,i #aadth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #cbii ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,july #bi1 #bjae ,mrs4 ,brooks of ,indiana 7for herself and ,ms4 ,eshoo7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,public ,health ,service ,act to ensure preparedness for chemical1 radiological1 biological1 and nuclear threats1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,strengthening ,public ,health ,emergency ,response ,act of #bjae4 #b4 ,hospital preparedness program ,subsection 7j7 of section #cai;,c-#b of the ,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bdg;d-#c;b7 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7#e7 ,minimum funding level for awards ,of the amounts appropriated to carry out this section for a fiscal year1 not less than #ig percent shall be awarded to eligible entities as described in subsection 7a74 4 #c4 ,,gao report on ,state1 local1 and hospital preparedness programs 7a7 ,in general ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states shall submit a report to the ,congress on the programs for awarding cooperative agreements and grants under section #cai;,c-#a of the ,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bdg;d-#c;a2 improving ,state and local public health security7 and section #cai;,c-#b of such ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bdg;d-#c;b2 partnerships for ,state and regional hospital preparedness to improve surge capacity74 7b7 ,contents ,the report under subsection 7a7 shall address each of the following3 7#a7 ,the goals of the programs specified in subsection 7a74 7#b7 ,the extent to which such goals are being met1 including performance metrics that could help assess whether such programs are succeeding4 7#c7 ,how such programs could be improved4 7#d7 ,how such programs complement other preparedness programs of the ,department of ,health and ,human ,services4 7#e7 ,how funds awarded through such programs should be allocated and whether that allocation should be based on risk4 7#f7 ,progress made toward ,state and local preparedness entities being self-sustaining4 7#g7 ,whether the level of funding for such programs is sufficient4 #d4 ,strategic national stockpile ,section #cai;,f-#b7;a77#b7 of the ,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bdg;d-#f;b7a77#b77 is amended-- 7#a7 in subparagraph 7,g71 by striking and at the end2 7#b7 in subparagraph 7,h71 by striking the period at the end and inserting 2 and2 and 7#c7 by adding at the end the following3 7,i7 ensure procedures are in place to coordinate the ongoing stockpiling by the ,biomedical ,advanced ,research and ,development ,authority and ,centers for ,disease ,control and ,prevention of qualified countermeasures 7as defined in section #cai;,f-#a71 security countermeasures 7as defined in this section71 and qualified pandemic or epidemic products 7as defined in section #cai;,f-#c7 for which funds have been made available under section #cai,l in order to avoid any gaps in preparedness4 4 #e4 ,project ,bioshield procurement process ,section #cai;,f-#b7;c7 of the ,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bdg;d-#f;b7c77 is amended-- 7#a7 in paragraph 7#d77;,a77ii71 by striking make a recommendation under paragraph 7#f7 that the special reserve fund as defined in subsection 7h7 be made available for the procurement of such countermeasure and inserting make available the special reserve fund as defined in subsection 7h7 for procurement of such countermeasure2 7#b7 in paragraph 7#f7-- 7,a7 by striking subparagraphs 7,a71 7,b71 7,c71 and 7,e72 and 7,b7 by striking 7#f7 ,recommendations for president's approval and all that follows through 7,d7 ,subsequent specific countermeasures4-- and inserting 7#f7 ,subsequent specific countermeasures4--,procurement under2 and 7#c7 in paragraph 7#g7-- 7,a7 by striking subparagraph 7,a72 7,b7 by redesignating subparagraph 7,b7 as subparagraph 7,a7 and amending such subparagraph 7,a71 as redesignated1 to read as follows3 7,a7 ,payments from special reserve fund ,the special reserve fund as defined in subsection 7h7 shall be available for payments made by the ,secretary to a vendor for procurement of a security countermeasure in accordance with the provisions of this paragraph4 2 and 7,c7 by redesignating subparagraph 7,c7 as subparagraph 7,b74 #f4 ,,barda transaction authorities ,section #cai,l7c77#e7 of the ,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bdg;d-#g;e7c77#e77 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7,h7 ,contracting authority ,the ,secretary shall delegate authority for negotiating and entering into any contracts1 grants1 or cooperative agreements under this section to the ,director4 4 #g4 ,public health emergency medical countermeasures enterprise strategy and implementation plan ,section #bhaa7;d77#b7 of the ,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #cjj;hh-#aj7;d77#b77 is amended-- 7#a7 in subparagraph 7,a71 by inserting after describe the chemical1 biological1 radiological1 and nuclear agent or agents that may present a threat to the ,nation the following3 7which shall include pandemic influenza72 7#b7 by striking and at the end of subparagraph 7,j72 7#c7 by redesignating subparagraph 7,k7 as subparagraph 7,l72 and 7#d7 by inserting after subparagraph 7,j7 the following3 7,k7 report on the amount of time between the issuance of each request for proposal or task order from the ,biomedical ,advanced ,research and ,development ,authority and the award of a contract pursuant to such request for proposal or task order2 and 4 #h4 ,priority review to encourage treatments for national security threats ,section #ebd7;a77#c7 of the ,federal ,food1 ,drug1 and ,cosmetic ,act 7#ba ,u4,s4,c4 #cfjn7a77#c77 is amended-- 7#a7 by redesignating subparagraph 7,r7 as subparagraph 7,s72 and 7#b7 by inserting after subparagraph 7,q7 the following3 7,r7 ,any disease or other agent that is determined to be a material threat under section #cai;,f-#b7;c77#b77;,a77ii7 of the ,public ,health ,service ,act4 4