I 116th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8444 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 30, 2020 Mr. Taylor (for himself and Ms. Shalala ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Medicine under which the National Academy agrees to conduct a one-year study assessing the effectiveness of current vital statistics reporting and data sharing between State, local, and Federal agencies, and for other purposes.

1. Short title; findings (a) Short title This Act may be cited as the Vital Standardization of Thoughtful Administrative Techniques and Statistics Act of 2020 or the Vital STATS Act of 2020 . (b) Findings The Congress makes the following findings: (1) Pandemic and highly infectious diseases have the ability to rapidly cross international and State boundaries, can infect millions of individuals in the United States, and have the potential to severely disrupt interstate commerce. (2) During the outbreak of COVID–19, the disease substantially affected interstate commerce and touched all 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. (3) The COVID–19 pandemic in the United States highlights the necessity of accurate and timely vital statistics and death reporting for a successful public health response. (4) Variations between means and methods of vital statistics reporting between State, local, and Federal entities can create administrative hurdles, including potential backlogs, and could hamper public health response efforts. (5) In order for the Nation to combat future health emergencies, to improve our general understanding of health problems in the United States, and to ensure the sharing of timely, accurate health information, the Federal Government, State governments, and local units of government must improve their means of coordinating and sharing health information and vital statistics. 2. Study on effectiveness of vital statistics reporting (a) In general The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Medicine under which the National Academy agrees to conduct a one-year study assessing the effectiveness of current vital statistics reporting and data sharing between State, local, and Federal agencies and the degree to which there is divergence between State, local, and Federal vital statistics reporting. (b) Report The agreement entered into under subsection (a) shall require the National Academy of Medicine to, not later 1 year after the date on which the agreement is entered into, to submit to Congress a report containing the findings of the study conducted pursuant to such subsection. Such report shall include recommendations with respect to— (1) coordination and standardization of State, local, and Federal vital statistics reporting methods, including the efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency of such reporting; and (2) the feasibility of setting national standards for death reporting and collecting vital statistics.