Congress finds that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has an essential role in defending against and combatting public health threats domestically and abroad and requires secure and modern facilities, and expanded, improved, and appropriately maintained capabilities related to bioterrorism and other public health emergencies, sufficient to enable such Centers to conduct this important mission.
The Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may design, construct, and equip new facilities, renovate existing facilities (including laboratories, laboratory support buildings, scientific communication facilities, transshipment complexes, secured and isolated parking structures, office buildings, and other facilities and infrastructure), and upgrade security of such facilities, in order to better conduct the capacities described in section 247d-1 of this title, and for supporting public health activities.
For any project of designing, constructing, equipping, or renovating any facility under subparagraph (A), the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may enter into a single contract or related contracts that collectively include the full scope of the project, and the solicitation and contract shall contain the clause "availability of funds" found at section 52.232-18 of title 48, Code of Federal Regulations.
The Secretary shall expand, improve, enhance, and appropriately maintain the capabilities of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relating to preparedness for and responding effectively to bioterrorism and other public health emergencies. Activities that may be carried out under the preceding sentence include-
Not later than June 1, 2022, the Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study on Federal spending in fiscal years 2013 through 2018 for activities authorized under this subsection. Such study shall include a review and assessment of obligations and expenditures directly related to each activity under paragraphs (2) and (3), including a specific accounting of, and delineation between, obligations and expenditures incurred for the construction, renovation, equipping, and security upgrades of facilities and associated contracts under this subsection, and the obligations and expenditures incurred to establish and improve the situational awareness and biosurveillance network under subsection (b), and shall identify the agency or agencies incurring such obligations and expenditures.
The Secretary, directly or through awards of grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements, shall provide for the establishment of an integrated system or systems of public health alert communications and surveillance networks between and among-
The Secretary shall develop a plan to, and ensure that networks under paragraph (1) allow for the timely sharing and discussion, in a secure manner and in a form readily usable for analytical approaches, of essential information concerning bioterrorism or another public health emergency, or recommended methods for responding to such an attack or emergency, allowing for coordination to maximize all-hazards medical and public health preparedness and response and to minimize duplication of effort.
Not later than 1 year after June 24, 2019, the Secretary, in cooperation with health care providers, State, local, Tribal, and territorial public health officials, and relevant Federal agencies (including the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and the National Institute of Standards and Technology), shall, as necessary, adopt technical and reporting standards, including standards for interoperability as defined by section 300jj of this title, for networks under paragraph (1) and update such standards as necessary. Such standards shall be made available on the internet website of the Department of Health and Human Services, in a manner that does not compromise national security.
In adopting and implementing standards under this subsection and subsection (c), the Secretary shall give deference to standards published by standards development organizations and voluntary consensus-based standards entities.
The Secretary, in collaboration with State, local, and tribal public health officials, shall establish, and improve as applicable and appropriate, a near real-time electronic nationwide public health situational awareness capability through an interoperable network of systems to share data and information to enhance early detection of, rapid response to, and management of, potentially catastrophic infectious disease outbreaks, novel emerging threats, and other public health emergencies that originate domestically or abroad. Such network shall be built on existing State situational awareness systems or enhanced systems that enable such interoperability.
In establishing and improving the network under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall-
The network described in paragraph (1) shall include data and information transmitted in a standardized format from-
Not later than 2 years after June 24, 2019, and every 6 years thereafter, the Secretary shall conduct a review of the elements described in subparagraph (A). Such review shall include a discussion of the addition of any elements pursuant to clause (v), including elements added to advancing new technologies, and identify any challenges in the incorporation of elements under subparagraph (A). The Secretary shall provide such review to the congressional committees of jurisdiction.
Paragraph (3) shall not be construed as requiring separate reporting of data and information from each source listed.
In establishing and operating the network described in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall-
Not later than 180 days after June 24, 2019, the Secretary shall convene a public meeting for purposes of discussing and providing input on the potential goals, functions, and uses of the network described in paragraph (1) and incorporating the elements described in paragraph (3)(A).
The public meeting shall include representatives of relevant Federal agencies (including representatives from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and the National Institute of Standards and Technology); State, local, Tribal, and territorial public health officials; stakeholders with expertise in biosurveillance and situational awareness; stakeholders with expertise in capabilities relevant to biosurveillance and situational awareness, such as experts in informatics and data analytics (including experts in prediction, modeling, or forecasting); and other representatives as the Secretary determines appropriate.
Such public meeting shall include a discussion of-
Not later than 18 months after June 24, 2019, the Secretary shall submit to the congressional committees of jurisdiction a coordinated strategy and an accompanying implementation plan that-
Not later than 2 years after June 24, 2019, and on an annual basis thereafter, in accordance with the strategy and implementation plan under this paragraph, the Secretary shall, taking into account recommendations provided by the National Biodefense Science Board, develop a budget plan based on the strategy and implementation plan under this section. Such budget plan shall include-
In carrying out this section and consistent with section 247d-7g of this title, the National Biodefense Science Board shall provide expert advice and guidance, including recommendations, regarding the measurable steps the Secretary should take to modernize and enhance biosurveillance activities pursuant to the efforts of the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure comprehensive, real-time, all-hazards biosurveillance capabilities. In complying with the preceding sentence, the National Biodefense Science Board shall-
The Secretary, on a periodic basis as applicable and appropriate, shall meet with the Director of National Intelligence to inform the development and capabilities of the nationwide public health situational awareness and biosurveillance network.
To implement the network described in subsection (c), the Secretary may award grants to States or consortia of States to enhance the ability of such States or consortia of States to establish or operate a coordinated public health situational awareness system for regional or Statewide early detection of, rapid response to, and management of potentially catastrophic infectious disease outbreaks and public health emergencies, in collaboration with appropriate public health agencies, environmental health agencies, sentinel hospitals, clinical laboratories, pharmacies, poison control centers, immunization programs, other health care organizations, and animal health organizations within such States.
To be eligible to receive a grant under paragraph (1), the State or consortium of States shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require, including an assurance that the State or consortium of States will submit to the Secretary-
A State or consortium of States that receives an award under this subsection-
Information technology systems acquired or implemented using grants awarded under this section must be compliant with-
The Secretary may provide technical assistance to States, localities, Tribes, and territories or a consortium of States, localities, Tribes, and territories receiving an award under this subsection regarding interoperability and the technical standards set forth by the Secretary.
The Secretary, in consultation with the Federal Communications Commission and other relevant Federal agencies, shall-
Not later than 12 months after December 19, 2006, the Secretary shall prepare and submit a report to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives regarding the findings and recommendations pursuant to subparagraphs (A) through (F) of paragraph (1).
In addition to any other personnel authorities, to carry out subsections (b) and (c), the Secretary may-
The Secretary shall exercise the authority under paragraph (1) in a manner that is consistent with the limitations described in section 247d-6a(e)(2) of this title.
The Secretary shall accomplish the purposes under subsections (b) and (c) no later than September 30, 2023, and shall provide a justification to the congressional committees of jurisdiction for any missed or delayed implementation of measurable steps identified under subsection (c)(6)(A)(iii).
Not later than 3 years after June 24, 2019, the Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct an independent evaluation and submit to the Secretary and the congressional committees of jurisdiction a report concerning the activities conducted under subsections (b) and (c), and provide recommendations, as applicable and appropriate, on necessary improvements to the biosurveillance and situational awareness network.
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, $161,800,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023.
For purposes of this section the term "biosurveillance" means the process of gathering near real-time biological data that relates to human and zoonotic disease activity and threats to human or animal health, in order to achieve early warning and identification of such health threats, early detection and prompt ongoing tracking of health events, and overall situational awareness of disease activity.
1 So in original. Probably should be preceded by "section".
42 U.S.C. § 247d-4
EDITORIAL NOTES
AMENDMENTS2019- Pub. L. 116-22, §205(a)(1), substituted "Facilities and capacities of" for "Revitalizing" in section catchline.Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 116-22, §205(a)(2)(A), substituted "In general" for "Facilities; capacities" in heading. Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 116-22, §205(a)(2)(B), substituted ", improved, and appropriately maintained" for "and improved".Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 116-22, §205(a)(2)(C), substituted "expand, improve, enhance, and appropriately maintain" for "expand, enhance, and improve" in introductory provisions.Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 116-22, §205(a)(2)(D), added par. (4).Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 116-22, §205(a)(3)(A), substituted "Establishment of systems of public health" for "National" in heading.Subsec. (b)(1)(B). Pub. L. 116-22, §205(a)(3)(B), inserted "immunization information systems," after "centers,". Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 116-22, §205(a)(3)(C), inserted "develop a plan to, and" after "The Secretary shall" and "and in a form readily usable for analytical approaches" after "in a secure manner".Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 116-22, §205(a)(3)(D), amended par. (3) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: "Not later than one year after June 12, 2002, the Secretary, in cooperation with health care providers and State and local public health officials, shall establish any additional technical and reporting standards (including standards for interoperability) for networks under paragraph (1) and update such standards as necessary."Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 116-22, §205(a)(4)(A), substituted "The Secretary" for "Not later than 2 years after March 13, 2013, the Secretary" and "such interoperability" for "such connectivity" and inserted ", and improve as applicable and appropriate," after "shall establish" and a comma after "detection of". Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 116-22, §205(a)(4)(B), amended par. (2) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (2) related to a coordinated strategy and an accompanying implementation plan.Subsec. (c)(3). Pub. L. 116-22, §205(a)(4)(C), designated existing provisions as subpar. (A) and inserted heading; redesignated former subpars. (A) to (E) as cls. (i) to (v), respectively, of subpar. (A) and realigned margins; in cl. (iv), inserted "immunization information systems," after "poison control," and substituted ", clinical laboratories, and public environmental health agencies" for "and clinical laboratories"; and added subpar. (B).Subsec. (c)(5)(A). Pub. L. 116-22, §205(a)(4)(D)(i), (ii), designated existing provisions as subpar. (A), inserted heading, redesignated former subpars. (A) to (D) as (i) to (iv), respectively, of subpar. (A) and realigned margins.Subsec. (c)(5)(A)(i). Pub. L. 116-22, §205(a)(4)(D)(iv)(I), substituted "as adopted" for "as determined" and inserted "and the National Institute of Standards and Technology" after "Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology". Subsec. (c)(5)(A)(v). Pub. L. 116-22, §205(a)(4)(D)(iv)(II)-(IV), added cl. (v).Subsec. (c)(5)(B). Pub. L. 116-22, §205(a)(4)(D)(iii), added subpar. (B). Former subpar. (B) redesignated cl. (ii) of subpar. (A).Subsec. (c)(6). Pub. L. 116-22, §205(a)(4)(F), added par. (6). Former par. (6) redesignated (7). Subsec. (c)(7). Pub. L. 116-22, §205(a)(4)(E), redesignated par. (6) as (7).Subsec. (c)(7)(A). Pub. L. 116-22, §205(a)(4)(G)(i), inserted "(taking into account zoonotic disease, including gaps in scientific understanding of the interactions between human, animal, and environmental health)" after "human health". Subsec. (c)(7)(B). Pub. L. 116-22, §205(a)(4)(G)(ii), inserted "and gaps in surveillance programs" after "surveillance programs" and substituted "zoonotic;" for "zoonotic; and".Subsec. (c)(7)(C). Pub. L. 116-22, §205(a)(4)(G)(iii), inserted ", animal health organizations related to zoonotic disease," after "health care entities" and substituted "activities; and" for "activities."Subsec. (c)(7)(D). Pub. L. 116-22, §205(a)(4)(G)(iv), added subpar. (D). Subsec. (c)(8). Pub. L. 116-22, §205(a)(4)(H), added par. (8).Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 116-22, §205(a)(5)(A), inserted "environmental health agencies," after "public health agencies," and "immunization programs," after "poison control centers,". Subsec. (d)(2)(D). Pub. L. 116-22, §205(a)(5)(B), added subpar. (D).Subsec. (d)(5). Pub. L. 116-22, §205(a)(5)(C), added par. (5) and struck out former par. (5) which required an independent evaluation and report from the Government Accountability Office no later than 3 years after Mar. 13, 2013.Subsecs. (f) to (h). Pub. L. 116-22, §205(a)(7), added subsecs. (f) to (h). Former subsecs. (f) and (g) redesignated (i) and (j), respectively.Subsec. (i). Pub. L. 116-22, §205(a)(6), (b), redesignated subsec. (f) as (i) and substituted "$161,800,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023" for "$138,300,000 for each of fiscal years 2014 through 2018".Subsec. (j). Pub. L. 116-22, §205(a)(6), redesignated subsec. (g) as (j). 2013-Subsec. (b)(1)(B). Pub. L. 113-5, §204(a)(1)(A), inserted "poison control centers," after "hospitals,".Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 113-5, §204(a)(1)(B), inserted ", allowing for coordination to maximize all-hazards medical and public health preparedness and response and to minimize duplication of effort" before period at end.Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 113-5, §204(a)(1)(C), inserted "and update such standards as necessary" before period at end. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 113-5, §204(a)(4)(A), substituted "Modernizing public health situational awareness and biosurveillance" for "Public health situational awareness" in heading. Pub. L. 113-5, §204(a)(2), (3), redesignated subsec. (d) as (c) and struck out former subsec. (c) which related to authorization of appropriations for fiscal years 2002 through 2006. Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 113-5, §204(a)(4)(B), substituted "March 13, 2013" for "December 19, 2006" and inserted ", novel emerging threats," after "disease outbreaks".Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 113-5, §204(a)(4)(C), added par. (2) and struck out former par. (2). Prior to amendment, text read as follows: "Not later than 180 days after December 19, 2006, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress, a strategic plan that demonstrates the steps the Secretary will undertake to develop, implement, and evaluate the network described in paragraph (1), utilizing the elements described in paragraph (3)."Subsec. (c)(3)(D). Pub. L. 113-5, §204(a)(4)(D), inserted "community health centers, health centers" after "of poison control,".Subsec. (c)(5)(A). Pub. L. 113-5, §204(a)(4)(E), added subpar. (A) and struck out former subpar. (A) which read as follows: "utilize applicable interoperability standards as determined by the Secretary through a joint public and private sector process;".Subsec. (c)(6). Pub. L. 113-5, §204(a)(4)(F), added par. (6).Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 113-5, §204(a)(3), redesignated subsec. (e) as (d). Former subsec. (d) redesignated (c). Subsec. (d)(1), (4)(B). Pub. L. 113-5, §204(a)(5)(A), (B), substituted "subsection (c)" for "subsection (d)".Subsec. (d)(5). Pub. L. 113-5, §204(a)(5)(C), substituted "3 years after March 13, 2013" for "4 years after December 19, 2006" and "subsection (c)" for "subsection (d)".Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 113-5, §204(a)(3), redesignated subsec. (f) as (e). Former subsec. (e) redesignated (d). Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 113-5, §204(a)(3), (6), redesignated subsec. (g) as (f) and substituted "$138,300,000 for each of fiscal years 2014 through 2018" for "such sums as may be necessary in each of fiscal years 2007 through 2011". Former subsec. (f) redesignated (e). Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 113-5, §204(a)(7), added subsec. (g). Former subsec. (g) redesignated (f). 2006-Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 109-417, §202(1), inserted "domestically and abroad" after "public health threats". Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 109-417, §204(b)(2), struck out ", taking into account evaluations under section 247d-2(a) of this title," after "The Secretary" in introductory provisions. Subsecs. (d) to (g). Pub. L. 109-417, §202(2), added subsecs. (d) to (g).2002- Pub. L. 107-188 reenacted section catchline without change and amended text generally, substituting detailed provisions relating to facilities, capacities, and national communications and surveillance networks for provisions relating to findings of need for secure and modern facilities.
STATUTORY NOTES AND RELATED SUBSIDIARIES
WORKING CAPITAL FUND Pub. L. 113-76, 128 Stat. 368, provided in part: "That to facilitate the implementation of the permanent Working Capital Fund ('WCF') authorized under this heading [CDC-WIDE ACTIVITIES AND PROGRAM SUPPORT] in division F of Public Law 112-74 [see note below], on or after enactment of this Act [Jan. 17, 2014], unobligated balances of amounts appropriated for business services for fiscal year 2013 shall be transferred to the WCF: Provided further, That on or after enactment of this Act, CDC shall transfer amounts available for business services to other CDC appropriations consistent with the benefit each appropriation received from the business services appropriation in fiscal year 2013: Provided further, That once the WCF is implemented in fiscal year 2014, assets purchased in any prior fiscal year with funds appropriated for or reimbursed to business services may be transferred to the WCF and customers billed for depreciation of those assets: Provided further, That CDC shall, consistent with the authorities provided in 42 U.S.C. 231, ensure that the WCF is used only for administrative support services and not for programmatic activities: Provided further, That CDC shall notify the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate not later than 15 days prior to any transfers made with funds provided under this heading."Similar provisions were contained in the following prior appropriation act: Pub. L. 113-6, div. F, title V, §15071507,, 127 Stat. 423. Pub. L. 112-74, 125 Stat. 1070, provided in part: "That CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] may establish a Working Capital Fund, with the authorities equivalent to those provided in 42 U.S.C. 231, to improve the provision of supplies and service."