I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8640 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish the Public Health 

Oversight Panel to advise the agencies of the Public Health Service 

regarding the scientific basis for their actions, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 20, 2020 

Mr. RUSH (for himself, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. COHEN, 

Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, and 

Mr. SOTO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish the 

Public Health Oversight Panel to advise the agencies 

of the Public Health Service regarding the scientific basis 

for their actions, 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 ‘‘Scientific Agencies 

5 Following Evidence and Guaranteeing that Unscientific 

6 Agendas are Refused and Denounced Act of 2020’’ or the 

7 ‘‘SAFEGUARD Act of 2020’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PUBLIC HEALTH OVERSIGHT PANEL. 

2 Part B of title II of the Public Health Service Act 

3 (42 U.S.C. 238 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 249. PUBLIC HEALTH OVERSIGHT PANEL. 

6 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a per7 manent panel to be known as the Public Health Oversight 

8 Panel (in this section referred to as the ‘Panel’). 

9 ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The Panel shall— 

10 ‘‘(1) in consultation with public health advisory 

11 committees determined by the Panel, advise the 

12 agencies of the Public Health Service regarding the 

13 scientific basis for their actions; and 

14 ‘‘(2) during public health emergencies— 

15 ‘‘(A) review regulations, guidance, and or16 ders of the agencies of the Public Health Serv17 ice, as described in subsection (c); and 

18 ‘‘(B) as appropriate, make determinations 

19 pursuant to subsection (c)(2). 

20 ‘‘(c) REVIEW DURING PUBLIC HEALTH EMER21 GENCIES.—Beginning not later than 3 months after the 

22 date of the enactment of this section, the head of each 

23 agency of the Public Health Service shall— 

24 ‘‘(1) before issuing any final regulation, guid25 ance, or order relating to a public health emergency, 

26 during such public health emergency, give the Panel 


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1 an opportunity to review, in consultation with public 

2 health advisory committees determined by the Panel, 

3 the scientific basis underlying the regulation, guid4 ance, or order, including access to any relevant data 

5 in the possession of the agency; and 

6 ‘‘(2) refrain from issuing such regulation, guid7 ance, or order if the Panel determines that— 

8 ‘‘(A) such scientific basis is incorrect; or 

9 ‘‘(B) the evidence in support of such sci10 entific basis is insufficient. 

11 ‘‘(d) MEMBERSHIP.—The Panel shall be composed 

12 of— 

13 ‘‘(1) the Assistant Secretary for Health, who 

14 shall serve as the Chair of the Panel; and 

15 ‘‘(2) 6 experts who each have experience in sci16 entific review or oversight, to be appointed by the 

17 President, with the advice and consent of the Sen18 ate, from a list of individuals jointly nominated for 

19 appointment by— 

20 ‘‘(A) the Speaker of the House of Rep21 resentatives; 

22 ‘‘(B) the minority leader of the House of 

23 Representatives; 

24 ‘‘(C) the majority leader of the Senate; and 

25 ‘‘(D) the minority leader of the Senate. 


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1 ‘‘(e) COMMITTEE CONSULTATION.—In nominating 

2 individuals under subsection (d), the Speaker of the House 

3 of Representatives, the minority leader of the House of 

4 Representatives, and the majority and minority leaders of 

5 the Senate shall consult with— 

6 ‘‘(1) the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

7 of the House of Representatives; and 

8 ‘‘(2) the Committee on Health, Education, 

9 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate. 

10 ‘‘(f) TERMS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para12 graphs (2) and (3), members of the Panel shall be 

13 appointed for a term of 6 years and may be re14 appointed. 

15 ‘‘(2) TERMS OF INITIAL APPOINTEES.—As des16 ignated by the President at the time of appointment, 

17 of the members first appointed— 

18 ‘‘(A) 2 members shall be appointed for a 

19 term of 2 years; 

20 ‘‘(B) 2 members shall be appointed for a 

21 term of 4 years; and 

22 ‘‘(C) 2 members shall be appointed for a 

23 term of 6 years. 

24 ‘‘(3) VACANCIES.—Any member appointed to 

25 fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration of the 


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1 term for which the member’s predecessor was ap2 pointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of 

3 that term. A member may serve after the expiration 

4 of that member’s term until a successor has taken 

5 office. 

6 ‘‘(g) BASIC PAY.— 

7 ‘‘(1) RATES OF PAY.—To the extent or in the 

8 amounts provided in advance in appropriation Acts, 

9 except as provided in paragraph (2), members of the 

10 Panel shall each be paid at a rate equal to the rate 

11 of basic pay for level III of the Executive Schedule. 

12 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION OF ADDITIONAL COMPENSA13 TION OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—Members of the 

14 Panel who are full-time officers or employees of the 

15 United States may not receive additional pay, allow16 ances, or benefits by reason of their service on the 

17 Panel. 

18 ‘‘(3) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member shall 

19 receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 

20 subsistence, in accordance with applicable provisions 

21 under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United 

22 States Code. 

23 ‘‘(h) QUORUM.—A majority of the members serving 

24 on the Panel shall constitute a quorum. 


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1 ‘‘(i) MEETINGS.—The Panel shall meet at the call of 

2 the Chair or a majority of its members. 

3 ‘‘(j) DIRECTOR AND STAFF.— 

4 ‘‘(1) DIRECTOR.—The Panel shall have a Direc5 tor who shall be appointed by the Chair, in consulta6 tion with the other members of the Panel. 

7 ‘‘(2) STAFF.—The Director of the Panel may 

8 appoint such additional personnel as may be appro9 priate to carry out this section. 

10 ‘‘(3) COMPENSATION.—The Panel shall fix the 

11 compensation of the Director and other personnel of 

12 the Panel in accordance with title 5, United States 

13 Code, except that the rate of pay for the Director 

14 and other personnel may not exceed the rate payable 

15 for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 

16 5315 of that title. 

17 ‘‘(k) SECURITY CLEARANCE.— 

18 ‘‘(1) PANEL MEMBERS AND DIRECTOR CLEAR19 ANCES.—To be eligible for appointment under sub20 section (d)(2) to serve as a member of the Panel, 

21 and to be eligible to serve as the Director and as 

22 other personnel of the Panel, an individual shall be 

23 eligible for the necessary security clearance. 

24 ‘‘(2) ACCELERATED PROCESSING.—The appro25 priate Federal agencies or departments shall cooperVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:37 Nov 06, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8640.IH H8640

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1 ate with individuals referred to in paragraph (1) in 

2 expeditiously providing to such individuals security 

3 clearances to the extent possible pursuant to existing 

4 procedures and requirements, except that no person 

5 shall be provided with access to classified informa6 tion under this section without the appropriate secu7 rity clearances. 

8 ‘‘(l) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—Subject to rules 

9 prescribed by the Panel, the Panel may procure temporary 

10 and intermittent services under section 3109(b) of title 5, 

11 United States Code, but at rates for individuals not to 

12 exceed the daily equivalent of the maximum annual rate 

13 payable for level IV of the Executive Schedule under sec14 tion 5315 of that title. 

15 ‘‘(m) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon request 

16 of the Panel, the head of any Federal department or agen17 cy may detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the per18 sonnel of that department or agency to the Panel to assist 

19 it in carrying out its duties under this section. 

20 ‘‘(n) POWERS OF THE PANEL.— 

21 ‘‘(1) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Panel 

22 may, for the purpose of carrying out this section, 

23 hold hearings, sit and act at times and places, take 

24 testimony, and receive evidence as the Panel conVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:37 Nov 06, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8640.IH H8640

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1 siders appropriate. The Panel may administer oaths 

2 or affirmations to witnesses appearing before it. 

3 ‘‘(2) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any 

4 member or agent of the Panel may, if authorized by 

5 the Panel, take any action which the Panel is au6 thorized to take by this section. 

7 ‘‘(3) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—The Panel 

8 may secure directly from any department or agency 

9 of the United States information necessary to enable 

10 it to carry out this section. Upon request of the 

11 Chair of the Panel, the head of that department or 

12 agency shall furnish that information to the Panel. 

13 The Panel shall keep any information secured under 

14 this paragraph confidential to the same extent as the 

15 department or agency from which the information 

16 was secured is required by applicable law to keep 

17 such information confidential. 

18 ‘‘(4) USES AND DISCLOSURES FOR PUBLIC

19 HEALTH ACTIVITIES.—For purposes of section 

20 164.512 of title 45, Code of Federal Regulations 

21 (and any successor regulation) the Panel is deemed 

22 to be a public health authority. 

23 ‘‘(5) MAILS.—The Panel may use the United 

24 States mails in the same manner and under the 


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1 same conditions as other departments and agencies 

2 of the United States. 

3 ‘‘(6) SUBPOENA POWER.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Panel may issue 

5 subpoenas requiring the attendance and testi6 mony of witnesses and the production of any 

7 evidence relating to any matter about which the 

8 Panel is authorized by this section to advise the 

9 agencies of the Public Health Service. The at10 tendance of witnesses and the production of evi11 dence may be required from any place within 

12 the United States at any designated place of 

13 hearing within the United States. 

14 ‘‘(B) FAILURE TO OBEY A SUBPOENA.—If 

15 a person refuses to obey a subpoena issued 

16 under subparagraph (A), the Panel may apply 

17 to a United States district court for an order 

18 requiring that person to appear before the 

19 Panel to give testimony, produce evidence, or 

20 both, relating to the matter under investigation. 

21 The application may be made within the judicial 

22 district where the hearing is conducted or where 

23 that person is found, resides, or transacts busi24 ness. Any failure to obey the order of the court 

25 may be punished by the court as civil contempt. 


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1 ‘‘(C) SERVICE OF SUBPOENAS.—The sub2 poenas of the Panel shall be served in the man3 ner provided for subpoenas issued by a United 

4 States district court under the Federal Rules of 

5 Civil Procedure for the United States district 

6 courts. 

7 ‘‘(D) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—All process 

8 of any court to which application is made under 

9 subparagraph (B) may be served in the judicial 

10 district in which the person required to be 

11 served resides or may be found. 

12 ‘‘(o) PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY DEFINED.—In 

13 this section, the term ‘public health emergency’ means a 

14 public health emergency for which a declaration is in effect 

15 under section 319.’’. 

Æ 


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