One Health Act of 2016

To establish an interagency One Health Program, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the One Health Act of 2016 2. Interagency One Health Program (a) In general The President, acting through the National Science and Technology Council, shall coordinate and support a national, interagency One Health Program to address infectious diseases in animals and the environment, and to help prevent the transmission of known and emerging infectious diseases between animal populations and human populations. (b) National One Health Framework (1) In general Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, in cooperation with the National Science and Technology Council, shall develop and submit to Congress a One Health Framework (referred to in this section as the framework (2) Contents of framework The framework described in paragraph (1) shall describe existing efforts and contain recommendations for building upon and complementing the activities of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Agriculture, the United States Agency for International Development, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of the Interior, and other departments and agencies, as appropriate, and shall— (A) identify and describe, as appropriate, activities of Federal agencies and departments under the One Health Program; (B) for the 10-year period beginning in the year the framework is submitted, establish Federal goals and priorities that most effectively advance— (i) scientific understanding of the connections between human, animal, and environmental health; and (ii) workforce development to prevent and respond to zoonotic disease outbreaks in animals and humans; (C) describe specific activities required to achieve the goals and priorities described in subparagraph (B), such as competitive research grant programs, training and support for scientists, engagement of nongovernmental entities, and participation in international collaborations and research efforts; (D) identify and expand partnerships among Federal agencies, States, academic institutions, nongovernmental organizations, and private entities in order to develop new approaches for reducing hazards to human health from animal and environmental sources and to strengthen understanding of the value of an integrated approach under the One Health Program to addressing public health threats in a manner that prevents duplication; and (E) provide recommendations to Congress regarding additional action or legislation that may be required to assist in establishing the One Health Program. 3. National One Health Initiative (a) Establishment As part of the interagency One Health Program, in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Agriculture, the United States Agency for International Development, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of the Interior, and other departments and agencies, as appropriate, the President, acting through the One Health Program shall establish a One Health Initiative to coordinate and implement research and field activities of the Federal Government related to the role of animals and the environment in human health, as described in subsection (b). (b) Activities Under the One Health Initiative established under subsection (a), members of the One Health Program shall provide support for activities in furtherance of the goals and priorities under the One Health Framework described in section 2(b), including through— (1) entering into cooperative agreements with, and awarding grants to, public or private entities, including States, nongovernmental entities, academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, and privately funded philanthropic organizations in order to cover all or part of the costs associated with establishing or strengthening efforts described in the One Health Initiative; and (2) awarding grants to States for the purpose of establishing One Health national centers of excellence, with preference given to States that match Federal grant funds with State funds or funds obtained through State partnerships with private entities, academic institutions, or nonprofit organizations. (c) One Health national centers of excellence Centers of excellence established under subsection (b)(2) shall carry out activities of the type described in the One Health Framework under section 2(b), including supporting One Health workforce training and bringing together the animal, environmental, and human health workforce to coordinate disease surveillance and prevention efforts. (d) Authorization of appropriations (1) In general To carry out the One Health Initiative under this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $50,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2016 through 2020. (2) Allocation of funds Of the amounts appropriated under paragraph (1), not less than 50 percent shall be allocated to supporting the national centers of excellence under subsection (b)(2). 4. Leveraging international support In carrying out section 2, the President shall direct representatives of the United States to appropriate international bodies, including the multilateral development banks, the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and the World Organization for Animal Health, to use the influence of the United States, consistent with the broad development goals of the United States, to advocate that each such body— (1) commit to adopting approaches consistent with the One Health Initiative under section 3 to address animal and environmental sources of public health threats prior to their introduction into human populations, including increased coordination and collaboration between human, animal, and environmental health officials; (2) provide technical assistance to the regulatory authorities of governments to remove unnecessary barriers to investment in programs similar to the One Health Initiative programs under section 3; and (3) utilize clear, accountable, and metric-based targets, consistent with the Global Health Security Agenda, to measure the effectiveness of such initiatives.

Summary: One Health Act of 2016 This bill requires the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) to coordinate and support a One Health Program to: (1) address infectious diseases in animals and the environment, and (2) help prevent the transmission of infectious diseases between animal populations and human populations. The Office of Science and Technology Policy, in cooperation with the NSTC, must develop a framework for federal activities under the program. The framework must: describe the activities of federal agencies and departments under the program, establish goals and priorities for advancing scientific understanding and for workforce development and describe activities to achieve these goals and priorities, identify and expand partnerships among federal agencies and others to develop new approaches for reducing hazards to human health from animal and environmental sources and to promote an integrated approach to addressing public health threats in a manner that prevents duplication, and provide recommendations for additional action or legislation to assist in establishing the program. The program must establish an initiative to coordinate and implement federal research and field activities. Program members must support activities described in the framework, including by awarding grants to establish national centers of excellence to carry out those activities. The President must direct representatives of the United States to advocate that international bodies adopt approaches consistent with the initiative, provide technical assistance to governments to remove unnecessary barriers to investment in similar programs, and use certain targets to measure the effectiveness of such initiatives.