[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1834 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1834

 To amend title XXVIII of the Public Health Service Act to establish a 
         National Advisory Committee on Seniors and Disasters.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 19, 2017

    Mr. Nelson (for himself, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Casey, and Ms. Collins) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
          Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title XXVIII of the Public Health Service Act to establish a 
         National Advisory Committee on Seniors and Disasters.

    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 ``Protecting Seniors During Disasters 
Act''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON SENIORS AND DISASTERS.

    Subtitle B of title XXVIII of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 300hh et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 2811A the 
following:

``SEC. 2811B. NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON SENIORS AND DISASTERS.

    ``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary, in consultation with the 
Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, 
shall establish an advisory committee to be known as the `National 
Advisory Committee on Seniors and Disasters' (referred to in this 
section as the `Advisory Committee').
    ``(b) Duties.--The Advisory Committee shall--
            ``(1) provide advice and consultation with respect to the 
        activities carried out pursuant to section 2814, as applicable 
        and appropriate;
            ``(2) evaluate and provide input with respect to the 
        medical and public health needs of seniors as they relate to 
        preparation for, response to, and recovery from all-hazards 
        emergencies; and
            ``(3) provide advice and consultation with respect to State 
        emergency preparedness and response activities and seniors, 
        including related drills and exercises pursuant to the 
        preparedness goals under section 2802(b).
    ``(c) Additional Duties.--The Advisory Committee may provide advice 
and recommendations to the Secretary with respect to seniors and the 
medical and public health grants and cooperative agreements as 
applicable to preparedness and response activities authorized under 
this title and title III.
    ``(d) Membership.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary, in consultation with such 
        other Secretaries as may be appropriate, shall appoint not to 
        exceed 15 members to the Advisory Committee. In appointing such 
        members, the Secretary shall ensure that the total membership 
        of the Advisory Committee is an odd number.
            ``(2) Required members.--The Secretary, in consultation 
        with such other Secretaries as may be appropriate, may appoint 
        to the Advisory Committee under paragraph (1) such individuals 
        as may be appropriate to perform the duties described in 
        subsections (b) and (c), which may include--
                    ``(A) the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and 
                Response;
                    ``(B) the Director of the Biomedical Advanced 
                Research and Development Authority;
                    ``(C) the Director of the Centers for Disease 
                Control and Prevention;
                    ``(D) the Commissioner of Food and Drugs;
                    ``(E) the Director of the National Institutes of 
                Health;
                    ``(F) the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare 
                & Medicaid Services;
                    ``(G) the Administrator for Community Living;
                    ``(H) the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 
                Management Agency;
                    ``(I) the Under Secretary for Health, Veterans 
                Health Administration;
                    ``(J) at least two non-Federal health care 
                professionals with expertise in medical disaster 
                planning, preparedness, response, or recovery;
                    ``(K) at least two representatives from State, 
                local, territorial, or tribal agencies with expertise 
                in disaster planning, preparedness, response, or 
                recovery; and
                    ``(L) representatives from such Federal agencies 
                (such as the Department of Energy and the Department of 
                Homeland Security) as determined necessary to fulfill 
                the duties of the Advisory Committee, as established 
                under subsections (b) and (c).
    ``(e) Meetings.--The Advisory Committee shall meet not less than 
biannually.
    ``(f) Sunset.--The Advisory Committee shall terminate on September 
30, 2021.''.
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