H. R. 3253
One Hundred Seventh Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
the twenty-third day of January, two thousand and two
An Act
To amend title 38, United States Code, to enhance emergency preparedness of
the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Department of Veterans Affairs
Emergency Preparedness Act of 2002’’.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF MEDICAL EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
CENTERS AT DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MED-
ICAL CENTERS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Subchapter II of chapter 73 of title 38,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following
new section:
‘‘§ 7325. Medical emergency preparedness centers
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT
OF CENTERS.—(1) The Secretary shall
establish four medical emergency preparedness centers in accord-
ance with this section. Each such center shall be established at
a Department medical center and shall be staffed by Department
employees.
‘‘(2) The Under Secretary for Health shall be responsible for
supervising the operation of the centers established under this
section. The Under Secretary shall provide for ongoing evaluation
of the centers and their compliance with the requirements of this
section.
‘‘(3) The Under Secretary shall carry out the Under Secretary’s
functions under paragraph (2) in consultation with the Assistant
Secretary of Veterans Affairs with responsibility for operations,
preparedness, security, and law enforcement functions.
‘‘(b) MISSION.—The mission of the centers shall be as follows:
‘‘(1) To carry out research on, and to develop methods
of detection, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of injuries,
diseases, and illnesses arising from the use of chemical,
biological, radiological, incendiary or other explosive weapons
or devices posing threats to the public health and safety.
‘‘(2) To provide education, training, and advice to health
care professionals, including health care professionals outside
the Veterans Health Administration, through the National Dis-
aster Medical System established pursuant to section 2811(b)
of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300hh–11(b)) or
through interagency agreements entered into by the Secretary
for that purpose.
H. R. 3253—2
‘‘(3) In the event of a disaster or emergency referred to
in section 1785(b) of this title, to provide such laboratory,
epidemiological, medical, or other assistance as the Secretary
considers appropriate to Federal, State, and local health care
agencies and personnel involved in or responding to the disaster
or emergency.
‘‘(c) SELECTION OF CENTERS.—(1) The Secretary shall select
the sites for the centers on the basis of a competitive selection
process. The Secretary may not designate a site as a location
for a center under this section unless the Secretary makes a finding
under paragraph (2) with respect to the proposal for the designation
of such site. To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary
shall ensure the geographic dispersal of the sites throughout the
United States. Any such center may be a consortium of efforts
of more than one medical center.
‘‘(2) A finding by the Secretary 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 recommendations of the Under Secretary for Health and the
Assistant Secretary with responsibility for operations, preparedness,
security, and law enforcement functions, that the facility or facilities
submitting the proposal 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 education and training through the participating
Department medical facilities so as to provide those persons
with training in the detection, diagnosis, prevention, and treat-
ment of injuries, diseases, and illnesses induced by exposures
to chemical and biological substances, radiation, and incendiary
or other explosive weapons or devices.
‘‘(B) An arrangement with a graduate school specializing
in 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
epidemiology of contagious and infectious diseases and chemical
and radiation poisoning in an exposed population.
‘‘(C) An arrangement under which nursing, social work,
counseling, or allied health personnel and students receive
training and education in recognizing and caring for conditions
associated with exposures to toxins through the participating
Department facilities.
‘‘(D) The ability to attract scientists who have made signifi-
cant contributions to the development of innovative approaches
to the detection, diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of injuries,
diseases, and illnesses arising from the use of chemical,
biological, radiological, incendiary or other explosive weapons
or devices posing threats to the public health and safety.
‘‘(3) For purposes of paragraph (2)(A)—
‘‘(A) a qualifying medical school is an accredited medical
school that provides education and training in toxicology and
environmental health hazards 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 education and training
H. R. 3253—3
in toxicology and environmental health hazards and with which
one or more of the participating Department medical centers
is affiliated.
‘‘(d) RESEARCH ACTIVITIES.—Each center shall conduct research
on improved medical preparedness to protect the Nation from
threats in the area of that center’s expertise. Each center may
seek research funds from public and private sources for such pur-
pose.
‘‘(e) DISSEMINATION OF RESEARCH PRODUCTS.—(1) The Under
Secretary for Health and the Assistant Secretary with responsibility
for operations, preparedness, security, and law enforcement func-
tions shall ensure that information produced by the research, edu-
cation and training, and clinical activities of centers established
under this section is made available, as appropriate, to health-
care providers in the United States. Dissemination of such informa-
tion shall be made through publications, through programs of con-
tinuing 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 other Federal departments
and agencies and that research products or other information of
the centers shall be coordinated and shared with other Federal
departments and agencies.
‘‘(f) COORDINATION OF ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary shall take
appropriate actions to ensure that the work of each center is carried
out—
‘‘(1) in close coordination with the Department of Defense,
the Department of Health and Human Services, and other
departments, agencies, and elements of the Government
charged with coordination of plans for United States homeland
security; and
‘‘(2) after taking into consideration applicable recommenda-
tions of the working group on the prevention, preparedness,
and response to bioterrorism and other public health emer-
gencies established under section 319F(a) of the Public Health
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d–6(a)) or any other joint interagency
advisory group or committee designated by the President or
the President’s designee to coordinate Federal research on
weapons of mass destruction.
‘‘(g) ASSISTANCE TO OTHER AGENCIES.—The Secretary may pro-
vide 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 biological, chemical, or radiological threats.
‘‘(h) DETAIL
OF EMPLOYEES FROM OTHER AGENCIES.—Upon
approval by the Secretary, the Director of a center may request
the temporary assignment or detail to the center, on a nonreimburs-
able 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.
‘‘(i) FUNDING.—(1) Amounts appropriated for the activities of
the centers under this section shall be appropriated separately
from amounts appropriated for the Department for medical care.
H. R. 3253—4
‘‘(2) In addition to funds appropriated for a fiscal year specifi-
cally for the activities of the centers pursuant to paragraph (1),
the Under Secretary for Health shall allocate to such centers from
other funds appropriated for that fiscal year generally for the
Department medical care account and the Department medical
and prosthetics research account such amounts as the Under Sec-
retary determines appropriate to carry out the purposes of this
section. Any determination by the Under Secretary under the pre-
ceding sentence shall be made in consultation with the Assistant
Secretary with responsibility for operations, preparedness, security,
and law enforcement functions.
‘‘(3) There are authorized to be appropriated for the centers
under this section $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2003 through
2007.’’.
(2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter
is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 7324
the following new item:
‘‘7325. Medical emergency preparedness centers.’’.
(b) PEER REVIEW FOR DESIGNATION OF CENTERS.—(1) In order
to assist the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Under Secretary
of Veterans Affairs for Health in selecting sites for centers under
section 7325 of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection
(a), the Under Secretary shall establish a peer review panel to
assess the scientific and clinical merit of proposals that are sub-
mitted to the Secretary for the designation of such centers. The
peer review panel shall be established in consultation with the
Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs with responsibility for oper-
ations, preparedness, security, and law enforcement functions.
(2) The peer review panel shall include experts in the fields
of toxicological research, infectious diseases, radiology, clinical care
of patients exposed to such hazards, and other persons as deter-
mined appropriate by the Secretary. Members of the panel shall
serve as consultants to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
(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 competitive
standards of scientific and clinical merit.
(4) The panel shall not be subject to the Federal Advisory
Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).
SEC. 
3. 
EDUCATION 
AND 
TRAINING 
PROGRAMS 
ON 
MEDICAL
RESPONSES TO CONSEQUENCES OF TERRORIST ACTIVI-
TIES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Subchapter II of chapter 73 of title 38,
United States Code, is amended by adding after section 7325,
as added by section 2(a)(1), the following new section:
‘‘§ 7326. Education and training programs on medical
response to consequences of terrorist activities
‘‘(a) EDUCATION PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall carry out a
program to develop and disseminate a series of model education
and training programs on the medical responses to the consequences
of terrorist activities.
H. R. 3253—5
‘‘(b) IMPLEMENTING OFFICIAL.—The program shall be carried
out through the Under Secretary for Health, in consultation with
the Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs with responsibility for
operations, preparedness, security, and law enforcement functions.
‘‘(c) CONTENT OF PROGRAMS.—The education and training pro-
grams developed under the program shall be modelled after pro-
grams established at the F. Edward Hebe´rt School of Medicine
of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and
shall include, at a minimum, training for health care professionals
in the following:
‘‘(1) Recognition of chemical, biological, radiological, incen-
diary, or other explosive agents, weapons, or devices that may
be used in terrorist activities.
‘‘(2) Identification of the potential symptoms of exposure
to those agents.
‘‘(3) Understanding of the potential long-term health con-
sequences, including psychological effects, resulting from expo-
sure to those agents, weapons, or devices.
‘‘(4) Emergency treatment for exposure to those agents,
weapons, or devices.
‘‘(5) An appropriate course of followup treatment, sup-
portive care, and referral.
‘‘(6) Actions that can be taken while providing care for
exposure to those agents, weapons, or devices to protect against
contamination, injury, or other hazards from such exposure.
‘‘(7) Information on how to seek consultative support and
to report suspected or actual use of those agents.
‘‘(d) POTENTIAL TRAINEES.—In designing the education and
training programs under this section, the Secretary shall ensure
that different programs are designed for health-care professionals
in Department medical centers. The programs shall be designed
to be disseminated to health professions students, graduate health
and medical education trainees, and health practitioners in a variety
of fields.
‘‘(e) CONSULTATION.—In establishing education and training
programs under this section, the Secretary shall consult with appro-
priate representatives of accrediting, certifying, and coordinating
organizations in the field of health professions education.’’.
(2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter
is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 7325,
as added by section 2(a)(2), the following new item:
‘‘7326. Education and training programs on medical response to consequences of ter-
rorist activities.’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
implement section 7326 of title 38, United States Code, as added
by subsection (a), not later than the end of the 90-day period
beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 4. AUTHORITY TO FURNISH HEALTH CARE DURING MAJOR DISAS-
TERS AND MEDICAL EMERGENCIES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Subchapter VIII of chapter 17 of title
38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following new section: