H. R. 2498—7
‘‘(4) the sequencing of the genomes of priority pathogens
as determined by the Director of the National Institutes of
Health in consultation with the task force established under
subsection (a); and
‘‘(5) other relevant research areas.
‘‘(c) EDUCATION OF MEDICAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH PERSONNEL.—
The Secretary, after consultation with the Assistant Secretary for
Health, the Surgeon General, the Director of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, the Administrator of the Health Resources
and Services Administration, the Director of the Agency for
Healthcare Research and Quality, members of the task force
described in subsection (a), professional organizations and societies,
and such other public health officials as may be necessary, shall—
‘‘(1) develop and implement educational programs to
increase the awareness of the general public with respect to
the public health threat of antimicrobial resistance and the
appropriate use of antibiotics;
‘‘(2) develop and implement educational programs to
instruct health care professionals in the prudent use of anti-
biotics; and
‘‘(3) develop and implement programs to train laboratory
personnel in the recognition or identification of resistance in
pathogens.
‘‘(d) GRANTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award competitive
grants to eligible entities to enable such entities to increase
the capacity to detect, monitor, and combat antimicrobial resist-
ance.
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—Eligible entities for grants under
paragraph (1) shall be State or local public health agencies,
Indian tribes or tribal organizations, or other public or private
nonprofit entities.
‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity receiving a grant
under paragraph (1) shall use funds from such grant for activi-
ties that are consistent with the factors identified by the task
force under subsection (a)(3), which may include activities
that—
‘‘(A) provide training to enable such entity to identify
patterns of resistance rapidly and accurately;
‘‘(B) develop, improve, coordinate or enhance participa-
tion in information systems by which data on resistant
infections can be shared rapidly among relevant national,
State, and local health agencies and health care providers;
and
‘‘(C) develop and implement policies to control the
spread of antimicrobial resistance.
‘‘(e) GRANTS FOR DEMONSTRATION PROGRAMS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award competitive
grants to eligible entities to establish demonstration programs
to promote judicious use of antimicrobial drugs or control the
spread of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens.
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—Eligible entities for grants under
paragraph (1) may include hospitals, clinics, institutions of
long-term care, professional medical societies, or other public
or private nonprofit entities.
H. R. 2498—8
‘‘(3) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall provide
appropriate technical assistance to eligible entities that receive
grants under paragraph (1).
‘‘(f ) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Funds appropriated under
this section shall be used to supplement and not supplant other
Federal, State, and local public funds provided for activities under
this section.
‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this section, $40,000,000 for fiscal
year 2001, and such sums as may be necessary for each subsequent
fiscal year through 2006.
‘‘SEC. 319F. PUBLIC HEALTH COUNTERMEASURES TO A BIOTERRORIST
ATTACK.
‘‘(a) WORKING GROUP ON PREPAREDNESS FOR ACTS OF BIOTER-
RORISM.—The Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of
Defense, shall establish a joint interdepartmental working group
on preparedness and readiness for the medical and public health
effects of a bioterrorist attack on the civilian population. Such
joint working group shall—
‘‘(1) coordinate research on pathogens likely to be used
in a bioterrorist attack on the civilian population as well as
therapies to treat such pathogens;
‘‘(2) coordinate research and development into equipment
to detect pathogens likely to be used in a bioterrorist attack
on the civilian population and protect against infection from
such pathogens;
‘‘(3) develop shared standards for equipment to detect and
to protect against infection from pathogens likely to be used
in a bioterrorist attack on the civilian population; and
‘‘(4) coordinate the development, maintenance, and proce-
dures for the release of, strategic reserves of vaccines, drugs,
and medical supplies which may be needed rapidly after a
bioterrorist attack upon the civilian population.
‘‘(b) WORKING GROUP ON THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND MEDICAL
CONSEQUENCES OF BIOTERRORISM.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in collaboration with the
Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the
Attorney General, and the Secretary of Agriculture, shall estab-
lish a joint interdepartmental working group to address the
public health and medical consequences of a bioterrorist attack
on the civilian population.
‘‘(2) FUNCTIONS.—Such working group shall—
‘‘(A) assess the priorities for and enhance the prepared-
ness of public health institutions, providers of medical care,
and other emergency service personnel to detect, diagnose,
and respond to a bioterrorist attack; and
‘‘(B) in the recognition that medical and public health
professionals are likely to provide much of the first response
to such an attack, develop, coordinate, enhance, and assure
the quality of joint planning and training programs that
address the public health and medical consequences of
a bioterrorist attack on the civilian population between—
‘‘(i) local firefighters, ambulance personnel, police
and public security officers, or other emergency
response personnel; and
H. R. 2498—9
‘‘(ii) hospitals, primary care facilities, and public
health agencies.
‘‘(3) WORKING GROUP MEMBERSHIP.—In establishing such
working group, the Secretary shall act through the Assistant
Secretary for Health and the Director of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
‘‘(4) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall ensure coordina-
tion and communication between the working groups estab-
lished in this subsection and subsection (a).
‘‘(c) GRANTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in coordination with the
working group established under subsection (b), shall, on a
competitive basis and following scientific or technical review,
award grants to or enter into cooperative agreements with
eligible entities to enable such entities to increase their capacity
to detect, diagnose, and respond to acts of bioterrorism upon
the civilian population.
‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY.—To be an eligible entity under this sub-
section, such entity must be a State, political subdivision of
a State, a consortium of two or more States or political subdivi-
sions of States, or a hospital, clinic, or primary care facility.
‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.—An entity that receives a grant under
this subsection shall use such funds for activities that are
consistent with the priorities identified by the working group
under subsection (b), including—
‘‘(A) training health care professionals and public
health personnel to enhance the ability of such personnel
to recognize the symptoms and epidemiological characteris-
tics of exposure to a potential bioweapon;
‘‘(B) addressing rapid and accurate identification of
potential bioweapons;
‘‘(C) coordinating medical care for individuals exposed
to bioweapons; and
‘‘(D) facilitating and coordinating rapid communication
of data generated from a bioterrorist attack between
national, State, and local health agencies, and health care
providers.
‘‘(4) COORDINATION.—The Secretary, in awarding grants
under this subsection, shall—
‘‘(A) notify the Director of the Office of Justice Pro-
grams, and the Director of the National Domestic Prepared-
ness Office annually as to the amount and status of grants
awarded under this subsection; and
‘‘(B) coordinate grants awarded under this subsection
with grants awarded by the Office of Emergency Prepared-
ness and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
for the purpose of improving the capacity of health care
providers and public health agencies to respond to bioter-
rorist attacks on the civilian population.
‘‘(5) ACTIVITIES.—An entity that receives a grant under
this subsection shall, to the greatest extent practicable, coordi-
nate activities carried out with such funds with the activities
of a local Metropolitan Medical Response System.
‘‘(d) FEDERAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall ensure that
the Department of Health and Human Services is able to provide
such assistance as may be needed to State and local health agencies
to enable such agencies to respond effectively to bioterrorist attacks.
H. R. 2498—10
‘‘(e) EDUCATION.—The Secretary, in collaboration with members
of the working group described in subsection (b), and professional
organizations and societies, shall—
‘‘(1) develop and implement educational programs to
instruct public health officials, medical professionals, and other
personnel working in health care facilities in the recognition
and care of victims of a bioterrorist attack; and
‘‘(2) develop and implement programs to train laboratory
personnel in the recognition and identification of a potential
bioweapon.
‘‘(f ) FUTURE RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT.—The Secretary shall
consult with the working group described in subsection (a), to
develop priorities for and conduct research, investigations, experi-
ments, demonstrations, and studies in the health sciences related
to—
‘‘(1) the epidemiology and pathogenesis of potential bio-
weapons;
‘‘(2) the development of new vaccines or other therapeutics
against pathogens likely to be used in a bioterrorist attack;
‘‘(3) the development of medical diagnostics to detect poten-
tial bioweapons; and
‘‘(4) other relevant research areas.
‘‘(g) GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE REPORT.—Not later than
180 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the Comp-
troller General shall submit to the Committee on Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions and the Committee on Appropriations of the
Senate and the Committee on Commerce and the Committee on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives a report that
describes—
‘‘(1) Federal activities primarily related to research on,
preparedness for, and the management of the public health
and medical consequences of a bioterrorist attack against the
civilian population;
‘‘(2) the coordination of the activities described in paragraph
(1);
‘‘(3) the amount of Federal funds authorized or appropriated
for the activities described in paragraph (1); and
‘‘(4) the effectiveness of such efforts in preparing national,
State, and local authorities to address the public health and
medical consequences of a potential bioterrorist attack against
the civilian population.
‘‘(h) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Funds appropriated under
this section shall be used to supplement and not supplant other
Federal, State, and local public funds provided for activities under
this section.
‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this section $215,000,000 for fiscal
year 2001, and such sums as may be necessary for each subsequent
fiscal year through 2006.
‘‘SEC. 319G. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM TO ENHANCE BIOTERRORISM
TRAINING, COORDINATION, AND READINESS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make grants to not
more than three eligible entities to carry out demonstration pro-
grams to improve the detection of pathogens likely to be used
in a bioterrorist attack, the development of plans and measures
to respond to bioterrorist attacks, and the training of personnel