H.R. 2647 — Introduced in House

I 118th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 2647 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 17, 2023Mr. Crenshaw (for himself, Mr. Burgess, Mr. Johnson of Ohio, Mr. Bilirakis, Mrs. Miller-Meeks, Mr. Lamborn, Mr. Steube, Mr. Babin, Mr. Zinke, Mr. Bacon, Mrs. Lesko, and Mr. Ellzey) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To require the Comptroller General of the United States to submit a report on the public health mitigation messaging and guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Restore Public Health Institution Trust Act of 2023. 2. Report on CDC public health mitigation messaging and guidance (a) In general Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the public health mitigation messaging, decision making, and guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (referred to in this section as the CDC). Such report shall— (1) consider— (A) the data being used by the CDC to make recommendations; (B) the impact that inconsistent messaging has had on— (i) the level of trust Americans have in the CDC; and (ii) the willingness of Americans to follow CDC guidance, including with respect to COVID–19 vaccine uptake; (C) the impact that inconsistent messaging with regard to the efficacy of COVID–19 vaccines and Federal mandates for receiving such vaccines has had on attitudes about immunization, both in general and specifically for— (i) the school-age population; and (ii) vaccines on the recommended immunization schedules for children, adolescents, and adults of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the CDC; and (D) the degree to which outside entities (such as teachers unions) were in a position to impact recommendations made by the CDC; and (2) contain recommendations to improve the approach of the CDC relating to messaging, decision making, and the issuance of guidance in the future. (b) Definition In this section, the term appropriate committees of Congress means— (1) the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; (2) the Committee on Small Business of the Senate; (3) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; (4) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate; (5) the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives; (6) the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives; (7) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives; and (8) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives.