,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #hfje  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,october #af1        
#bjbj,mr4 ,kim 7for himself and ,mr4    
,bilirakis7 introduced the following    
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,energy and ,commerce  ,a 
,,bill  ,to authorize the ,secretary of 
,health and ,human ,services1 in        
consultation with the ,administrator of 
the ,environmental ,protection ,agency  
to award grants to certain entities to  
conduct research on1 or to establish1   
wastewater surveillance and other early 
warning systems1 and for other purposes4
  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be    
cited as the ,community ,readiness ,act4
  #b4 ,grants for research on1 or       
establishing1 wastewater surveillance   
and other early warning systems         
,subtitle ,c of title ,,xviii of the    
,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db      
,u4,s4,c4 #cjj;hh-#ca et seq47 is       
amended by adding at the end the        
following3  #bhbc4 ,grants for research 

on1 or establishing1 wastewater         
surveillance and other early warning    
systems  7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary
 of ,health and ,human ,services1 in    
consultation with the ,administrator of 
the ,environmental ,protection ,agency1 
may award grants to eligible entities to
 conduct research on1 or to establish1 a
 wastewater surveillance or other early 
warning system through-- 7#a7 wastewater
 testing2  7#b7 temperature tracking to 
monitor axillary body temperature2 and  
7#c7 other methods deemed permissible by
 the ,secretary and ,administrator4  7b7
 ,permissible uses of funds ,a grant    
recipient under this section may use    
grant funds to support the activities   
described in subsection 7a71 including  
by-- 7#a7 paying for data-centric       
services that can detect infectious     
diseases before positive cases or       
hospitalizations2  7#b7 entering into   
contracts with private companies to     
implement early warning detection       
methods2 or  7#c7 funding research to   

study early warning detection methods4  
7c7 ,priority ,in selecting grant       
recipients under this section1 the      
,secretary shall give priority to       
eligible entities proposing to conduct  
research on1 or to establish1 wastewater
 surveillance or other early warning    
system in one or more areas that-- 7#a7 
are 7or include one or more areas that  
are7 a hot spot2 or  7#b7 a higher      
percentage of vulnerable populations    
than the national average4  7d7 ,federal
 privacy requirements ,nothing in this  
section shall be construed to supersede 
any ,federal privacy or confidentiality 
requirement1 including the regulations  
promulgated under section #bfd7;c7 of   
the ,health ,insurance ,portability and 
,accountability ,act of #aiif 7#db      
,u4,s4,c4 #acbj;d-#b note7 and section  
#edc of the ,public ,health ,service    
,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bij;dd-#b74  7e7   
,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,the
 term ,administrator means the          
,administrator of the ,environmental    

,protection ,agency4  7#b7 ,the term    
eligible entity means-- 7,a7 a ,state   
government2  7,b7 a local government2   
7,c7 a ,tribal government2  7,d7 an     
entity that conducts health research2   
and  7,e7 an academic institution4  7#c7
 ,the term emergency period has the     
meaning given to that term in section   
#aace7;g77#a77;,b7 of the ,social       
,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4           
#acbj;b-#e7;g77#a77;,b774  7#d7 ,the    
term hot spot means a geographic area   
where the rate of infection with a      
particular pathogen exceeds the national
 average4  7#e7 ,the term local         
government means a county1 municipality1
 town1 township1 village1 parish1       
borough1 or other unit of general local 
government4  7#f7 ,the term ,secretary  
means the ,secretary of ,health and     
,human ,services4  7#g7 ,the term ,state
 means each of the several ,states1 the 
,district of ,columbia1 the             
,commonwealth of ,puerto ,rico1         
,american ,samoa1 ,guam1 the            

,commonwealth of the ,northern ,mariana 
,islands1 the ,virgin ,islands1 and the 
,trust ,territory of the ,pacific       
,islands4  7#h7 ,the term vulnerable    
population means people at increased    
risk of severe illness4  7f7            
,authorization of appropriations ,to    
carry out this section1 there are       
authorized to be appropriated           
#ah1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years    
#bjba through #bjbe4  4