I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7531 
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to increase Federal 
efforts to prepare for and respond to public health emergencies with 
respect to the spread of infectious diseases, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 9, 2020 
Mr. HIGGINS of New York introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to 
increase Federal efforts to prepare for and respond to 
public health emergencies with respect to the spread 
of infectious diseases, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Infectious Disease Epi-
demic and Pandemic Preparedness Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. INCREASED PREPARATION AND RESPONSE FOR IN-
FECTIOUS DISEASES. 
(a) NATIONAL MEDICAL COMMAND.—Title III of the 
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 241 et seq.) is 
amended by inserting after section 319M the following: 
‘‘SEC. 319N. NATIONAL MEDICAL COMMAND. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, in consulta-
tion with the appropriate Federal agencies and depart-
ments, shall establish an interagency task force to be 
known as the National Medical Command to prepare for 
and respond to a public health emergency for which a dec-
laration is in effect under section 319 with respect to an 
infectious disease. 
‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The National Medical Command 
shall— 
‘‘(1) coordinate measures between Federal 
agencies to prevent and respond to a public health 
emergency described in subsection (a); 
‘‘(2) taking into consideration the coordinated 
strategy required under section 2802(a), develop a 
strategic plan to respond to a pandemic, including 
identifying strategies that may not be identified in 
such coordinated strategy; and 
‘‘(3) in coordination with the Director of the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, develop 
a public health surveillance system with respect to 
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any infectious diseases that has a high mortality 
rate. 
‘‘(c) MEMBERSHIP.— 
‘‘(1) REPRESENTED OFFICES, AGENCIES, AND 
DEPARTMENTS.—The National Medical Command 
shall be composed of representatives of Federal 
agencies, offices, and departments, which shall in-
clude the following: 
‘‘(A) The Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention. 
‘‘(B) The National Institute of Allergy and 
Infectious Diseases. 
‘‘(C) The Office of the Assistant Secretary 
for Preparedness and Response of the Depart-
ment of Health and Human Services. 
‘‘(D) The Office of Global Affairs of the 
Department of Health and Human Services. 
‘‘(E) The Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration. 
‘‘(F) The Federal Emergency Management 
Agency. 
‘‘(G) The Department of Defense. 
‘‘(H) The Department of Transportation. 
‘‘(I) The Department of State. 
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‘‘(J) The Environmental Protection Agen-
cy. 
‘‘(K) The National Security Council. 
‘‘(L) The Agency for International Devel-
opment. 
‘‘(M) The intelligence community. 
‘‘(2) 
REQUIREMENTS.—Each 
representative 
under paragraph (1) shall— 
‘‘(A) have appropriate technical expertise 
with respect to the duties of the National Med-
ical Command; and 
‘‘(B) be selected by the head of the agency, 
department, or office described in such para-
graph. 
‘‘(d) NATIONAL MEDICAL COMMANDER.—The Sec-
retary shall appoint a chair of the National Medical Com-
mand from among the members of the National Medical 
Command to be known as the Medical Commander for 
Pandemic Preparedness and Response (in this section re-
ferred to as the ‘Medical Commander’). 
‘‘(e) DURATION.—Notwithstanding section 14(a) of 
the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the National Medical 
Command shall continue in existence until otherwise pro-
vided by law.’’. 
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(b) EARLY DETECTION AND EARLY WARNING SYS-
TEMS MANAGEMENT.—Section 319D of the Public Health 
Service Act (247d–4) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘, in coordi-
nation with the National Medical Command’’ after 
the first instance of ‘‘Secretary’’; and 
(2) in subsection (c), in paragraph (1), by strik-
ing ‘‘Secretary,’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary, in coordi-
nation with the National Medical Command and’’. 
(c) ADMINISTRATION OVER NATIONAL STRATEGIC 
STOCKPILE.—Section 319F–2(a) of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d–6b(a)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Response’’ 
and inserting ‘‘Response, the Medical Commander 
for Pandemic Preparedness and Response,’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (2)— 
(A) in subparagraph (A)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘Secretary’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘Secretary, in collaboration with the 
Medical Commander for Pandemic Pre-
paredness and Response,’’; 
(ii) by striking ‘‘an annual’’ and in-
serting ‘‘a biannual’’; and 
(iii) by inserting ‘‘and September 15’’ 
after ‘‘March 15’’; and 
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(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘an-
nual’’ and inserting ‘‘biannual’’. 
(d) STRATEGIC PLAN TO ADDRESS INFECTIOUS DIS-
EASES.— 
(1) STRATEGIC PLAN.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Director of the National Institutes of Health 
(in this section referred to as the ‘‘Director’’), 
in consultation with the Director of the Bio-
medical Advanced Research and Development 
Authority and the Commissioner of Food and 
Drugs, shall prepare and submit to Congress a 
strategic plan for fiscal years 2021 through 
2030 to identify, treat, and develop vaccines for 
infectious diseases. Such plan shall take into 
consideration, the coordinated strategy devel-
oped pursuant to section 2802(a) of the Public 
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300hh–1(a)). 
(B) CONTENT.—The plan under subpara-
graph (A) shall address the following: 
(i) Research of pathogens, including 
research on the origins of zoonotic patho-
gens. 
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(ii) The development of cooperative 
partnerships to determine treatments and 
vaccines for COVID–19, and other similar 
infectious diseases. 
(iii) A strategy to fund clinical trials 
to determine which pathogens demonstrate 
a high mortality rate and high rate of in-
fection. 
(iv) The development of partnerships 
with private entities to allow such entities 
to eliminate industry risk. 
(2) EXPEDITED APPROVAL.—The Secretary of 
Health and Human Services, acting through the 
Commissioner of Food and Drugs, may designate a 
treatment or vaccine identified in the plan under 
this subsection as a breakthrough therapy, a fast 
track product, or eligible for accelerated approval as 
appropriate under section 506 of the Federal Food, 
Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 356). 
(3) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Di-
rector to carry out this subsection $1,000,000,000 
for each fiscal year from 2021 through 2030. 
(e) COMMUNITY-BASED PREVENTION STRATEGIES 
GRANT PROGRAM.— 
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