[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1777 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1777

   To amend title II of the Public Health Service Act to restore the 
            integrity to the office of the Surgeon General.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 12, 2007

  Mr. Kennedy introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title II of the Public Health Service Act to restore the 
            integrity to the office of the Surgeon General.

    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 ``Surgeon General Integrity 
Restoration Act''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT.

    Section 204 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 205) is 
amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 204. SURGEON GENERAL.

    ``(a) Appointment.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Surgeon General shall be appointed 
        for a four-year term by the President by and with the advice 
        and consent of the Senate as provided for in paragraph (2).
            ``(2) Requirements for appointment.--The Surgeon General 
        shall be appointed from individuals who--
                    ``(A) are, or who agree to become, members of the 
                Regular Corps;
                    ``(B) have specialized training or significant 
                experience in public health programs; and
                    ``(C) who are nominated by the Institute of 
                Medicine under paragraph (3).
            ``(3) Nominations.--Upon a vacancy in the position of 
        Surgeon General, the Institute of Medicine shall submit to the 
        Secretary and the President a list of 10 nominees, that meet 
        the requirements of paragraph (2), to fill such vacancy. The 
        Secretary shall recommend to the President a nominee from such 
        list unless the Secretary has rejected all such nominees. If 
        the Secretary rejects all such nominees, the Secretary shall 
        provide a written explanation as to why each such nominee was 
        unsatisfactory.
            ``(4) Expiration of term.--Upon the expiration of the term 
        of service, the Surgeon General, unless reappointed under this 
        subsection, shall revert to the grade and number in the Regular 
        or Reserve Corps that he or she would have occupied had he not 
        served as Surgeon General.
    ``(b) Budget Authority.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
law, for each fiscal year, the Surgeon General shall prepare and 
submit, directly to the President for review and transmittal to 
Congress, an annual budget estimate (including the number and type of 
personnel needs for the Surgeon General) for the Office of the Surgeon 
General, after reasonable opportunity for comment (but without change) 
by the Secretary. Such estimate shall also be submitted to the 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and 
the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives 
and made available to the general public.
    ``(c) Release of Reports.--The Surgeon General may submit any draft 
of a speech or report prepared by the Surgeon General to the Secretary 
or any employee of the Department of Health and Human Services for 
comment. The Surgeon General may issue, deliver, or release such speech 
or report notwithstanding any comment or objection of the Secretary or 
any such employee.
    ``(d) Staff.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
Surgeon General shall have the authority, subject to Federal civil 
service laws, to directly hire staff without otherwise obtaining 
clearance or undergoing review as generally required within the 
Department of Health and Human Services.
    ``(e) Prohibition of Censorship.--With respect to any work product 
of the Surgeon General, such work product may not be censored in any 
manner (except to comply with Federal national security or privacy 
laws) by any Federal entity or official for political reasons. The 
Surgeon General shall identify and separately label any proposed 
modifications to such a work product that the Surgeon General does not 
consent to accept.''.
                                 <all>