisions of law specified by the Sec18 retary in the declaration. 

19 ‘‘(v) MOTION TO RECONSIDER FINAL

20 VOTE.—A motion to reconsider a vote on 

21 final passage of a joint resolution shall not 

22 be in order. 

23 ‘‘(vi) APPEALS.—Points of order, in24 cluding questions of relevancy, and appeals 


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1 from the decision of the Presiding Officer, 

2 shall be decided without debate. 

3 ‘‘(E) CONSIDERATION IN HOUSE OF REP4 RESENTATIVES.—In the House of Representa5 tives, if any committee to which a joint resolu6 tion has been referred has not reported it to the 

7 House at the end of 10 calendar days after its 

8 introduction, such committee shall be dis9 charged from further consideration of the joint 

10 resolution, and it shall be placed on the appro11 priate calendar. On Thursdays it shall be in 

12 order at any time for the Speaker to recognize 

13 a Member who favors passage of a joint resolu14 tion that has appeared on the calendar for at 

15 least 3 calendar days to call up that joint reso16 lution for immediate consideration in the House 

17 without intervention of any point of order. 

18 When so called up a joint resolution shall be 

19 considered as read and shall be debatable for 

20 10 hours equally divided and controlled by the 

21 proponent and an opponent, and the previous 

22 question shall be considered as ordered to its 

23 passage without intervening motion. It shall not 

24 be in order to reconsider the vote on passage. 

25 If a vote on final passage of the joint resolution 


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1 has not been taken on or before the close of the 

2 tenth calendar day after the resolution is re3 ported by the committee or committees to which 

4 it was referred, or after such committee or com5 mittees have been discharged from further con6 sideration of the resolution, such vote shall be 

7 taken on that day. 

8 ‘‘(F) RECEIPT OF RESOLUTION FROM

9 OTHER HOUSE.—If, before passing a joint reso10 lution, one House receives from the other a 

11 joint resolution from the other House, then— 

12 ‘‘(i) the joint resolution of the other 

13 House shall not be referred to a committee 

14 and shall be deemed to have been dis15 charged from committee on the day it is 

16 received; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) the procedures set forth in sub18 paragraph (D) or (E), as applicable, shall 

19 apply in the receiving House to the joint 

20 resolution received from the other House 

21 to the same extent as such procedures 

22 apply to a joint resolution of the receiving 

23 House. 

24 ‘‘(G) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The en25 actment of a joint resolution under this subVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:00 Jan 31, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7093.IH H7093

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1 section shall not be interpreted to serve as a 

2 grant or modification by Congress of statutory 

3 authority for the emergency powers of the Sec4 retary.’’. 

5 SEC. 3. APPLICABILITY. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

7 (b), the amendments made by this Act shall take effect 

8 on the date of enactment of this Act. 

9 (b) APPLICATION TO PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES

10 PREVIOUSLY DECLARED.—If a public health emergency 

11 was declared under section 319(a) of the Public Service 

12 Act (42 U.S.C. 247d(a)), as in effect on the day before 

13 the date of the enactment of this Act, and such declaration 

14 (or a renewal thereof) remains in effect as of the date of 

15 enactment of this Act, such declaration (and any renewal 

16 thereof)— 

17 (1) shall terminate not later than the date that 

18 is 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act; 

19 and 

20 (2) may be renewed on or after the date that 

21 is 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act only 

22 in accordance with the amendments made by this 

23 Act. 

24 (c) EFFECT OF FUTURE LAWS.—No law enacted 

25 after the date of enactment of this Act shall supersede 


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1 this Act or any amendment made by this Act unless such 

2 law does so in specific terms, referring to this Act or the 

3 provision of law amended by this Act, and declaring that 

4 such law supersedes the relevant provision of this Act or 

5 the relevant provision of law amended by this Act. 

Æ 


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