II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3534 

To strengthen and expand activities related to genomic sequencing of 

pathogens, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 31, 2022 

Ms. BALDWIN (for herself and Mr. CASSIDY) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To strengthen and expand activities related to genomic 

sequencing of pathogens, 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 ‘‘Tracking Pathogens 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. GENOMIC SEQUENCING. 

7 (a) GUIDANCE SUPPORTING GENOMIC SEQUENCING

8 OF PATHOGENS COLLABORATION.—The Secretary of 

9 Health and Human Services (referred to in this section 

10 as the ‘‘Secretary’’), acting through the Director of the 


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1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and in con2 sultation with the heads of other agencies and depart3 ments, as appropriate, shall issue guidance to support col4 laboration relating to genomic sequencing of pathogens, 

5 including the use of new and innovative approaches and 

6 technology for the detection, characterization, and se7 quencing of pathogens, to improve public health surveil8 lance and preparedness and response activities, consistent 

9 with section 2824 of the Public Health Service Act, as 

10 added by subsection (b). Such guidance shall address the 

11 sharing, for public health surveillance purposes, of speci12 mens of such pathogens, between appropriate entities and 

13 public health authorities pursuant to the regulations pro14 mulgated under section 264(c) of the Health Insurance 

15 Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 

16 1320d–2 note), in a manner that protects personal privacy 

17 to the extent required by applicable Federal and State pri18 vacy law, at a minimum, and the appropriate use of se19 quence data derived from such specimens. 

20 (b) GENOMIC SEQUENCING PROGRAM.—Title 

21 XXVIII of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

22 300hh et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol23 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 2824. GENOMIC SEQUENCING, ANALYTICS, AND PUB2 LIC HEALTH SURVEILLANCE OF PATHOGENS 

3 PROGRAM. 

4 ‘‘(a) GENOMIC SEQUENCING, ANALYTICS, AND PUB5 LIC HEALTH SURVEILLANCE OF PATHOGENS PRO6 GRAM.—The Secretary, acting through the Director of the 

7 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and in con8 sultation with the Director of the National Institutes of 

9 Health and heads of other departments and agencies, as 

10 appropriate, shall strengthen and expand activities related 

11 to genomic sequencing of pathogens, including new and 

12 innovative approaches and technology for the detection, 

13 characterization, and sequencing of pathogens, analytics, 

14 and public health surveillance, including— 

15 ‘‘(1) continuing and expanding activities, which 

16 may include existing genomic sequencing activities 

17 related to advanced molecular detection, to— 

18 ‘‘(A) identify and respond to emerging in19 fectious disease threats; and 

20 ‘‘(B) identify the potential use of genomic 

21 sequencing technologies, advanced computing, 

22 and other advanced technology, including strat23 egies for environmental sampling, to inform 

24 surveillance activities and incorporate the use of 

25 such technologies, as appropriate, into related 

26 activities; 


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1 ‘‘(2) providing technical assistance and guid2 ance to State, Tribal, local, and territorial public 

3 health departments to increase the capacity of such 

4 departments to perform genomic sequencing of 

5 pathogens, including recipients of funding under sec6 tion 2821; 

7 ‘‘(3) carrying out activities to enhance the capa8 bilities of the public health workforce with respect to 

9 pathogen genomics, epidemiology, and 

10 bioinformatics, including through training; and 

11 ‘‘(4) continuing and expanding activities, as ap12 plicable, with public and private entities, including 

13 relevant departments and agencies, laboratories, aca14 demic institutions, and industry. 

15 ‘‘(b) PARTNERSHIPS.—For the purposes of carrying 

16 out the activities described in subsection (a), the Sec17 retary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Dis18 ease Control and Prevention, may award grants, contracts, 

19 or cooperative agreements to academic and other labora20 tories with expertise in genomic sequencing for public 

21 health purposes, including new and innovative approaches 

22 to, and related technology for, the detection, characteriza23 tion, and sequencing of pathogens. 

24 ‘‘(c) CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 

2 through the Director of the Centers for Disease 

3 Control and Prevention, shall, as appropriate, award 

4 grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to pub5 lic health agencies or public health agency partner6 ships for the establishment or operation of centers of 

7 excellence to promote innovation in pathogen 

8 genomics and molecular epidemiology to improve the 

9 control of and response to pathogens that may cause 

10 a public health emergency. Such centers shall, as ap11 propriate— 

12 ‘‘(A) identify and evaluate the use of 

13 genomics, or other related technologies that 

14 may advance public health preparedness and re15 sponse; 

16 ‘‘(B) improve the identification, develop17 ment, and use of tools for integrating and ana18 lyzing genomic and epidemiologic data; 

19 ‘‘(C) assist with genomic surveillance of, 

20 and response to, infectious diseases, including 

21 analysis of pathogen genomic data; 

22 ‘‘(D) conduct applied research to improve 

23 public health surveillance of, and response to, 

24 infectious diseases through innovation in patho25 gen genomics and molecular epidemiology; 


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1 ‘‘(E) develop and provide training mate2 rials for experts in the fields of genomics, 

3 microbiology, bioinformatics, epidemiology, and 

4 other fields, as appropriate; and 

5 ‘‘(F) conduct workforce development 

6 through advanced training in academic labora7 tories. 

8 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—To be eligible for an 

9 award under paragraph (1), an entity shall submit 

10 to the Secretary an application containing such in11 formation as the Secretary may require, including a 

12 description of how the entity will partner, as applica13 ble, with academic institutions or a consortium of 

14 academic partners that have relevant expertise, such 

15 as microbial genomics, molecular epidemiology, or 

16 the application of bioinformatics or statistics. 

17 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION.—For purposes of carrying out 

18 this section, there are authorized to be appropriated 

19 $175,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 

20 2027.’’. 

Æ 


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