[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8640 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8640

 To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish the Public Health 
  Oversight Panel to advise the agencies of the Public Health Service 
    regarding the scientific basis for their actions, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 20, 2020

Mr. Rush (for himself, Mr. Cardenas, Mr. Carson of Indiana, Mr. Cohen, 
  Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Ms. Jackson Lee, Ms. Roybal-Allard, and Mr. 
    Soto) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish the Public Health 
  Oversight Panel to advise the agencies of the Public Health Service 
    regarding the scientific basis for their actions, 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 ``Scientific Agencies Following 
Evidence and Guaranteeing that Unscientific Agendas are Refused and 
Denounced Act of 2020'' or the ``SAFEGUARD Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. PUBLIC HEALTH OVERSIGHT PANEL.

    Part B of title II of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 238 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 249. PUBLIC HEALTH OVERSIGHT PANEL.

    ``(a) Establishment.--There is established a permanent panel to be 
known as the Public Health Oversight Panel (in this section referred to 
as the `Panel').
    ``(b) Duties.--The Panel shall--
            ``(1) in consultation with public health advisory 
        committees determined by the Panel, advise the agencies of the 
        Public Health Service regarding the scientific basis for their 
        actions; and
            ``(2) during public health emergencies--
                    ``(A) review regulations, guidance, and orders of 
                the agencies of the Public Health Service, as described 
                in subsection (c); and
                    ``(B) as appropriate, make determinations pursuant 
                to subsection (c)(2).
    ``(c) Review During Public Health Emergencies.--Beginning not later 
than 3 months after the date of the enactment of this section, the head 
of each agency of the Public Health Service shall--
            ``(1) before issuing any final regulation, guidance, or 
        order relating to a public health emergency, during such public 
        health emergency, give the Panel an opportunity to review, in 
        consultation with public health advisory committees determined 
        by the Panel, the scientific basis underlying the regulation, 
        guidance, or order, including access to any relevant data in 
        the possession of the agency; and
            ``(2) refrain from issuing such regulation, guidance, or 
        order if the Panel determines that--
                    ``(A) such scientific basis is incorrect; or
                    ``(B) the evidence in support of such scientific 
                basis is insufficient.
    ``(d) Membership.--The Panel shall be composed of--
            ``(1) the Assistant Secretary for Health, who shall serve 
        as the Chair of the Panel; and
            ``(2) 6 experts who each have experience in scientific 
        review or oversight, to be appointed by the President, with the 
        advice and consent of the Senate, from a list of individuals 
        jointly nominated for appointment by--
                    ``(A) the Speaker of the House of Representatives;
                    ``(B) the minority leader of the House of 
                Representatives;
                    ``(C) the majority leader of the Senate; and
                    ``(D) the minority leader of the Senate.
    ``(e) Committee Consultation.--In nominating individuals under 
subsection (d), the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the 
minority leader of the House of Representatives, and the majority and 
minority leaders of the Senate shall consult with--
            ``(1) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 
        Representatives; and
            ``(2) the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
        Pensions of the Senate.
    ``(f) Terms.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and 
        (3), members of the Panel shall be appointed for a term of 6 
        years and may be reappointed.
            ``(2) Terms of initial appointees.--As designated by the 
        President at the time of appointment, of the members first 
        appointed--
                    ``(A) 2 members shall be appointed for a term of 2 
                years;
                    ``(B) 2 members shall be appointed for a term of 4 
                years; and
                    ``(C) 2 members shall be appointed for a term of 6 
                years.
            ``(3) Vacancies.--Any member appointed to fill a vacancy 
        occurring before the expiration of the term for which the 
        member's predecessor was appointed shall be appointed only for 
        the remainder of that term. A member may serve after the 
        expiration of that member's term until a successor has taken 
        office.
    ``(g) Basic Pay.--
            ``(1) Rates of pay.--To the extent or in the amounts 
        provided in advance in appropriation Acts, except as provided 
        in paragraph (2), members of the Panel shall each be paid at a 
        rate equal to the rate of basic pay for level III of the 
        Executive Schedule.
            ``(2) Prohibition of additional compensation of federal 
        employees.--Members of the Panel who are full-time officers or 
        employees of the United States may not receive additional pay, 
        allowances, or benefits by reason of their service on the 
        Panel.
            ``(3) Travel expenses.--Each member shall receive travel 
        expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in 
        accordance with applicable provisions under subchapter I of 
        chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code.
    ``(h) Quorum.--A majority of the members serving on the Panel shall 
constitute a quorum.
    ``(i) Meetings.--The Panel shall meet at the call of the Chair or a 
majority of its members.
    ``(j) Director and Staff.--
            ``(1) Director.--The Panel shall have a Director who shall 
        be appointed by the Chair, in consultation with the other 
        members of the Panel.
            ``(2) Staff.--The Director of the Panel may appoint such 
        additional personnel as may be appropriate to carry out this 
        section.
            ``(3) Compensation.--The Panel shall fix the compensation 
        of the Director and other personnel of the Panel in accordance 
        with title 5, United States Code, except that the rate of pay 
        for the Director and other personnel may not exceed the rate 
        payable for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 
        5315 of that title.
    ``(k) Security Clearance.--
            ``(1) Panel members and director clearances.--To be 
        eligible for appointment under subsection (d)(2) to serve as a 
        member of the Panel, and to be eligible to serve as the 
        Director and as other personnel of the Panel, an individual 
        shall be eligible for the necessary security clearance.
            ``(2) Accelerated processing.--The appropriate Federal 
        agencies or departments shall cooperate with individuals 
        referred to in paragraph (1) in expeditiously providing to such 
        individuals security clearances to the extent possible pursuant 
        to existing procedures and requirements, except that no person 
        shall be provided with access to classified information under 
        this section without the appropriate security clearances.
    ``(l) Experts and Consultants.--Subject to rules prescribed by the 
Panel, the Panel may procure temporary and intermittent services under 
section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, but at rates for 
individuals not to exceed the daily equivalent of the maximum annual 
rate payable for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 
of that title.
    ``(m) Staff of Federal Agencies.--Upon request of the Panel, the 
head of any Federal department or agency may detail, on a reimbursable 
basis, any of the personnel of that department or agency to the Panel 
to assist it in carrying out its duties under this section.
    ``(n) Powers of the Panel.--
            ``(1) Hearings and sessions.--The Panel may, for the 
        purpose of carrying out this section, hold hearings, sit and 
        act at times and places, take testimony, and receive evidence 
        as the Panel considers appropriate. The Panel may administer 
        oaths or affirmations to witnesses appearing before it.
            ``(2) Powers of members and agents.--Any member or agent of 
        the Panel may, if authorized by the Panel, take any action 
        which the Panel is authorized to take by this section.
            ``(3) Obtaining official data.--The Panel may secure 
        directly from any department or agency of the United States 
        information necessary to enable it to carry out this section. 
        Upon request of the Chair of the Panel, the head of that 
        department or agency shall furnish that information to the 
        Panel. The Panel shall keep any information secured under this 
        paragraph confidential to the same extent as the department or 
        agency from which the information was secured is required by 
        applicable law to keep such information confidential.
            ``(4) Uses and disclosures for public health activities.--
        For purposes of section 164.512 of title 45, Code of Federal 
        Regulations (and any successor regulation) the Panel is deemed 
        to be a public health authority.
            ``(5) Mails.--The Panel may use the United States mails in 
        the same manner and under the same conditions as other 
        departments and agencies of the United States.
            ``(6) Subpoena power.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Panel may issue subpoenas 
                requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses and 
                the production of any evidence relating to any matter 
                about which the Panel is authorized by this section to 
                advise the agencies of the Public Health Service. The 
                attendance of witnesses and the production of evidence 
                may be required from any place within the United States 
                at any designated place of hearing within the United 
                States.
                    ``(B) Failure to obey a subpoena.--If a person 
                refuses to obey a subpoena issued under subparagraph 
                (A), the Panel may apply to a United States district 
                court for an order requiring that person to appear 
                before the Panel to give testimony, produce evidence, 
                or both, relating to the matter under investigation. 
                The application may be made within the judicial 
                district where the hearing is conducted or where that 
                person is found, resides, or transacts business. Any 
                failure to obey the order of the court may be punished 
                by the court as civil contempt.
                    ``(C) Service of subpoenas.--The subpoenas of the 
                Panel shall be served in the manner provided for 
                subpoenas issued by a United States district court 
                under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for the 
                United States district courts.
                    ``(D) Service of process.--All process of any court 
                to which application is made under subparagraph (B) may 
                be served in the judicial district in which the person 
                required to be served resides or may be found.
    ``(o) Public Health Emergency Defined.--In this section, the term 
`public health emergency' means a public health emergency for which a 
declaration is in effect under section 319.''.
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