Title: 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act
Policy area: Health

Summary:
9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act
This bill increases funding for and otherwise modifies a federal program that provides medical monitoring and treatment to responders and survivors who suffer from health conditions related to the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center.
Among the changes, the bill allows certain health care providers other than physicians to determine whether an individual's health condition is related to the attacks, and it establishes a research program to study the impacts of the attacks on health and educational outcomes of individuals who were 21 years of age or younger when the attacks occurred.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2683 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2683

To amend title XXXIII of the Public Health Service Act with respect to 
flexibility and funding for the World Trade Center Health Program, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 9, 2021

 Mrs. Gillibrand (for herself, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Booker, 
 Mr. Murphy, and Mr. Blumenthal) introduced the following bill; which 
  was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 
                          Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title XXXIII of the Public Health Service Act with respect to 
flexibility and funding for the World Trade Center 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 ``9/11 Responder and Survivor Health 
Funding Correction Act''.

SEC. 2. FLEXIBILITY FOR CERTIFICATIONS UNDER THE WORLD TRADE CENTER 
              HEALTH PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Section 3305(a) of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 300mm-4(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)(A)(ii), by inserting ``subject to 
        paragraph (6),'' before ``for''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6) Licensed health care provider flexibility.--
                    ``(A) In general.--For purposes of an initial 
                health evaluation described in paragraph (2)(A)(ii) 
                (including any such evaluation provided under section 
                3321(b) or through the nationwide network under section 
                3313), such evaluation may be conducted by a physician 
                or any other licensed health care provider in a 
                category of health care providers determined by the 
                Secretary under subparagraph (B).
                    ``(B) Categories of licensed health care 
                providers.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
                enactment of the 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health 
                Funding Correction Act, the WTC Program Administrator 
                shall issue regulations for the categories of licensed 
                health care providers who, in addition to licensed 
                physicians, may conduct evaluations under subparagraph 
                (A) and make determinations under section 3312(b).''.
    (b) Flexibility for WTC Responders.--Section 3312(b) of such Act 
(42 U.S.C. 300mm-22(b)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``physician'' each place 
        it appears and inserting ``physician or other licensed health 
        care provider in a category determined by the Secretary under 
        section 3305(a)(6)(B)'';
            (2) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A)--
                            (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 
                        striking ``physician'' and inserting 
                        ``physician or other licensed health care 
                        provider in a category determined by the 
                        Secretary under section 3305(a)(6)(B)'';
                            (ii) in clause (i), by striking 
                        ``physician'' and inserting ``physician or 
                        other licensed health care provider''; and
                            (iii) in clause (ii), by striking ``such 
                        physician's determination'' and inserting ``the 
                        determination of such physician or other 
                        licensed health care provider''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (B)--
                            (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 
                        striking ``physician determinations'' and 
                        inserting ``determinations by physicians or 
                        other licensed health care providers in 
                        categories determined by the Secretary under 
                        section 3305(a)(6)(B)''; and
                            (ii) in clause (i), by striking ``physician 
                        panel'' and inserting ``panel of physicians or 
                        other licensed health care providers in 
                        categories determined by the Secretary under 
                        section 3305(a)(6)(B)''; and
            (3) in paragraph (5), by striking ``examining physician'' 
        and inserting ``examining physician or other licensed health 
        care provider in a category determined by the Secretary under 
        section 3305(a)(6)(B)''.

SEC. 3. CRITERIA FOR CREDENTIALING HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS PARTICIPATING 
              IN THE NATIONWIDE NETWORK.

    Title XXXIII of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300mm et 
seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 3305(a)(2) (42 U.S.C. 300mm-4(a)(2))--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A)--
                            (i) by striking clause (iv); and
                            (ii) by redesignating clauses (v) and (vi) 
                        as clauses (iv) and (v), respectively;
                    (B) by striking subparagraph (B); and
                    (C) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as 
                subparagraphs (B) and (C), respectively; and
            (2) in section 3313(b)(1) (42 U.S.C. 300mm-23(b)(1)), by 
        striking ``Data Centers'' and inserting ``WTC Program 
        Administrator''.

SEC. 4. CLARIFYING CALCULATION OF ENROLLMENT.

    (a) Responders.--Section 3311(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 300mm-
21(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6) Deceased wtc responders.--An individual known to the 
        WTC Program Administrator to be deceased shall not be included 
        in any count of enrollees under this subsection or section 
        3351.''.
    (b) Survivors.--Section 3321(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 300mm-31(a)) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) Deceased wtc survivors.--An individual known to the 
        WTC Program Administrator to be deceased shall not be included 
        in any count of enrollees under this subsection or section 
        3351.''.

SEC. 5. FUNDING FOR THE WORLD TRADE CENTER HEALTH PROGRAM.

    Section 3351 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300mm-61) 
is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(2)(A)--
                    (A) in clause (x), by striking ``$570,000,000; 
                and'' and inserting ``$689,130,000;''; and
                    (B) by striking clause (xi) and inserting the 
                following:
                            ``(xi) for fiscal year 2026, $930,325,500;
                            ``(xii) for fiscal year 2027, 
                        $1,004,751,540;
                            ``(xiii) for fiscal year 2028, 
                        $1,085,131,663;
                            ``(xiv) for fiscal year 2029, 
                        $1,139,388,246;
                            ``(xv) for fiscal year 2030, 
                        $1,196,357,659;
                            ``(xvi) for fiscal year 2031, 
                        $1,256,175,542; and
                            ``(xvii) for each subsequent fiscal year 
                        through fiscal year 2090--
                                    ``(I) the amount determined under 
                                this subparagraph for the previous 
                                fiscal year multiplied by 1.05; 
                                multiplied by
                                    ``(II) the ratio of--
                                            ``(aa) the total number of 
                                        individuals enrolled in the WTC 
                                        program on July 1 of such 
                                        previous fiscal year; to
                                            ``(bb) the total number of 
                                        individuals so enrolled on July 
                                        1 of the fiscal year prior to 
                                        such previous fiscal year; 
                                        plus''; and
            (2) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) by amending paragraph (3) to read as follows:
            ``(3) Education and outreach.--For the purpose of carrying 
        out section 3303--
                    ``(A) for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2021, 
                $750,000; and
                    ``(B) for fiscal year 2022 and each subsequent 
                fiscal year, $2,000,000.'';
                    (B) in paragraph (4)--
                            (i) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as 
                        follows:
                    ``(A) for fiscal year 2021, the amount determined 
                for such fiscal year under this paragraph as in effect 
                on the day before the date of enactment of the 9/11 
                Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act''; 
                and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
                        ``2017, $15,000,000'' and inserting ``2022, 
                        $20,000,000''; and
                    (C) in paragraph (5)--
                            (i) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as 
                        follows:
                    ``(A) for fiscal year 2021, the amount determined 
                for such fiscal year under this paragraph as in effect 
                on the day before the date of enactment of the 9/11 
                Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction 
                Act;'';
                            (ii) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as 
                        subparagraph (C); and
                            (iii) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 
                        the following:
                    ``(B) for fiscal year 2022, $20,000,000; and''.

SEC. 6. RESEARCH COHORT FOR EMERGING HEALTH IMPACTS ON YOUTH.

    (a) In General.--Section 3341 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 300mm-51) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as subsections 
        (d) and (e), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
    ``(c) Research Cohort for Emerging Health Impacts on Youth.--The 
WTC Program Administrator shall establish a research cohort of 
sufficient size to conduct research studies on the health and 
educational impacts of exposure to airborne toxins, or any other hazard 
or adverse condition, resulting from the September 11, 2001, terrorist 
attacks on the population of individuals who were 21 years of age or 
younger at the time of exposure and who are enrolled in the WTC Program 
or otherwise eligible for enrollment in the Program under section 
3321.''.
    (b) Spending Limitation Exemption.--Section 3351(c)(5) of such Act 
(42 U.S.C. 300mm-61(c)(5)) is amended in the matter preceding 
subparagraph (A), by inserting ``(other than subsection (c) of such 
section)'' after ``section 3341''.
    (c) Conforming Amendment.--Section 3301(f)(2)(E) of such Act (42 
U.S.C. 300mm(f)(2)(E)) is amended by striking ``section 3341(a)'' and 
inserting ``subsection (a) or (c) of section 3341''.
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