[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2370 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2370

 To improve homeland security by providing for national resilience in 
preparation for, and in the event of, a terrorist attack, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 5, 2003

 Mr. Kennedy of Rhode Island introduced the following bill; which was 
 referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to 
the Committees on the Judiciary, and Transportation and Infrastructure, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 
                        the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To improve homeland security by providing for national resilience in 
preparation for, and in the event of, a terrorist attack, and for other 
                               purposes.

    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 Resilience Development Act 
of 2003''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) According to the New England Journal of Medicine, after 
        September 11, 2001, Americans across the country, including 
        children, had substantial symptoms of stress. Even clinicians 
        who practice in regions that are far from the sites of the 
        attacks should be prepared to assist people with trauma-related 
        symptoms of stress.
            (2) According to Military Medicine, experiences from the 
        1995 chemical weapons attack by terrorists in the Tokyo subway 
        system suggest that psychological casualties from a chemical 
        attack will outnumber physical casualties by approximately 4 to 
        1.
            (3) According to Military Medicine, victims from the 1995 
        Tokyo attack continued to suffer from psychological symptoms 5 
        years later.
            (4) According to the Journal of the American Medical 
        Association, the lessons learned from the 2001 anthrax attacks 
        should motivate local health departments, health care 
        organizations, and clinicians to engage in collaborative 
        programs to enhance their communications and local preparedness 
        and response capabilities.
            (5) According to the Institute of Medicine of the National 
        Academy of Sciences, the Department of Health and Human 
        Services and the Department of Homeland Security should analyze 
        terrorism preparedness to ensure that the public health 
        infrastructure is prepared to respond to the psychological 
        consequences of terrorism, and Federal, State, and local 
        disaster planers should address these psychological 
        consequences in their planning and preparedness for terrorist 
        attacks.
            (6) According to a national study by leading health care 
        foundations, in this time of growing threats of terrorism, many 
        doctors and other primary care providers are increasingly being 
        confronted with patients who complain of aches and pains, or 
        more serious symptoms, which mask serious anxiety or 
        depression.
            (7) Substantial effort and funding are still needed to 
        adequately understand and prepare for the psychological 
        consequences associated with bioterrorism.
            (8) The integration of mental health into public health 
        efforts, including integration and cooperation across Federal 
        agencies and State public health and mental health authorities, 
        is critical in addressing the psychological needs of the Nation 
        with regard to terrorism.

SEC. 3. GOALS.

    The goals of this Act are as follows:
            (1) To coordinate the efforts of different government 
        agencies in researching, developing, and implementing programs 
        and protocols designed to increase the psychological resilience 
        and mitigate distress reactions and maladaptive behaviors of 
        the American public as they relate to terrorism.
            (2) To facilitate the work of the Department of Homeland 
        Security by incorporating programs and protocols designed to 
        increase the psychological resilience, and mitigate distress 
        reactions and maladaptive behaviors, of the American public 
        into the Department's efforts in reducing the vulnerability of 
        the United States to terrorism.
            (3) To identify effective interventions to the harmful 
        psychosocial consequences of disasters and to integrate these 
        interventions into the United States' plans to mitigate, plan 
        for, respond to, and recover from potential and actual 
        terrorist attacks.
            (4) To enable the States and localities to effectively 
        respond to the psychosocial consequences of terrorism.
            (5) To integrate mental health and public health emergency 
        preparedness and response efforts in the United States.

 SEC. 4. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE ON NATIONAL RESILIENCE.

    Title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 241 et seq.) 
is amended by inserting after section 319K the following:

``SEC. 319L. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE ON NATIONAL RESILIENCE.

    ``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall convene and lead an 
interagency task force for the purpose of increasing the psychological 
resilience and mitigating distress reactions and maladaptive behaviors 
of the American public in preparation for, and in response to, a 
conventional, biological, chemical, or radiological attack on the 
United States.
    ``(b) Members.--The task force convened under this section shall 
include the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 
the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, the 
Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
Administration, the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services 
Administration, the Director of the Office of Public Health Emergency 
Preparedness, the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service, and 
such other members as the Secretary deems appropriate.
    ``(c) Duties.--The duties of the task force convened under this 
section shall include the following:
            ``(1) Coordinating and facilitating the efforts of the 
        Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National 
        Institute of Mental Health, the Substance Abuse and Mental 
        Health Services Administration, the Health Resources and 
        Services Administration, the Office of Public Health Emergency 
        Preparedness, and the Office of the Surgeon General of the 
        Public Health Service in their endeavors to develop programs 
        and protocols designed to increase the psychological resilience 
        and mitigate distress reactions and maladaptive behaviors of 
        the American public in preparation for, and in response to, a 
        conventional, biological, chemical, or radiological attack on 
        the United States.
            ``(2) Consulting with, and providing guidance to, the 
        Department of Homeland Security in its efforts to integrate 
        into its efforts in reducing the vulnerability of the United 
        States to terrorism, programs and protocols designed to 
        increase the psychological resilience and mitigate distress 
        reactions and maladaptive behaviors of the American public in 
        preparation for, and in response to, a conventional, 
        biological, chemical, or radiological attack on the United 
        States.
            ``(3) Consulting with the Department of Defense, the 
        Department of Veterans Affairs, the American Red Cross, 
        national organizations of health care and health care 
        providers, and such other organizations and agencies as the 
        task force deems appropriate.
            ``(4) Consulting with and providing guidance to the States 
        for the purpose of enabling them to effectively respond to the 
        psychosocial consequences of terrorism.
            ``(5) Developing strategies for encouraging State public 
        health and mental health agencies to closely collaborate in the 
        development of integrated, science-based programs and protocols 
        designed to increase the psychological resilience and mitigate 
        distress reactions and maladaptive behaviors of the public in 
        preparation for, and in response to, a conventional, 
        biological, chemical, or radiological attack on the United 
        States.
            ``(6) Preparing and presenting to the Secretary of Health 
        and Human Services and the Secretary of Homeland Security 
        specific recommendations on how their respective departments, 
        agencies, and offices can strengthen existing and planned 
        terrorism preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation 
        initiatives by integrating programs and protocols designed to 
        increase the psychological resilience and mitigate distress 
        reactions and maladaptive behaviors of the American public.
    ``(d) Meetings.--The task force convened under this section shall 
meet not less than 4 times each year.
    ``(e) Staff.--The Secretary shall staff the task force as necessary 
to ensure it meets the goals set forth in section 3 of the National 
Resilience Development Act of 2003.''.

 SEC. 5. MENTAL HEALTH ACTIVITIES OF STATES, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, AND 
              TERRITORIES REGARDING NATIONAL RESILIENCE.

    (a) Public Health Service Act.--
            (1) Authorization.--Subsection (d) of section 319C-1 of the 
        Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d-3a) is amended by 
        inserting after paragraph (18) the following:
            ``(19) To enable State mental health authorities, in close 
        collaboration with the respective State public health 
        authorities and the interagency task force convened under 
        section 319L, to better understand and manage human emotional, 
        behavioral, and cognitive responses to disasters, including by 
        increasing the psychological resilience of the public and 
mitigating distress reactions and maladaptive behaviors that could 
occur in response to a conventional, biological, chemical, or 
radiological attack on the United States.''.
            (2) Funding.--Subparagraph (B) of section 319C-1(j)(1) of 
        the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d-3a(j)(1)) is 
        amended by adding at the end the following: ``Not less than 1 
        percent of the amounts appropriated pursuant to this 
        subparagraph shall be used for the purpose of carrying out 
        subsection (d)(19).''.
    (b) USA Patriot Act.--
            (1) Authorization.--Subsection (b) of section 1014 of the 
        Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate 
        Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT 
        ACT) Act of 2001 (42 U.S.C. 3714) is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``may be used to purchase'' and 
                inserting ``may be used for the following:
            ``(1) To purchase'';
                    (B) by striking ``In addition, grants under this 
                section may be used to construct'' and inserting the 
                following:
            ``(2) To construct''; and
                    (C) by inserting at the end the following:
            ``(3) To enable State mental health authorities, in close 
        collaboration with the respective State public health 
        authorities and the interagency task force convened under 
        section 319L of the Public Health Service Act, to better 
        understand and manage human emotional, behavioral, and 
        cognitive responses to disasters, including by increasing the 
        psychological resilience of the public and mitigating distress 
        reactions and maladaptive behaviors that could occur in 
        response to a conventional, biological, chemical, or 
        radiological attack on the United States.''.
            (2) Funding.--Subsection (c) of section 1014 of the Uniting 
        and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools 
        Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT ACT) 
        Act of 2001 (42 U.S.C. 3714) is amended by adding at the end 
        the following:
            ``(4) Mental health preparedness.--Not less than 1 percent 
        of the amounts appropriated pursuant to this subsection shall 
        be used for the purpose of carrying out subsection (b)(3).''.

 SEC. 6. EFFORTS BY FEMA REGARDING NATIONAL RESILIENCE.

    Paragraph (2) of section 507(a) of the Homeland Security Act of 
2002 (6 U.S.C. 317(a)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``; and'' at the end 
        and inserting a semicolon;
            (2) in subparagraph (E), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(F) of integrating into each of the Federal 
                Emergency Management Agency's functions of mitigation, 
                planning, response, and recovery, efforts to increase 
                communities' psychological resilience and decrease 
                distress reactions and maladaptive behaviors in 
                individuals, and of coordinating such efforts with 
                efforts by the interagency task force convened under 
                section 319L of the Public Health Service Act and other 
                efforts by the Department of Homeland Security.''.

 SEC. 7. ANNUAL REPORT BY SECRETARIES OF HHS AND HOMELAND SECURITY.

    Not less than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act 
and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Health and Human Services and 
the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting jointly, shall submit a 
report to the Congress that includes the following:
            (1) The recommendations of the interagency task force 
        convened under section 319L of the Public Health Service Act 
        (as amended by section 4 of this Act) that are relevant to the 
        Department of Health and Human Services or the Department of 
        Homeland Security.
            (2) A description of the steps that have or have not been 
        taken by each Federal department to implement the 
        recommendations described in paragraph (1).
            (3) Thorough explanations for rejection of any 
        recommendations made by the interagency task force convened 
        under section 319L.
            (4) Other steps undertaken to meet the goals of this Act.
                                 <all>