,i #aaeth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #gjce ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,october #e1 #bjah,ms4 ,wasserman ,schultz 7for herself1 ,ms4 ,jackson ,lee1 and ,ms4 ,kelly of ,illinois7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce ,a ,,bill ,to provide for a ,national ,strategy ,to ,increase ,life ,expectancy1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,national ,strategy ,to ,increase ,life ,expectancy ,act of #bjah4 #b4 ,findings ,the ,congress makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,united ,states life expectancy at birth1 formerly longer than many other wealthy nations1 has lagged over the past four decades and currently stands at #gh4f years compared with the ,organization for ,economic ,cooperation and ,development average of nearly #ha years4 7#b7 ,if ,united ,states life expectancy matched the ,organization for ,economic ,cooperation and ,development average1 more than #baj1jjj deaths would be prevented annually4 7#c7 ,united ,states life expectancy declined in #bjae and #bjaf1 the first decline in #b consecutive years since a deadly influenza pandemic caused declines in #aifb and #aifc4 7#d7 ,preliminary data indicates that ,united ,states life expectancy declined in #bjag1 which would mark the first decline in #c consecutive years since #aiaf-aiah1 which included the ,spanish influenza pandemic that killed an estimated #fge1jjj ,americans4 7#e7 ,the gap in life expectancy between the ,united ,states and the ,organization for ,economic ,cooperation and ,development has been attributed in part to numerous factors1 including the opioid epidemic1 smoking1 obesity1 insufficient exercise1 infant mortality1 maternal mortality1 affordable access to high-quality health care1 gun violence1 economic inequality1 and social isolation4 7#f7 ,there is significant and growing inequality in life expectancy in the ,united ,states based on socioeconomic status1 race1 ethnicity1 and geography4 #c4 ,national ,strategy ,to ,increase ,life ,expectancy ,the ,public ,health ,service ,act is amended by inserting after section #caj;,a of such ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bdbs7 the following new section3 #caj;,b4 ,national ,strategy ,to ,increase ,life ,expectancy 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall develop and maintain a national strategy to be known as the ,national ,strategy ,to ,increase ,life ,expectancy 7in this section referred to as the ,national ,strategy7 for increasing life expectancy in the ,united ,states to1 at minimum1 the average life expectancy in the member countries of the ,organization for ,economic ,cooperation and ,development4 7b7 ,process2 transmittal to ,congress and public release 7#a7 ,process ,the ,secretary shall-- 7,a7 develop the ,national ,strategy and each update thereto in consultation with-- 7i7 other ,federal departments and agencies as appropriate2 and 7ii7 medical professionals1 patient advocates1 and experts in public health and other subject matter areas impacting life expectancy2 and 7,b7 shall publish a proposed version of the ,national ,strategy and each update thereto in the ,federal ,register and provide a period of at least #cj days for the public to submit comments on each such proposal before finalizing the ,national ,strategy or update1 respectively4 7#b7 ,transmittal2 release ,not later than #b years after the date of enactment of the ,national ,strategy ,to ,increase ,life ,expectancy ,act of #bjah1 the ,secretary shall-- 7,a7 transmit the final ,national ,strategy to the appropriate congressional committees2 and 7,b7 release the final ,national ,strategy to the public4 7#c7 ,updates ,every #b years following the transmittal under paragraph 7#b7 of the initial ,national ,strategy1 the ,secretary shall-- 7,a7 make updates1 as the ,secretary determines appropriate1 to the ,national ,strategy pursuant to the process described in paragraph 7#a72 7,b7 transmit the updated ,national ,strategy to the appropriate congressional committees2 and 7,c7 release the updated ,national ,strategy to the public4 7#d7 ,appointment of senior official 7,a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall designate a senior official at the ,department of ,health and ,human ,services to be responsible for coordinating the development1 updating1 and implementation of the ,national ,strategy4 7,b7 ,duties ,the duties of the official designated under paragraph 7#a7 shall include-- 7i7 acting as a liaison with all ,federal agencies regarding the development1 updating1 and implementation of the ,national ,strategy2 7ii7 working to ensure that there is proper coordination among agencies in developing1 updating1 and implementing the ,national ,strategy2 7iii7 being knowledgeable about budget priorities and familiar with all efforts within the ,department of ,health and ,human ,services impacting life expectancy2 and 7iv7 communicating the ,national ,strategy to ,congress and being available to answer questions related to the ,national ,strategy at congressional hearings1 if requested by committees of appropriate jurisdiction1 on the contents of the ,national ,strategy and the progress of the ,department of ,health and ,human ,services in implementing the ,national ,strategy4 7c7 ,contents ,the ,national ,strategy shall include the following3 7#a7 ,causes ,an identification of the most significant causes of premature death in the ,united ,states1 including an analysis of the relative importance of the opioid epidemic1 smoking1 obesity1 insufficient exercise1 infant mortality1 maternal mortality1 affordable access to high-quality health care1 gun violence1 economic inequality1 social isolation1 and such other factors or causes as the ,secretary determines to be significant1 in preventing the life expectancy in the ,united ,states from being as high as the average life expectancy in the member countries of the ,organization for ,economic ,cooperation and ,development4 7#b7 ,analysis of recent absolute decline ,a discussion of and data regarding-- 7,a7 in the initial ,national ,strategy1 the absolute decline of life expectancy in the ,united ,states preceding the enactment of the ,national ,strategy ,to ,increase ,life ,expectancy ,act of #bjah2 and 7,b7 in each update to the ,national ,strategy1 any absolute decline of life expectancy in the ,united ,states over the period since the previous transmittal of the ,national ,strategy pursuant to subsection 7b74 7#c7 ,analysis of inequality in life expectancy within the ,united ,states ,a discussion of and data regarding the inequality in life expectancy within the ,united ,states4 7#d7 ,analysis of differences in life expectancy by sex ,a discussion of and data regarding differences in life expectancy1 including differing causes of premature death1 between men and women4 7#e7 ,analysis of differing causes of premature death by age ,a discussion of and data regarding differing causes of premature death for ,americans of different age groups1 and how such differing causes have contributed to the gap between the life expectancy in the ,united ,states and the average life expectancy in the member countries of the ,organization for ,economic ,cooperation and ,development4 7#f7 ,evaluation of existing efforts ,an assessment of the effectiveness of and ways in which the ,federal ,government is addressing the causes identified under paragraphs 7#a71 7#b71 7#c71 7#d71 and 7#e7 which shall include a projection of life expectancy in the ,united ,states in each of the next #aj years4 7#g7 ,proposed changes ,a discussion of comprehensive1 research-based1 long-range1 quantifiable proposed changes to efforts in order to-- 7,a7 expeditiously increase the life expectancy in the ,united ,states to1 at a minimum1 the average life expectancy in the member countries of the ,organization for ,economic ,cooperation and ,development2 and 7,b7 significantly reduce the inequality in life expectancy within the ,united ,states4 7#h7 ,projection of life expectancy gains with implementation of proposed changes ,a projection of life expectancy in the ,united ,states in each year of implementation of the changes proposed in the ,national ,strategy1 and a projection of the life expectancy in the member countries of the ,organization for ,economic ,cooperation and ,development in each of those years1 until such year as the projected life expectancy in the ,united ,states equals or exceeds the projected average life expectancy in the member countries of the ,organization for ,economic ,cooperation and ,development4 7#i7 ,budget ,a proposed budget that identifies sufficient resources needed to successfully execute the ,national ,strategy until such year as the projected life expectancy in the ,united ,states equals or exceeds the projected average life expectancy in the member countries of the ,organization for ,economic ,cooperation and ,development4 7#aj7 ,authority for proposed changes ,for each change proposed in the ,national ,strategy1 a determination of which1 if any1 ,federal department or agency should be responsible for implementing such change and whether the department or agency has the authority and resources to do so4 7d7 ,implementation ,the head of each ,federal department or agency shall1 pursuant to authority vested in the department or agency by provisions of law other than this section1 work to implement each proposed recommendation in the ,national ,strategy1 as applicable1 unless the ,national ,strategy indicates that the department or agency needs additional resources or authorities to undertake such implementation4 7e7 ,authorization of appropriations ,to carry out this section1 there are authorized to be appropriated-- 7#a7 #b1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years #bjbj and #bjba2 and 7#b7 #a1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years #bjbb through #bjbi4 4