[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3253 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3253

To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the establishment 
of emergency medical preparedness centers in the Department of Veterans 
                                Affairs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 8, 2001

  Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. Evans, Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. 
 Rodriguez, Mr. Buyer, and Mr. Stearns) introduced the following bill; 
        which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the establishment 
of emergency medical preparedness centers in the Department of Veterans 
                                Affairs.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``National Medical Emergency 
Preparedness Act of 2001''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF EMERGENCY MEDICAL PREPAREDNESS CENTERS.

    (a) In General.--(1) Subchapter II of chapter 73 of title 38, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section:
``Sec. 7323. Medical emergency preparedness centers
    ``(a) Establishment of Centers.--(1) The Secretary shall establish 
at least four medical emergency preparedness centers in accordance with 
this section. Each such center shall be established at a Department 
medical center and shall be staffed by Department employees.
    ``(2) The official within the central office of the Veterans Health 
Administration responsible for medical preparedness shall be 
responsible for supervising the operation of the centers established 
pursuant to this section and shall provide for ongoing evaluation of 
the centers and their compliance with the requirements of this section.
    ``(b) Mission.--The mission of the centers shall be--
            ``(1) to carry out research on and develop methods of 
        detection, diagnosis, vaccination, protection, and treatment 
        for chemical, biological, and radiological threats to the 
        public health and safety;
            ``(2) to provide education, training, and advice to health-
        care professionals, including health-care professionals outside 
        the Veterans Health Administration; and
            ``(3) to provide contingent rapid response laboratory 
        assistance and other assistance to local health care 
        authorities in the event of a national emergency.
    ``(c) Center Directors.--Each center shall have a Director with (1) 
expertise in managing organizations that deal with threats referred to 
in subsection (b), (2) expertise in providing care to populations 
exposed to toxic substances, or (3) significant research experience in 
those fields.
    ``(d) Selection of Centers.--(1) The Secretary shall select the 
sites for the centers on the basis of a competitive selection process 
and a finding under paragraph (2). The centers selected shall be 
located in different regions of the Nation, and any such center may be 
a consortium of efforts of more than one medical center. At least one 
of the centers shall be established to concentrate on chemical threats, 
at least one shall be established to concentrate on biological threats, 
and at least one shall be established to concentrate on radiological 
threats.
    ``(2) The finding referred to in paragraph (1) with respect to a 
proposal for designation of a site as a location of a center under this 
section is a finding by the Secretary, upon the recommendation of the 
Under Secretary for Health, that the facility or facilities submitting 
the proposal have developed (or may reasonably be anticipated to 
develop) each of the following:
            ``(A) An arrangement with a qualifying medical school and a 
        qualifying school of public health (or a consortium of such 
        schools) under which physicians and other persons in the health 
        field receive education and training through the participating 
        Department medical centers so as to provide those persons with 
        training in the diagnosis and treatment of illnesses induced by 
        exposures to toxins, including chemical and biological 
        substances and nuclear ionizing radiation.
            ``(B) An arrangement with an accredited graduate program of 
        epidemiology under which students receive education and 
        training in epidemiology through the participating Department 
        facilities so as to provide such students with training in the 
        epidemiology of contagious and infectious diseases and chemical 
        and radiation poisoning in an exposed population.
            ``(C) An arrangement under which nursing, social work, 
        counseling, or allied health personnel and students receive 
        training and education in recognizing and caring for conditions 
        associated with exposures to toxins through the participating 
        Department facilities.
            ``(D) The ability to attract scientists who have made 
        significant contributions to the development of innovative 
        approaches to the detection, diagnosis, vaccination, 
        protection, or treatment of persons exposed to chemical, 
        biological, or radiological substances.
    ``(3) For purposes of paragraph (2)(A)--
            ``(A) a qualifying medical school is an accredited medical 
        school that provides education and training in toxicology and 
        environmental health hazards and with which one or more of the 
        participating Department medical centers is affiliated; and
            ``(B) a qualifying school of public health is an accredited 
        school of public health that provides education and training in 
        toxicology and environmental health hazards and with which one 
        or more of the participating Department medical centers is 
        affiliated.
    ``(e) Funding.--(1) Amounts appropriated for the activities of the 
centers shall be appropriated separately from amounts appropriated for 
the Department for medical care.
    ``(2) There are authorized to be appropriated for the centers under 
this section $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2002 through 2006.
    ``(3) In addition to funds appropriated for a fiscal year pursuant 
to the authorization of appropriations in paragraph (2), the Under 
Secretary for Health shall allocate to such centers from other funds 
appropriated for that fiscal year generally for the Department of 
Veterans Affairs medical care account and the Department of Veterans 
Affairs medical and prosthetics research account such amounts as the 
Under Secretary for Health determines appropriate to carry out the 
purposes of this section.
    ``(f) Research Activities.--Each center shall conduct research on 
improved medical preparedness to protect the Nation from threats in the 
area of that center's expertise. Each center may seek research funds 
from public and private sources for such purpose.
    ``(g) Peer Review Panel.--(1) In order to provide advice to assist 
the Secretary and the Under Secretary for Health to carry out their 
responsibilities under this section, the Under Secretary shall 
establish a peer review panel to assess the scientific and clinical 
merit of proposals that are submitted to the Secretary for the 
designation of centers under this section.
    ``(2) The peer review panel shall include experts in the fields of 
toxicological research, bio-hazards management education and training, 
radiology, clinical care of patients exposed to such hazards, and other 
persons as determined appropriate by the Secretary. Members of the 
panel shall serve as consultants to the Department.
    ``(3) The panel shall review each proposal submitted to the panel 
by the officials referred to in paragraph (1) and shall submit to the 
Under Secretary for Health its views on the relative scientific and 
clinical merit of each such proposal. The panel shall specifically 
determine with respect to each such proposal whether that proposal is 
among those proposals which have met the highest competitive standards 
of scientific and clinical merit.
    ``(4) The panel shall not be subject to the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).
    ``(h) Research Products.--(1) The Under Secretary for Health shall 
ensure that information produced by the research, education and 
training, and clinical activities of centers established under this 
section is made available, as appropriate, to health-care providers in 
the United States. Dissemination of such information shall be made 
through publications, through programs of continuing medical and 
related education provided through regional medical education centers 
under subchapter VI of chapter 74 of this title, and through other 
means. Such programs of continuing medical education shall receive 
priority in the award of funding.
    ``(2) The Secretary shall ensure that the work of the centers is 
conducted in close coordination with the Office of Homeland Security 
and the Department of Defense, and research products or other 
information of the centers shall be coordinated and shared with that 
Office and the Department of Defense.
    ``(i) Assistance to Other Agencies.--The Secretary may provide 
assistance requested by appropriate Federal, State, and local civil and 
criminal authorities in investigations, inquiries, and data analyses as 
necessary to protect the public safety and prevent or obviate 
biological, chemical, or radiological threats.
    ``(j) Detail of Employees From Other Agencies.--Upon approval by 
the Secretary, the Director of a center may request the temporary 
assignment or detail to the center, on a nonreimbursable basis, of 
employees from other Departments and agencies of the United States who 
have expertise that would further the mission of the center. Any such 
employee may be so assigned or detailed on a nonreimbursable basis 
pursuant to such a request. The duration of any such assignment or 
detail shall be subject to approval by the Office of Personnel 
Management.''.
    (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 7322 the 
following new item:

``7323. Medical emergency preparedness centers.''.
    (b) Initial Funding.--Funds for fiscal year 2002 for the medical 
emergency preparedness centers established under section 7323 of title 
38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall be provided 
from funds made available under Public Law 107-38.
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