I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 3253
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the establishment
of emergency medical preparedness centers in the Department of Vet-
erans Affairs.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
NOVEMBER 8, 2001
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. EVANS, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr.
RODRIGUEZ, Mr. BUYER, and Mr. STEARNS) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the
establishment of emergency medical preparedness centers
in the Department of Veterans Affairs.
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 ‘‘National Medical
Emergency Preparedness Act of 2001’’.
‘‘(3) to provide contingent rapid response lab-
oratory assistance and other assistance to local
health care authorities in the event of a national
emergency.
‘‘(c) CENTER DIRECTORS.—Each center shall have a
Director with (1) expertise in managing organizations that
deal with threats referred to in subsection (b), (2) exper-
tise in providing care to populations exposed to toxic sub-
stances, or (3) significant research experience in those
fields.
‘‘(d) SELECTION OF CENTERS.—(1) The Secretary
shall select the sites for the centers on the basis of a com-
petitive selection process and a finding under paragraph
(2). The centers selected shall be located in different re-
gions of the Nation, and any such center may be a consor-
tium of efforts of more than one medical center. At least
one of the centers shall be established to concentrate on
chemical threats, at least one shall be established to con-
centrate on biological threats, and at least one shall be
established to concentrate on radiological threats.
‘‘(2) The finding referred to in paragraph (1) with
respect to a proposal for designation of a site as a location
of a center under this section is a finding by the Secretary,
upon the recommendation of the Under Secretary for
Health, that the facility or facilities submitting the pro-
posal have developed (or may reasonably be anticipated
to develop) each of the following:
‘‘(A) An arrangement with a qualifying medical
school and a qualifying school of public health (or a
consortium of such schools) under which physicians
and other persons in the health field receive edu-
cation and training through the participating De-
partment medical centers so as to provide those per-
sons with training in the diagnosis and treatment of
illnesses induced by exposures to toxins, including
chemical and biological substances and nuclear ion-
izing radiation.
‘‘(B) An arrangement with an accredited grad-
uate program of epidemiology under which students
receive education and training in epidemiology
through the participating Department facilities so as
to provide such students with training in the epide-
miology of contagious and infectious diseases and
chemical and radiation poisoning in an exposed pop-
ulation.
‘‘(C) An arrangement under which nursing, so-
cial work, counseling, or allied health personnel and
students receive training and education in recog-
nizing and caring for conditions associated with ex-
posures to toxins through the participating Depart-
ment facilities.
‘‘(D) The ability to attract scientists who have
made significant contributions to the development of
innovative approaches to the detection, diagnosis,
vaccination, protection, or treatment of persons ex-
posed to chemical, biological, or radiological sub-
stances.
‘‘(3) For purposes of paragraph (2)(A)—
‘‘(A) a qualifying medical school is an accred-
ited medical school that provides education and
training in toxicology and environmental health haz-
ards and with which one or more of the participating
Department medical centers is affiliated; and
‘‘(B) a qualifying school of public health is an
accredited school of public health that provides edu-
cation and training in toxicology and environmental
health hazards and with which one or more of the
participating Department medical centers is affili-
ated.
‘‘(e) FUNDING.—(1) Amounts appropriated for the
activities of the centers shall be appropriated separately
from amounts appropriated for the Department for med-
ical care.
‘‘(2) There are authorized to be appropriated for the
centers under this section $20,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2002 through 2006.
‘‘(3) In addition to funds appropriated for a fiscal
year pursuant to the authorization of appropriations in
paragraph (2), the Under Secretary for Health shall allo-
cate to such centers from other funds appropriated for
that fiscal year generally for the Department of Veterans
Affairs medical care account and the Department of Vet-
erans Affairs medical and prosthetics research account
such amounts as the Under Secretary for Health deter-
mines appropriate to carry out the purposes of this sec-
tion.
‘‘(f) RESEARCH ACTIVITIES.—Each center shall con-
duct research on improved medical preparedness to protect
the Nation from threats in the area of that center’s exper-
tise. Each center may seek research funds from public and
private sources for such purpose.
‘‘(g) PEER REVIEW PANEL.—(1) In order to provide
advice to assist the Secretary and the Under Secretary for
Health to carry out their responsibilities under this sec-
tion, the Under Secretary shall establish a peer review
panel to assess the scientific and clinical merit of pro-
posals that are submitted to the Secretary for the designa-
tion of centers under this section.
‘‘(2) The peer review panel shall include experts in
the fields of toxicological research, bio-hazards manage-
ment education and training, radiology, clinical care of pa-
tients exposed to such hazards, and other persons as de-
termined appropriate by the Secretary. Members of the
panel shall serve as consultants to the Department.
‘‘(3) The panel shall review each proposal submitted
to the panel by the officials referred to in paragraph (1)
and shall submit to the Under Secretary for Health its
views on the relative scientific and clinical merit of each
such proposal. The panel shall specifically determine with
respect to each such proposal whether that proposal is
among those proposals which have met the highest com-
petitive standards of scientific and clinical merit.
‘‘(4) The panel shall not be subject to the Federal
Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).
‘‘(h) RESEARCH PRODUCTS.—(1) The Under Sec-
retary for Health shall ensure that information produced
by the research, education and training, and clinical activi-
ties of centers established under this section is made avail-
able, as appropriate, to health-care providers in the United
States. Dissemination of such information shall be made
through publications, through programs of continuing
medical and related education provided through regional
medical education centers under subchapter VI of chapter
74 of this title, and through other means. Such programs
of continuing medical education shall receive priority in
the award of funding.
‘‘(2) The Secretary shall ensure that the work of the
centers is conducted in close coordination with the Office
of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense,
and research products or other information of the centers
shall be coordinated and shared with that Office and the
Department of Defense.
‘‘(i) ASSISTANCE TO OTHER AGENCIES.—The Sec-
retary may provide assistance requested by appropriate
Federal, State, and local civil and criminal authorities in
investigations, inquiries, and data analyses as necessary
to protect the public safety and prevent or obviate biologi-
cal, chemical, or radiological threats.
‘‘(j) DETAIL OF EMPLOYEES FROM OTHER AGEN-
CIES.—Upon approval by the Secretary, the Director of
a center may request the temporary assignment or detail
to the center, on a nonreimbursable basis, of employees
from other Departments and agencies of the United States
who have expertise that would further the mission of the
center. Any such employee may be so assigned or detailed
on a nonreimbursable basis pursuant to such a request.
The duration of any such assignment or detail shall be
subject to approval by the Office of Personnel Manage-
ment.’’.
(2) The table of sections at the beginning of such
chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating
to section 7322 the following new item:
‘‘7323. Medical emergency preparedness centers.’’.
(b) INITIAL FUNDING.—Funds for fiscal year 2002
for the medical emergency preparedness centers estab-
lished under section 7323 of title 38, United States Code,
as added by subsection (a), shall be provided from funds
made available under Public Law 107–38.
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