I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6399 
To provide services to certain volunteers and workers. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 6, 2006 
Mr. JEFFERSON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Com-
mittee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To provide services to certain volunteers and workers. 
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 ‘‘Strengthening Public 
Health Protections in Major Disasters and Emergencies 
Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF HEALTH AND SAFETY OF INDIVID-
UALS IN A DISASTER AREA. 
Title IV of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act is amended by inserting after 
section 408 (42 U.S.C. 5174) the following: 
‘‘SEC. 409. PROTECTION OF HEALTH AND SAFETY OF INDI-
VIDUALS IN DISASTER AREA. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following 
definitions apply: 
‘‘(1) INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘individual’ in-
cludes— 
‘‘(A) a worker or volunteer who responded 
to Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita or re-
sponds to a major disaster or emergency, in-
cluding— 
‘‘(i) a police officer; 
‘‘(ii) a firefighter; 
‘‘(iii) an emergency medical techni-
cian; 
‘‘(iv) any participating member of an 
urban search and rescue team; and 
‘‘(v) any other relief or rescue worker 
or volunteer that the President determines 
to be appropriate; 
‘‘(B) a worker who responds to a disaster 
by assisting in the cleanup or restoration of 
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critical infrastructure in and around a disaster 
area; 
‘‘(C) a person whose place of residence is 
in a disaster area; 
‘‘(D) a person who is employed in or at-
tends school, child care, or adult day care in a 
building located in a disaster area; and 
‘‘(E) any other person that the President 
determines to be appropriate. 
‘‘(2) MEDICAL INSTITUTION.—The term ‘med-
ical institution’ includes a hospital facility (as such 
term is defined in section 391 of the Energy Policy 
Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6371) and an accred-
ited public or nonprofit school of medicine. 
‘‘(3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ means a 
program described in subsection (b) that is carried 
out for a disaster area. 
‘‘(4) SUBSTANCE
OF
CONCERN.—The term 
‘substance of concern’ means a chemical or other 
substance that is associated with potential acute or 
chronic human health effects, the risk of exposure to 
which could potentially be increased as the result of 
a disaster, as determined by the President. 
‘‘(b) PROGRAM.— 
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the President determines 
that 1 or more substances of concern are being, or 
have been, released in an area declared to be a 
major disaster area under this Act, the President 
may carry out a program for the protection, assess-
ment, monitoring, and study of the health and safety 
of individuals to ensure that— 
‘‘(A) the individuals are adequately in-
formed about and protected against potential 
health impacts of any substance of concern and 
potential mental health impacts in a timely 
manner; 
‘‘(B) the individuals are monitored and 
studied over time, including through baseline 
and follow-up clinical health examinations, 
for— 
‘‘(i) any short- and long-term health 
impacts of any substance of concern; and 
‘‘(ii) any mental health impacts; 
‘‘(C) the individuals receive health care re-
ferrals as needed and appropriate; and 
‘‘(D) information from any such moni-
toring and studies is used to prevent or protect 
against similar health impacts from future dis-
asters. 
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‘‘(2) ACTIVITIES.—A program under paragraph 
(1) may include such activities as— 
‘‘(A) collecting and analyzing environ-
mental exposure data; 
‘‘(B) developing and disseminating infor-
mation and educational materials; 
‘‘(C) performing baseline and follow-up 
clinical health and mental health examinations 
and taking biological samples; 
‘‘(D) establishing and maintaining an ex-
posure registry; 
‘‘(E) studying the short- and long-term 
human health impacts of any exposures through 
epidemiological and other health studies; and 
‘‘(F) providing assistance to individuals in 
determining eligibility for health coverage and 
identifying appropriate health services. 
‘‘(3) TIMING.—To the maximum extent prac-
ticable, activities under any program established 
under paragraph (1) (including baseline health ex-
aminations) shall be commenced in a timely manner 
that will ensure the highest level of public health 
protection and effective monitoring. 
‘‘(4) PARTICIPATION IN REGISTRIES AND STUD-
IES.— 
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‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Participation in any 
registry or study that is part of a program 
under paragraph (1) shall be voluntary. 
‘‘(B) 
PROTECTION
OF
PRIVACY.—The 
President shall take appropriate measures to 
protect the privacy of any participant in a reg-
istry or study described in subparagraph (A). 
‘‘(5) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The President may 
carry out a program under paragraph (1) 
through a cooperative agreement with a medical 
institution, including a local health department, 
or a consortium of medical institutions. 
‘‘(B) SELECTION CRITERIA.—To the max-
imum extent practicable, the President shall se-
lect to carry out a program under paragraph 
(1) a medical institution or a consortium of 
medical institutions that— 
‘‘(i) is located near— 
‘‘(I) the disaster area with re-
spect to which the program is carried 
out; and 
‘‘(II) any other area in which 
there reside groups of individuals that 
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worked or volunteered in response to 
the disaster; and 
‘‘(ii) has appropriate experience in the 
areas of environmental or occupational 
health, toxicology, and safety, including ex-
perience in— 
‘‘(I) developing clinical protocols 
and conducting clinical health exami-
nations, including mental health as-
sessments; 
‘‘(II) conducting long-term health 
monitoring and epidemiological stud-
ies; 
‘‘(III) conducting long-term men-
tal health studies; and 
‘‘(IV) establishing and maintain-
ing medical surveillance programs and 
environmental exposure or disease 
registries. 
‘‘(6) INVOLVEMENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—In establishing and 
maintaining a program under paragraph (1), 
the President shall involve interested and af-
fected parties, as appropriate, including rep-
resentatives of— 
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‘‘(i) Federal, State, and local govern-
ment agencies; 
‘‘(ii) groups of individuals that worked 
or volunteered in response to the disaster 
in the disaster area; 
‘‘(iii) local residents, businesses, and 
schools (including parents and teachers); 
‘‘(iv) health care providers; and 
‘‘(v) other organizations and persons. 
‘‘(B) COMMITTEES.—Involvement under 
subparagraph (A) may be provided through the 
establishment of an advisory or oversight com-
mittee or board. 
‘‘(7) PRIVACY.—The President shall carry out 
each program under paragraph (1) in accordance 
with regulations relating to privacy promulgated 
under section 264(c) of the Health Insurance Port-
ability and Accountability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 
11320d–2 note; Public Law 104–191). 
‘‘(c) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the es-
tablishment of a program under subsection (b)(1), and 
every 5 years thereafter, the President, or the medical in-
stitution or consortium of such institutions having entered 
into a cooperative agreement under subsection (b)(5), 
shall submit to the Secretary of Homeland Security, the 
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Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary 
of Labor, the Administrator of the Environmental Protec-
tion Agency, and appropriate committees of Congress a 
report on programs and studies carried out under the pro-
gram.’’. 
SEC. 3. NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES REPORT ON 
HURRICANE KATRINA AND RITA DISASTER 
AREA HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL PRO-
TECTION AND MONITORING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu-
rity, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and 
the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agen-
cy shall jointly enter into a contract with the National 
Academy of Sciences to conduct a study and prepare a 
report on disaster area health and environmental protec-
tion and monitoring. 
(b) EXPERTISE.—The report under subsection (a) 
shall be prepared with the participation of individuals who 
have expertise in— 
(1) environmental health, safety, and medicine; 
(2) occupational health, safety, and medicine; 
(3) clinical medicine, including pediatrics; 
(4) toxicology; 
(5) epidemiology; 
(6) mental health; 
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(7) medical monitoring and surveillance; 
(8) environmental monitoring and surveillance; 
(9) environmental and industrial hygiene; 
(10) emergency planning and preparedness; 
(11) public outreach and education; 
(12) State and local health departments; 
(13) State and local environmental protection 
departments; 
(14) functions of workers that respond to disas-
ters, including first responders; 
(15) public health and family services; 
(16) environmental justice; and 
(17) health and health care disparities. 
(c) CONTENTS.—The report under subsection (a) 
shall provide advice and recommendations regarding pro-
tecting and monitoring the health and safety of individuals 
potentially exposed to any chemical or other substance as-
sociated with potential acute or chronic human health ef-
fects as the result of a disaster, including advice and rec-
ommendations regarding— 
(1) the establishment of protocols for the moni-
toring of and response to chemical or substance re-
leases in a disaster area for the purpose of pro-
tecting public health and safety, including— 
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(A) chemicals or other substances for 
which samples should be collected in the event 
of a disaster, including a terrorist attack; 
(B) chemical- or substance-specific meth-
ods of sample collection, including sampling 
methodologies and locations; 
(C) chemical- or substance-specific meth-
ods of sample analysis; 
(D) health-based threshold levels to be 
used and response actions to be taken in the 
event that thresholds are exceeded for indi-
vidual chemicals or other substances; 
(E) procedures for providing monitoring 
results to— 
(i) appropriate Federal, State, and 
local government agencies; 
(ii) appropriate response personnel; 
and 
(iii) the public;. 
(F) responsibilities of Federal, State and 
local agencies for— 
(i) collecting and analyzing samples; 
(ii) reporting results; and 
(iii) taking appropriate response ac-
tions; and 
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(G) capabilities and capacity within the 
Federal Government to conduct appropriate en-
vironmental monitoring and response in the 
event of a disaster, including a terrorist attack; 
and 
(2) other issues as specified by the Secretary of 
Homeland Security, the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services, and the Administrator of the Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency. 
(d) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec-
essary to carry out this section. 
SEC. 4. PREDISASTER HAZARD MITIGATION. 
Section 203(m) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
5133(m)) is amended by striking ‘‘December 31, 2008’’ 
and inserting ‘‘September 30, 2010’’. 
SEC. 5. PREVENTIVE HEALTH SERVICES BLOCK GRANTS; 
USE OF ALLOTMENTS. 
Section 1904(a)(1) of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 300w–3(a)(1)) is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (G)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘through (F)’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘through (G)’’; and 
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(B) by redesignating such subparagraph as 
subparagraph (H); and 
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (F), the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(G) Community outreach and education 
programs and other activities designed to ad-
dress and prevent health and health care dis-
parities.’’. 
Æ 
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