[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6347 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6347

   To provide for the protection of health and safety during certain 
                               disasters.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 5, 2006

 Mr. Barton of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL



   To provide for the protection of health and safety during certain 
                               disasters.

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

SECTION 1. PROTECTION OF HEALTH AND SAFETY DURING DISASTERS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Certified monitoring program.--The term ``certified 
        monitoring program'' means a medical monitoring program--
                    (A) in which a participating responder is a 
                participant as a condition of the employment of such 
                participating responder; and
                    (B) that the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
                certifies includes an adequate baseline medical 
                screening.
            (2) Disaster area.--The term ``disaster area'' means an 
        area in which the President has declared a major disaster (as 
        that term is defined in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford 
        Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122)), 
        during the period of such declaration.
            (3) High exposure level.--The term ``high exposure level'' 
        means a level of exposure to a substance of concern that is for 
        such a duration, or of such a magnitude, that adverse effects 
        on human health can be reasonably expected to occur, as 
        determined by the President, acting through the Secretary of 
        Health and Human Services, in accordance with human monitoring 
        or environmental or other appropriate indicators.
            (4) Individual.--The term ``individual'' includes--
                    (A) a worker or volunteer who responds to a 
                disaster, either natural or manmade, involving any mode 
                of transportation in the United States or disrupting 
                the transportation system of the United States, 
                including--
                            (i) a police officer;
                            (ii) a firefighter;
                            (iii) an emergency medical technician;
                            (iv) any participating member of an urban 
                        search and rescue team; and
                            (v) any other relief or rescue worker or 
                        volunteer that the President, acting through 
                        the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
                        determines to be appropriate;
                    (B) a worker who responds to a disaster, either 
                natural or manmade, involving any mode of 
                transportation in the United States or disrupting the 
                transportation system of the United States, by 
                assisting in the cleanup or restoration of critical 
                infrastructure in and around a disaster area;
                    (C) a person whose place of residence is in a 
                disaster area, caused by either a natural or manmade 
                disaster involving any mode of transportation in the 
                United States or disrupting the transportation system 
                of the United States;
                    (D) a person who is employed in or attends school, 
                child care, or adult day care in a building located in 
                a disaster area, caused by either a natural or manmade 
                disaster involving any mode of transportation in the 
                United States or disrupting the transportation system 
                of the United States, of the United States; and
                    (E) any other person that the President, acting 
                through the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
                determines to be appropriate.
            (5) Participating responder.--The term ``participating 
        responder'' means an individual described in paragraph (4)(A).
            (6) Program.--The term ``program'' means a program 
        described in subsection (b) that is carried out for a disaster 
        area.
            (7) Substance of concern.--The term ``substance of 
        concern'' means a chemical or other substance that is 
        associated with potential acute or chronic human health 
        effects, the risk of exposure to which could potentially be 
        increased as the result of a disaster, as determined by the 
        President, acting through the Secretary of Health and Human 
        Services, and in coordination with the Agency for Toxic 
        Substances and Disease Registry, the Environmental Protection 
        Agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the 
        National Institutes of Health, the Federal Emergency Management 
        Agency, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, and 
        other agencies.
    (b) Program.--
            (1) In general.--If the President, acting through the 
        Secretary of Health and Human Services, determines that 1 or 
        more substances of concern are being, or have been, released in 
        an area declared to be a disaster area and disrupts the 
        transportation system of the United States, the President, 
        acting through the Secretary of Health and Human Services, may 
        carry out a program for the coordination, protection, 
        assessment, monitoring, and study of the health and safety of 
        individuals with high exposure levels to ensure that--
                    (A) the individuals are adequately informed about 
                and protected against potential health impacts of any 
                substance of concern in a timely manner;
                    (B) the individuals are monitored and studied over 
                time, including through baseline and followup clinical 
                health examinations, for--
                            (i) any short- and long-term health impacts 
                        of any substance of concern; and
                            (ii) any mental health impacts;
                    (C) the individuals receive health care referrals 
                as needed and appropriate; and
                    (D) information from any such monitoring and 
                studies is used to prevent or protect against similar 
                health impacts from future disasters.
            (2) Activities.--A program under paragraph (1) may include 
        such activities as--
                    (A) collecting and analyzing environmental exposure 
                data;
                    (B) developing and disseminating information and 
                educational materials;
                    (C) performing baseline and followup clinical 
                health and mental health examinations and taking 
                biological samples;
                    (D) establishing and maintaining an exposure 
                registry;
                    (E) studying the short- and long-term human health 
                impacts of any exposures through epidemiological and 
                other health studies; and
                    (F) providing assistance to individuals in 
                determining eligibility for health coverage and 
                identifying appropriate health services.
            (3) Timing.--To the maximum extent practicable, activities 
        under any program carried out under paragraph (1) (including 
        baseline health examinations) shall be commenced in a timely 
        manner that will ensure the highest level of public health 
        protection and effective monitoring.
            (4) Participation in registries and studies.--
                    (A) In general.--Participation in any registry or 
                study that is part of a program carried out under 
                paragraph (1) shall be voluntary.
                    (B) Protection of privacy.--The President, acting 
                through the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
                shall take appropriate measures to protect the privacy 
                of any participant in a registry or study described in 
                subparagraph (A).
                    (C) Priority.--
                            (i) In general.--Except as provided in 
                        clause (ii), the President, acting through the 
                        Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall 
                        give priority in any registry or study 
                        described in subparagraph (A) to the 
                        protection, monitoring and study of the health 
                        and safety of individuals with the highest 
                        level of exposure to a substance of concern.
                            (ii) Modifications.--Notwithstanding clause 
                        (i), the President, acting through the 
                        Secretary of Health and Human Services, may 
                        modify the priority of a registry or study 
                        described in subparagraph (A), if the 
                        President, acting through the Secretary of 
                        Health and Human Services, determines such 
                        modification to be appropriate.
            (5) Cooperative agreements.--
                    (A) In general.--The President, acting through the 
                Secretary of Health and Human Services, may carry out a 
                program under paragraph (1) through a cooperative 
                agreement with a medical institution, including a local 
                health department, or a consortium of medical 
                institutions.
                    (B) Selection criteria.--To the maximum extent 
                practicable, the President, acting through the 
                Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall select, 
                to carry out a program under paragraph (1), a medical 
                institution or a consortium of medical institutions 
                that--
                            (i) is located near--
                                    (I) the disaster area with respect 
                                to which the program is carried out; 
                                and
                                    (II) any other area in which there 
                                reside groups of individuals that 
                                worked or volunteered in response to 
                                the disaster; and
                            (ii) has appropriate experience in the 
                        areas of environmental or occupational health, 
                        toxicology, and safety, including experience 
                        in--
                                    (I) developing clinical protocols 
                                and conducting clinical health 
                                examinations, including mental health 
                                assessments;
                                    (II) conducting long-term health 
                                monitoring and epidemiological studies;
                                    (III) conducting long-term mental 
                                health studies; and
                                    (IV) establishing and maintaining 
                                medical surveillance programs and 
                                environmental exposure or disease 
                                registries.
            (6) Involvement.--
                    (A) In general.--In carrying out a program under 
                paragraph (1), the President, acting through the 
                Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall involve 
                interested and affected parties, as appropriate, 
                including representatives of--
                            (i) Federal, State, and local government 
                        agencies;
                            (ii) groups of individuals that worked or 
                        volunteered in response to the disaster in the 
                        disaster area;
                            (iii) local residents, businesses, and 
                        schools (including parents and teachers);
                            (iv) health care providers;
                            (v) faith based organizations; and
                            (vi) other organizations and persons.
                    (B) Committees.--Involvement under subparagraph (A) 
                may be provided through the establishment of an 
                advisory or oversight committee or board.
            (7) Privacy.--The President, acting through the Secretary 
        of Health and Human Services, shall carry out each program 
        under paragraph (1) in accordance with regulations relating to 
        privacy promulgated under section 264(c) of the Health 
        Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 
        1320d-2 note; Public Law 104-191).
            (8) Existing programs.--In carrying out a program under 
        paragraph (1), the President, acting through the Secretary of 
        Health and Human Services, may--
                    (A) include the baseline clinical health 
                examination of a participating responder under a 
                certified monitoring programs; and
                    (B) substitute the baseline clinical health 
                examination of a participating responder under a 
                certified monitoring program for a baseline clinical 
                health examination under paragraph (1).
    (c) Reports.--Not later than 1 year after the establishment of a 
program under subsection (b)(1), and every 5 years thereafter, the 
President, acting through the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
or the medical institution or consortium of such institutions having 
entered into a cooperative agreement under subsection (b)(5), may 
submit a report to the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of 
Labor, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and 
appropriate committees of Congress describing the programs and studies 
carried out under the program.
    (d) National Academy of Sciences Report on Disaster Area Health and 
Environmental Protection and Monitoring.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Health and Human 
        Services, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the 
        Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall 
        jointly enter into a contract with the National Academy of 
        Sciences to conduct a study and prepare a report on disaster 
        area health and environmental protection and monitoring.
            (2) Participation of experts.--The report under paragraph 
        (1) shall be prepared with the participation of individuals who 
        have expertise in--
                    (A) environmental health, safety, and medicine;
                    (B) occupational health, safety, and medicine;
                    (C) clinical medicine, including pediatrics;
                    (D) environmental toxicology;
                    (E) epidemiology;
                    (F) mental health;
                    (G) medical monitoring and surveillance;
                    (H) environmental monitoring and surveillance;
                    (I) environmental and industrial hygiene;
                    (J) emergency planning and preparedness;
                    (K) public outreach and education;
                    (L) State and local health departments;
                    (M) State and local environmental protection 
                departments;
                    (N) functions of workers that respond to disasters, 
                including first responders;
                    (O) public health; and
                    (P) family services, such as counseling and other 
                disaster-related services provided to families.
            (3) Contents.--The report under paragraph (1) shall provide 
        advice and recommendations regarding protecting and monitoring 
        the health and safety of individuals potentially exposed to any 
        chemical or other substance associated with potential acute or 
        chronic human health effects as the result of a disaster, 
        including advice and recommendations regarding--
                    (A) the establishment of protocols for monitoring 
                and responding to chemical or substance releases in a 
                disaster area to protect public health and safety, 
                including--
                            (i) chemicals or other substances for which 
                        samples should be collected in the event of a 
                        disaster, including a terrorist attack;
                            (ii) chemical- or substance-specific 
                        methods of sample collection, including 
                        sampling methodologies and locations;
                            (iii) chemical- or substance-specific 
                        methods of sample analysis;
                            (iv) health-based threshold levels to be 
                        used and response actions to be taken in the 
                        event that thresholds are exceeded for 
                        individual chemicals or other substances;
                            (v) procedures for providing monitoring 
                        results to--
                                    (I) appropriate Federal, State, and 
                                local government agencies;
                                    (II) appropriate response 
                                personnel; and
                                    (III) the public;
                            (vi) responsibilities of Federal, State, 
                        and local agencies for--
                                    (I) collecting and analyzing 
                                samples;
                                    (II) reporting results; and
                                    (III) taking appropriate response 
                                actions; and
                            (vii) capabilities and capacity within the 
                        Federal Government to conduct appropriate 
                        environmental monitoring and response in the 
                        event of a disaster, including a terrorist 
                        attack; and
                    (B) other issues specified by the Secretary of 
                Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Homeland 
                Security, and the Administrator of the Environmental 
                Protection Agency.
            (4) Authorization of appropriations.--There are authorized 
        to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this 
        subsection.
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