,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #feii ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,april #bc1 #bjbj,mr4 ,lucas 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,weber of ,texas1 ,mr4 ,babin1 ,mr4 ,marshall1 ,mr4 ,posey1 ,mr4 ,olson1 ,mr4 ,gonzalez of ,ohio1 ,mr4 ,rooney of ,florida1 and ,mr4 ,murphy of ,north ,carolina7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,science1 ,space1 and ,technology1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to provide for coordination of research and development for pandemic disease prediction1 forecasting1 and computing1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,,covid ,research ,act of #bjbj or the ,computing ,opportunities to ,vanquish ,infectious ,diseases ,research ,act of #bjbj4 #b4 ,definitions 7a7 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,department ,the term ,department means the ,department of ,energy4 7#b7 ,national laboratory ,the term ,national ,laboratory has the meaning given that term in section #b of the ,energy ,policy ,act of #bjje 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #aehja74 7#c7 ,national academies ,the term ,national ,academies means the ,national ,academies of ,sciences1 ,engineering1 and ,medicine4 7#d7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,energy4 7#e7 ,qualifying entity ,the term ,qualifying entity means-- 7,a7 an institution of higher education2 7,b7 an appropriate ,state or ,federal entity1 including a federally funded research and development center of the ,department2 7,c7 a nonprofit research institution2 7,d7 a multi-institutional collaboration2 or 7,e7 any other relevant entity the ,secretary determines appropriate4 #c4 ,emerging infectious disease prediction and forecasting science and technology interagency working group 7a7 ,interagency committee ,the ,director of the ,office of ,science and ,technology ,policy1 acting through the ,national ,science and ,technology ,council1 shall establish or designate an interagency working group to coordinate ,federal programs and activities for emerging infectious disease data acquisition1 analysis1 situational awareness1 prediction and forecasting1 and other related activities4 7b7 ,co-,chairs ,the interagency working group shall be co-chaired by the ,director of the ,office of ,science and ,technology ,policy and1 on an annual rotating basis1 a representative from the participants of the interagency working group1 as selected by the ,director of the ,office of ,science and ,technology ,policy4 7c7 ,agency participation ,the ,committee shall include representatives from-- 7#a7 the ,department of ,health and ,human ,services2 7#b7 the ,department of ,homeland ,security2 7#c7 the ,department of ,agriculture2 7#d7 the ,department of ,commerce2 7#e7 the ,department of ,energy2 7#f7 the ,department of the ,interior2 7#g7 the ,department of ,defense2 7#h7 the ,national ,science ,foundation2 7#i7 the ,centers for ,disease ,control and ,prevention2 7#aj7 the ,national ,institutes of ,health2 7#aa7 the ,department of ,state2 7#ab7 the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs2 7#ac7 the ,environmental ,protection ,agency2 7#ad7 the ,federal ,emergency ,management ,agency2 7#ae7 the ,united ,states ,agency for ,international ,development2 7#af7 the ,smithsonian ,institution2 and 7#ag7 any other ,federal agency as considered appropriate by the ,director of the ,office of ,science and ,technology ,policy4 7d7 ,responsibilities ,the ,interagency working group shall-- 7#a7 provide for interagency coordination of ,federal research1 technological development1 and operational practice in the prediction of infectious disease outbreaks in humans1 animals1 or plants to minimize their adverse health1 economic1 and security impact2 7#b7 identify challenges in outbreak prediction and modeling and develop a national strategic plan for ,federal actions to advance the development and effective application of outbreak prediction capabilities2 7#c7 hold workshops and seminars to engage researchers and stakeholders from universities1 industry1 public health organizations1 and non-profit organization2 and 7#d7 engage with international partners and strategic allies to share best practices and coordinate prediction and modeling of infectious disease4 7e7 ,coordination with national academies standing committee on emerging infectious disease and #bast century health threats ,the ,director of the ,office of ,science and ,technology ,policy shall coordinate with the ,national ,academies to ensure that at least one member of the interagency working group is also a member of the committee under section #d4 7f7 ,biennial reporting ,one years after the date of enactment of this ,act1 and at least every #b years thereafter1 the ,director of the ,office of ,science and ,technology ,policy shall provide a summary report to ,congress on the activities of the working group4 #d4 ,national ,academies ,standing ,committee on ,emerging ,infectious ,disease and #bast ,century ,health ,threats 7a7 ,in general ,the ,office of ,science and ,technology ,policy1 and other agencies as determined by the ,director of the ,office of ,science and ,technology ,policy1 shall enter into an agreement with the ,national ,academies to create a ,standing ,committee on ,emerging ,infectious ,disease and #bast ,century ,health ,threats 7hereinafter in this section referred to as the ,standing ,committee74 7b7 ,participants ,the ,standing ,committee shall include members with expertise in emerging infectious diseases1 public health1 public health preparedness and response1 biological sciences1 clinical care and crisis standards of care1 risk communication1 and regulatory issues4 7c7 ,purpose ,the purpose of the ,standing ,committee is to facilitate the exchange of ideas among ,federal agencies1 the private sector1 and the academic community1 as well as other relevant stakeholders1 including-- 7#a7 responding on short notice to requests from the ,federal ,government to assess and consider the science and policy implications of an emerging infectious disease or significant public health threat2 7#b7 providing a venue to enable science and policy discussions relevant to the ,federal ,government on emerging issues1 research1 and activities through in-depth knowledge of the sponsor's programs1 goals1 and objectives2 7#c7 identifying opportunities to integrate science into national preparedness and response decision making2 7#d7 exploring lessons learned and best practices from previous preparedness and response efforts1 and identify opportunities to disseminate that information to a variety of stakeholders2 7#e7 serving as a forum for national policy discussions by experts and other leaders in the field2 7#f7 identifying and discussing strategies for addressing misinformation2 and 7#g7 responding to the needs of the ,working ,group established under section #c for continuing dialog related to strategic planning and program development to address emerging infectious diseases1 biosecurity1 and public health and medical preparedness4 7d7 ,report and briefing ,the agreement under subsection 7a7 shall specify that-- 7#a7 the standing committee shall periodically organize workshops and issue publicly available reports on the topics described in subsection 7c7 and the activities of the ,standing ,committee2 and 7#b7 not later than one year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,academies shall provide a briefing to relevant ,committees of the ,house of ,representatives and ,senate on the progress and activities of the ,standing ,committee4 #e4 ,department of ,energy emerging infectious disease research program 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary1 in coordination with the ,director of the ,national ,science ,foundation and the ,director of the ,national ,aeronautics and ,space ,administration1 shall carry out a research program to leverage the ,federal ,government's innovative analytical tools and advanced computational and networking capabilities in order to prevent1 prepare for1 and respond to emerging infectious diseases1 including ,,covid-#ai4 ,the ,secretary shall carry out this program through a competitive1 merit-reviewed process1 and consider applications from ,national ,laboratories1 institutions of higher education1 multi-institutional collaborations1 industry partners and other appropriate entities4 7b7 ,program components ,in carrying out the program established under subsection 7a71 ,secretary shall coordinate with relevant ,federal agencies to determine a comprehensive set of technical milestones for these research activities and prioritize the following objectives-- 7#a7 supporting fundamental research and development in advanced analytics and high-performance computing technologies needed to characterize1 model1 simulate1 and predict complex phenomena related to emerging infectious diseases1 including ,,covid-#ai mitigation challenges1 including a focus on bioinformatics1 epidemiology1 and molecular modeling2 7#b7 using expertise from the private sector and institutions of higher education1 and the ,national ,laboratories to develop computational software and capabilities that prospective users may accelerate emerging infectious diseases research and development2 7#c7 increasing the utility of the research infrastructure of the ,department1 including scientific computing user facilities and light source user facilities1 by coordinating with the ,advanced ,scientific ,computing ,research and ,basic ,energy ,sciences programs within the ,office of ,science2 7#d7 leveraging experience from existing modeling and simulation research and work sponsored by the ,department and promoting collaboration and data sharing between ,national ,laboratories1 research entities1 and user facilities of the ,department by providing the necessary access and secure data transfer capabilities2 and 7#e7 ensuring that new experimental and computational tools are accessible to relevant research communities1 including private sector entities engaged in technology development to address emerging infectious diseases1 including ,,covid-#ai challenges4 7c7 ,coordination ,in carrying out these programs1 the ,secretary shall ensure coordination and consultation with member of the working group established in section #c4 ,the ,secretary shall ensure1 to the maximum extent practicable1 coordination of these activities with the ,department of ,energy ,national ,laboratories1 institutes of higher education1 and the private sector4 7d7 ,emerging infectious diseases high performance computing research consortium 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary in coordination with the ,director of the ,national ,science ,foundation and the ,director of the ,office of ,science and ,technology ,policy shall establish and operate an ,emerging ,infectious ,diseases ,high ,performance ,computing ,research ,consortium 7referred to in this section as the ,consortium71 in order to support the program under subsection 7a7 by providing1 to the extent practicable1 a centralized location for multidisciplinary1 collaborative1 emerging infectious disease research and development through high performance computing and advanced data analytics technologies and processes4 7#b7 ,membership ,the members of such consortium shall be representatives from relevant ,federal agencies1 the private sector1 institutes of higher education1 which can each contribute relevant compute time1 capabilities1 or other resources4 7#c7 ,activities ,the ,consortium shall-- 7,a7 match applicants with available ,federal and private sector computing resources2 7,b7 consider supplemental awards for computing partnerships with ,consortium members to qualifying entities on a competitive merit-review basis2 7,c7 encourage collaboration and communication among member representatives of the consortium and awardees2 7,d7 make available the high-performance computing capabilities1 expertise1 and user facilities of the ,department and the ,national ,laboratories2 and 7,e7 submit an annual report to the ,secretary summarizing the activities of the ,consortium1 including-- 7i7 describing each project undertaken by the ,consortium2 7ii7 detailing organizational expenditures2 and 7iii7 evaluating contribution to the achievement of technical milestones as determined in subsection 7a74 7#d7 ,coordination ,the ,secretary shall ensure the coordination of1 and avoid unnecessary duplication of1 the activities of the ,consortium with the activities of other research entities of the ,department1 institutions of higher education and the private sector4 7e7 ,report ,not later than #b years after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall submit to the ,committee on ,science1 ,space1 and ,technology of the ,house1 and the ,committee on ,energy and ,natural ,resources of the ,senate1 and the ,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1 and ,transportation of the ,senate a report detailing the effectiveness of-- 7#a7 the interagency coordination between each ,federal agency involved in the research program carried out under this section2 7#b7 the collaborative research achievements of the program1 including the achievement of the technical milestones determined under subsection 7a72 and 7#c7 potential opportunities to expand the technical capabilities of the ,department4 7f7 ,prohibition ,no funds allocated to the program described in subsection 7a7 may be obligated or expended for commercial application of technology4 7g7 ,funding ,from within funds authorized to be appropriated for the ,department's ,office of ,science1 there shall be made available to the ,secretary to carry out the activities under this section1 #ej1jjj1jjj for fiscal years #bjba and #bjbb4