I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6070 
To establish grant programs to improve the health of border area residents 
and for all hazards preparedness in the border area including bioter-
rorism, infectious disease, and noncommunicable emerging threats, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 3, 2020 
Ms. TORRES SMALL of New Mexico (for herself, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. GRI-
JALVA, Mr. GONZALEZ of Texas, Mr. VELA, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. 
ESCOBAR, Ms. HAALAND, Mrs. DAVIS of California, and Mr. VARGAS) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on En-
ergy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Af-
fairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each 
case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 
the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To establish grant programs to improve the health of border 
area residents and for all hazards preparedness in the 
border area including bioterrorism, infectious disease, 
and noncommunicable emerging threats, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Border Health Secu-
rity Act of 2020’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) The United States-Mexico border is an 
interdependent and dynamic region of approximately 
15,000,000 residents and millions of border cross-
ings each year, with significant and unique public 
health challenges. 
(2) These challenges include low rates of health 
insurance coverage, poor access to health care serv-
ices, lack of education or access to information, pov-
erty, and high rates of dangerous diseases, such as 
tuberculosis and West Nile virus, as well as other 
noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular 
disease, asthma, diabetes, and obesity. 
(3) As the 2020 dengue outbreak in Mexico and 
many parts of Latin America illustrates, diseases do 
not respect international boundaries, and a strong 
public health effort at and along the borders is cru-
cial to not only protect and improve the health of 
Americans but also to help secure the country 
against threats to biosecurity and other emerging 
threats. 
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(4) For 20 years, the United States-Mexico 
Border Health Commission has served as a crucial 
binational institution to address these unique and 
truly cross-border health issues. 
(5) In 2016, 66 percent of Canadians lived 
within 100 miles of the United States border. The 
2003 epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome 
caused more than 250 illnesses in the Greater To-
ronto Area, just 80 miles from New York. 
(6) The recent coronavirus outbreak has high-
lighted the need for continued coordination of re-
sources, effective communication, and information 
sharing between countries to address emerging pub-
lic health crises. 
SEC. 3. UNITED STATES-MEXICO BORDER HEALTH COMMIS-
SION ACT AMENDMENTS. 
The United States-Mexico Border Health Commis-
sion Act (22 U.S.C. 290n et seq.) is amended— 
(1) in section 3— 
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 
and inserting ‘‘;’’; 
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking the pe-
riod and inserting a semicolon; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(3) to cooperate with the Canada-United 
States Pan Border Public Health Preparedness 
Council (referred to in this Act as the ‘Council’), as 
appropriate; and 
‘‘(4) to serve as an independent and objective 
body to both recommend and implement initiatives 
that solve border health issues.’’; 
(2) in section 5— 
(A) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘should 
be the leader’’ and inserting ‘‘shall be the 
Chair’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(d) PROVIDING ADVICE AND RECOMMENDATIONS.— 
Members of the Commission and the Council may at any 
time provide advice or recommendations to the Secretary, 
Congress, or any Member of Congress concerning issues 
that are considered by the Commission or Council. Such 
advice or recommendations may be provided regardless of 
whether a request for such is made and regardless of 
whether the member or individual is authorized to provide 
such advice or recommendations by the Commission or 
Council or any other Federal official.’’; 
(3) by redesignating section 8 as section 12; 
(4) by striking section 7 and inserting the fol-
lowing: 
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‘‘SEC. 7. BORDER HEALTH GRANTS. 
‘‘(a) ELIGIBLE ENTITY DEFINED.—In this section, 
the term ‘eligible entity’ means a State, public institution 
of higher education, local government, Indian Tribe, Trib-
al organization, urban Indian organization, nonprofit 
health organization, trauma center, critical access hospital 
or other hospital that serves rural or other vulnerable com-
munities and populations, faith-based entity, or commu-
nity health center receiving assistance under section 330 
of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254b), that 
is located in the United States-Mexico border area or the 
United States-Canada border area. 
‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION.—From amounts appropriated 
under section 11, the Secretary, in consultation with mem-
bers of the Commission and Council and in coordination 
with the Office of Global Affairs, shall award grants to 
eligible entities to address priorities and recommendations 
outlined by the strategic plan and operational work plan 
of the Commission and the Council, as authorized under 
section 9, to improve the health of United States-Mexico 
border area and United States-Canada border area resi-
dents. 
‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity that desires a 
grant under subsection (b) shall submit an application to 
the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con-
taining such information as the Secretary may require. 
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‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 
a grant under subsection (b) shall use the grant funds for 
any of the following: 
‘‘(1) Programs relating to any one or more of 
the following: 
‘‘(A) Maternal and child health. 
‘‘(B) Primary care and preventative health. 
‘‘(C) Infectious disease testing, monitoring, 
and surveillance. 
‘‘(D) Public health and public health infra-
structure. 
‘‘(E) Health promotion, health literacy, 
and health education. 
‘‘(F) Oral health. 
‘‘(G) Behavioral and mental health. 
‘‘(H) Substance abuse prevention and 
harm reduction. 
‘‘(I) Health conditions that have a high 
prevalence in the United States-Mexico border 
area or United States-Canada border area. 
‘‘(J) Medical and health services research. 
‘‘(K) Workforce training and development. 
‘‘(L) Community health workers and 
promotoras. 
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‘‘(M) Health care infrastructure problems 
in the United States-Mexico border area or 
United States-Canada border area (including 
planning and construction grants). 
‘‘(N) Health disparities in the United 
States-Mexico border area or United States- 
Canada border area. 
‘‘(O) Environmental health. 
‘‘(P) Bioterrorism and zoonosis. 
‘‘(Q) Outreach and enrollment services 
with respect to Federal programs (including 
programs authorized under titles XIX and XXI 
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et 
seq.; 42 U.S.C. 1397aa et seq.)). 
‘‘(R) Trauma care. 
‘‘(S) Health research with an emphasis on 
infectious disease, such as measles, and press-
ing issues related to noncommunicable diseases. 
‘‘(T) Epidemiology and health research. 
‘‘(U) Cross-border health surveillance co-
ordinated with Mexican Health Authorities or 
Canadian Health Authorities. 
‘‘(V) Chronic diseases, such as diabetes 
and obesity, particularly childhood obesity. 
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‘‘(W) Community-based participatory re-
search on border health issues. 
‘‘(X) Domestic violence and violence pre-
vention. 
‘‘(Y) Cross-border public health prepared-
ness. 
‘‘(2) Other programs as the Secretary deter-
mines appropriate. 
‘‘(e) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Amounts pro-
vided to an eligible entity awarded a grant under sub-
section (b) shall be used to supplement and not supplant 
other funds available to the eligible entity to carry out the 
activities described in subsection (d). 
‘‘SEC. 8. GRANTS FOR EARLY WARNING INFECTIOUS DIS-
EASE SURVEILLANCE IN THE BORDER AREA. 
‘‘(a) ELIGIBLE ENTITY DEFINED.—In this section, 
the term ‘eligible entity’ means a State, local government, 
Indian Tribe, Tribal organization, urban Indian organiza-
tion, trauma center, regional trauma center coordinating 
entity, or public health entity. 
‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION.—From funds appropriated 
under section 11, the Secretary shall award grants for 
Early Warning Infectious Disease Surveillance to eligible 
entities for infectious disease surveillance activities in the 
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United States-Mexico border area or United States-Can-
ada border area. 
‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity that desires a 
grant under this section shall submit an application to the 
Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing 
such information as the Secretary may require. 
‘‘(d) USES OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that re-
ceives a grant under subsection (b) shall use the grant 
funds, in coordination with State and local all hazards pro-
grams, to— 
‘‘(1) develop and implement infectious disease 
surveillance plans and networks and public health 
emergency and readiness assessments and prepared-
ness plans, and purchase items necessary for such 
plans; 
‘‘(2) coordinate infectious disease surveillance 
planning and interjurisdictional risk assessments in 
the region with appropriate United States-based 
agencies and organizations and appropriate authori-
ties in Mexico or Canada; 
‘‘(3) improve infrastructure, including surge ca-
pacity, syndromic surveillance, and isolation and de-
contamination capacity, and policy preparedness, in-
cluding for mutual assistance and for the sharing of 
information and resources; 
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‘‘(4) improve laboratory capacity, in order to 
maintain and enhance capability and capacity to de-
tect potential infectious disease, whether naturally 
occurring or the result of terrorism; 
‘‘(5) create and maintain a health alert net-
work, including risk communication and information 
dissemination that is culturally competent and takes 
into account the needs of at-risk populations, includ-
ing individuals with disabilities; 
‘‘(6) educate and train clinicians, epidemiolo-
gists, laboratories, and emergency management per-
sonnel; 
‘‘(7) implement electronic data and infrastruc-
ture inventory systems to coordinate the triage, 
transportation, and treatment of multicasualty inci-
dent victims; 
‘‘(8) provide infectious disease testing in the 
United States-Mexico border area or United States- 
Canada border area; and 
‘‘(9) carry out such other activities identified by 
the Secretary, members of the Commission, members 
of the Council, State or local public health authori-
ties, representatives of border health offices, or au-
thorities at the United States-Mexico or United 
States-Canada borders. 
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