Advancing Emergency Preparedness Through One Health Act of 2021
Bill: S.861 | Sponsor: Sen. Smith, Tina (D-MN)
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Advancing Emergency Preparedness Through One Health Act of 2021
This bill requires interagency coordination to respond to zoonotic diseases through a One Health Program. A One Health Program recognizes the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment.
Specifically, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Agriculture must develop a framework to coordinate federal activities to reduce hazards to human and animal health under the One Health Program. These departments must work with other federal entities on the framework, including the Department of Commerce.
This framework must establish goals, identify activities necessary to achieve those goals, and recommend legislation or other actions to advance One Health efforts.
Additionally, the Government Accountability Office must evaluate this framework and its implementation.

To establish an interagency One Health Program, 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 ``Advancing Emergency Preparedness 
Through One Health Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The term ``One Health'' reflects the interconnectedness 
        of human health, animal health, and the environment. As 
        technology and population growth facilitates increased 
        interaction of human settlements with wildlife habitats and as 
        international travel and trade increases, the interface between 
        these elements will also continue to rise.
            (2) When zoonotic diseases spill over to humans, there are 
        often enormous health and economic costs. The World Bank 
        estimates that, between 1997 and 2009, the global costs from 
        six zoonotic outbreaks exceeded $80,000,000,000 and the Centers 
        for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that there are 
        annually 2,500,000,000 cases of zoonotic infections globally, 
        resulting in 2,700,000 deaths.
            (3) There are also immense effects on the agriculture 
        sector. In 2014 and 2015, a high pathogenic avian influenza 
        (HPAI) outbreak in the United States led to the cull of nearly 
        50,000,000 birds, and imposed up to approximately 
        $3,300,000,000 in losses for poultry and egg farmers, animal 
        feed producers, baked good production, and other related 
        industries.
            (4) Public health preparedness depends on agriculture in a 
        variety of ways. For example, a wide range of vaccines, 
        including those for influenza, yellow fever, rabies, and 
        measles-mumps-rubella (MMR), are primarily cultivated in 
        poultry eggs. Egg shortages resulting from zoonotic disease 
        outbreaks could impose serious risks to vaccine manufacturing 
        efforts.
            (5) It is estimated that approximately 80 percent of 
        potential pathogens likely to be used in bioterrorism or 
        biowarfare are common zoonotic pathogens.
            (6) While existing Federal Government initiatives related 
        to One Health span multiple agencies, including the Centers for 
        Disease Control and Prevention One Health office and the 
        Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection 
        Services' One Health Coordination Center, additional 
        interagency coordination is necessary to help better prevent, 
        prepare for, and respond to zoonotic disease outbreaks.

SEC. 3. INTERAGENCY ONE HEALTH PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services, and the Secretary of Agriculture (referred 
to in this Act as the ``Secretaries''), in coordination with the United 
States Agency for International Development, the Environmental 
Protection Agency, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department 
of Defense, the Department of Commerce, and other departments and 
agencies as appropriate, shall develop, publish, and submit to Congress 
a national One Health Framework (referred to in this Act as the 
``framework'') for coordinated Federal Activities under the One Health 
Program.
    (b) National One Health Framework.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretaries, in cooperation with the 
        United States Agency for International Development, the 
        Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Homeland 
        Security, the Department of Defense, the Department of 
        Commerce, and other departments and agencies as appropriate, 
        shall develop, publish, and submit to Congress a One Health 
        Framework (referred to in this section as the ``framework'') 
        for coordinated Federal activities under the One Health 
        Program.
            (2) Contents of framework.--The framework described in 
        paragraph (1) shall describe existing efforts and contain 
        recommendations for building upon and complementing the 
        activities of the Department of the Interior, the Centers for 
        Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug 
        Administration, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for 
        Preparedness and Response, the Department of Agriculture, the 
        United States Agency for International Development, the 
        Environmental Protection Agency, the National Institutes of 
        Health, the Department of Homeland Security, and other 
        departments and agencies, as appropriate, and shall--
                    (A) assess, identify, and describe, as appropriate, 
                existing activities of Federal agencies and departments 
                under the One Health Program and consider whether all 
                relevant agencies are adequately represented;
                    (B) for the 10-year period beginning in the year 
                the framework is submitted, establish specific Federal 
                goals and priorities that most effectively advance--
                            (i) scientific understanding of the 
                        connections between human, animal, and 
                        environmental health;
                            (ii) coordination and collaboration between 
                        agencies involved in the framework including 
                        sharing data and information, engaging in joint 
                        fieldwork, and engaging in joint laboratory 
                        studies related to One Health;
                            (iii) identification of priority zoonotic 
                        diseases and priority areas of study;
                            (iv) surveillance of priority zoonotic 
                        diseases and their transmission between animals 
                        and humans;
                            (v) prevention of priority zoonotic 
                        diseases and their transmission between animals 
                        and humans;
                            (vi) protocol development to improve joint 
                        outbreak response to and recovery from zoonotic 
                        disease outbreaks in animals and humans; and
                            (vii) workforce development to prevent and 
                        respond to zoonotic disease outbreaks in 
                        animals and humans;
                    (C) describe specific activities required to 
                achieve the goals and priorities described in 
                subparagraph (B), and propose a timeline for achieving 
                these goals;
                    (D) identify and expand partnerships, as 
                appropriate, among Federal agencies, States, Indian 
                tribes, academic institutions, nongovernmental 
                organizations, and private entities in order to develop 
                new approaches for reducing hazards to human and animal 
                health and to strengthen understanding of the value of 
                an integrated approach under the One Health Program to 
                addressing public health threats in a manner that 
                prevents duplication;
                    (E) identify best practices related to State and 
                local-level research coordination, field activities, 
                and disease outbreak preparedness, response, and 
                recovery related to One Health; and
                    (F) provide recommendations to Congress regarding 
                additional action or legislation that may be required 
                to assist in establishing the One Health Program.
            (3) Addendum.--Not later than 3 years after the creation of 
        the framework, the Secretaries, in coordination with the 
        agencies described in paragraph (1), shall submit to Congress 
        an addendum to the framework that describes the progress made 
        in advancing the activities described in the framework.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section, 
there is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary.

SEC. 4. GAO REPORT.

    Not later than 2 years after the date of the submission of the 
addendum under section 3(b)(3), the Comptroller General of the United 
States shall submit to Congress a report that--
            (1) details existing collaborative efforts between the 
        Department of the Interior, the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of 
        Agriculture, the United States Agency for International 
        Development, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National 
        Institutes of Health, the Department of Homeland Security, and 
        other departments and agencies to prevent and respond to 
        zoonotic disease outbreaks in animals and humans; and
            (2) contains an evaluation of the framework and the 
        specific activities requested to achieve the framework.
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