A comprehensive update to the nation’s soon-to-expire pandemic and all-hazards law has been unveiled in the U.S. House where Energy and Commerce Committee members have painstakingly produced a bipartisan reauthorization to bolster America’s defense against chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) attacks, natural disasters and emerging infectious diseases.
The full House Energy and Commerce Committee plans on Wednesday to mark up the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act (PAHPA) of 2018, H.R.6378, introduced on July 16 by U.S. Rep. Susan Brooks (R-IN), who serves on the committee and who has been instrumental in drafting this reauthorization.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR), Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), who also serves on the committee, are original cosponsors of the measure, which must gain approval from Congress to maintain funding for PAHPA programs beyond the law’s Sept. 30 expiration date.
“Strengthening our country’s national preparedness and response efforts for public health emergencies is critically important as the threats we are facing are constantly changing,” Rep. Brooks said on Monday, referencing recent and ongoing threats such as devastating hurricanes, rapidly spreading viruses like Ebola and Nipah, and CBRN threats from terrorist groups or foreign countries having anti-American sentiments.
The far-reaching H.R. 6378 would reauthorize certain programs under the Public Health Service Act and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act regarding public health security and all-hazards preparedness and response, among other purposes, according to the congressional record.
Generally, H.R. 6378 aims to ensure that health care professionals around the United States are trained to respond to possible pandemic outbreaks and would prioritize the future development of the U.S. national stockpile of vaccines, medical equipment and diagnostics, Brooks said.
In a six-page summary of H.R. 6378 provided by the congresswoman’s staff, Title I of the bill proposes strengthening national preparedness and response for public health emergencies largely via coordination. For instance, if enacted, H.R. 6378 would amend the duties and functions of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) “to include carrying out drill and operational exercises related to pandemic influenza and the emerging infection disease program.”
Under current law, ASPR must develop a coordinated five-year budget plan regarding CBRN agents. However, Title I under H.R. 6378 would update the law to also require that the budget include funds to establish and operate a Pandemic Influenza Program as well as an Emerging Infectious Diseases Program and related research and development activities at the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), which is overseen by ASPR.
ASPR also would be required under Title I of H.R. 6378 to coordinate with the federal intelligence community “to maintain a current assessment of national security threats and inform preparedness and response capabilities based on the range of threats that have the potential to result in a public health emergency,” according to the official summary.
Additionally, Title I enhancements under H.R. 6378 would codify the Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise (PHEMCE), which coordinates federal efforts to enhance CBRN and emerging infectious diseases preparedness via medical countermeasures (MCM). The PHEMCE also is led by ASPR and includes three primary HHS internal agency partners: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), as well as several interagency partners.
Under H.R. 6378, ASPR would be placed as the chair of PHEMCE, a process already under way that started earlier this year following a presidential request, and the law would outline the members and functions of the PHEMCE. The important role the CDC has in emergency and response activities would be maintained, according to Brooks.
“PAHPA updates the original legislation to meet the challenges of today, such as the demands placed on our health care response systems by the increasing number and severity of natural disasters, the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance, and the continued need to develop medical countermeasure products for which there is not a commercial market,” added Rep. Eshoo, who helped craft the original PAHPA with U.S. Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), who formerly served as a U.S. Republican congressman representing North Carolina.
Rep. Eshoo said on Monday that the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States and the deadly anthrax attacks on Capitol Hill motivated them to create PAHPA “to coordinate responses to public health emergencies and develop necessary medical countermeasures.”
She and Brooks devised the most-recent discussion draft to reauthorize PAHPA, which last month received approval, as amended, with a voice vote from the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee that advanced the measure to the full committee.
“Our work continues on behalf of American patients and consumers this week as we consider important legislation that seeks to advance our public health efforts and address key challenges facing America’s nuclear energy industry,” said E&C Committee Chairman Walden referring to the planned July 18 markup of H.R. 6378.
“It is critically important we reauthorize PAHPA ahead of the end of September,” said Rep. Walden. “We must ensure our country is equipped for any potential attack and this bipartisan reauthorization will go a long way in ensuring we have the proper tools at our disposal to prevent such attacks from happening and being able to respond when they do arise.”
Rep. Brooks pointed out that H.R. 6378 also would establish new advisory groups focused on protecting vulnerable populations, such as senior citizens and people with disabilities, during public health threats and emergencies.
In addition, the proposal would create a Public Health Emergency Response Fund for the HHS Secretary to use as a funding bridge when an outbreak occurs until immediate funding is available that Congress could then supplement with an emergency appropriations bill, she said, among numerous other provisions.
Along with a planned vote on H.R. 6378 during the scheduled Wednesday hearing, E&C Committee members will vote on the Advancing U.S. Civil Nuclear Competitiveness and Jobs Act, H.R. 6351, which Walden said would streamline “time-consuming portions” of federal regulations to enhance the global competitiveness of U.S. domestic nuclear suppliers.
In addition to the E&C Committee, H.R. 6378 is under consideration by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, and the House Homeland Security Committee.