[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8080 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8080

   To amend the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services to establish and implement a department-wide 
 after-action program and a risk communication strategy, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 18, 2024

    Mr. Torres of New York introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services to establish and implement a department-wide 
 after-action program and a risk communication strategy, 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 ``Coordinated Agency Response 
Enhancement Act'' or the ``CARE Act''.

SEC. 2. HHS AFTER-ACTION PROGRAM.

    Part P of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
280g et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 399V-8. DEPARTMENT-WIDE AFTER-ACTION PROGRAM.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish, maintain, and 
implement an after-action program to--
            ``(1) identify and implement solutions for issues found 
        following any public health emergency response of the 
        Department of Health and Human Services; and
            ``(2) encourage collaboration among the agencies of the 
        Department, including by integrating any public health 
        emergency after-action programs of such agencies.
    ``(b) Deadline.--The Secretary shall establish and begin 
implementation of the after-action program under subsection (a) not 
later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section.
    ``(c) Coordination With Stakeholders.--The after-action program 
under subsection (a) shall include input from, and coordinate with, 
relevant external stakeholders involved in each public health emergency 
response of the Department of Health and Human Services, such as other 
Federal agencies, jurisdictions, and nongovernmental partners.
    ``(d) Oversight by Inspector General.--The Inspector General of the 
Department of Health and Human Services shall, on an annual basis--
            ``(1) evaluate the efficacy and compliance of the after-
        action program under subsection (a), including by evaluating 
        the ability of the program to identify challenges, propose 
        solutions, and prevent issues from reoccurring; and
            ``(2) submit to Congress a report summarizing the 
        evaluation under paragraph (1).
    ``(e) Comprehensive Guidelines for After-Action Program Reports.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary may, as the Secretary 
        determines appropriate, incorporate in any report of the after-
        action program under subsection (a) the elements described in 
        subparagraphs (A) through (M) of paragraph (2).
            ``(2) Elements described.--
                    ``(A) Emergency operations plan, continuity of 
                operations plan, and business continuity plan 
                reviews.--A description of the process and outcomes of 
                reviewing and updating emergency operations plans, 
                continuity of operations plans, and business continuity 
                plans both annually and after significant public health 
                emergencies. Such description may include insights into 
                the relevancy and efficiency of such plans in practice.
                    ``(B) Information sharing, situational awareness.--
                A description of the establishment and effectiveness of 
                protocols for efficient information sharing and 
                situational awareness among health care facilities and 
                partners, including the development and deployment of 
                an integrated public joint information system.
                    ``(C) Coordination with state, local, health care 
                coalition, and community partners.--Descriptions of--
                            ``(i) strategies for coordination with 
                        State, local, health care coalition, and 
                        community partners, focusing on active 
                        engagement and information sharing;
                            ``(ii) information technology solutions 
                        used for coordination during public health 
                        emergencies; and
                            ``(iii) how medical operations coordination 
                        cells were implemented for effective patient 
                        load balancing during surges to assure regional 
                        health care coordination.
                    ``(D) Incident management.--A description of 
                incident management structures, including the 
                maintenance of the incident command system and the 
                establishment of an incident action planning process.
                    ``(E) Communications, information sharing.--A 
                description of strategies for the development and 
                maintenance of a dynamic communications framework for 
                real-time information sharing and situational 
                awareness.
                    ``(F) Staff, space, and resident management.--A 
                description of strategies for comprehensive staff 
                management plans, scalable space management strategies, 
                and policies adopted to maintain patient and resident 
                well-being.
                    ``(G) Logistics and supply chain management.--A 
                description of strategies for developing comprehensive 
                logistics and supply chain management strategies to 
                ensure a steady and sufficient supply of personal 
                protective equipment, medical equipment, 
                pharmaceuticals, and other items.
                    ``(H) Resource management.--A description of 
                strategies for implementing crisis standards of care 
                protocols to optimize the allocation and use of medical 
                and non-medical assets during emergencies, including 
                guidelines for the conservation, reuse, or repurposing 
                of supplies.
                    ``(I) Infection prevention.--A description of 
                strategies for enhancing infection prevention measures, 
                including staff training, environmental cleaning, and 
                patient screening, to mitigate the spread of infectious 
                diseases within health care facilities.
                    ``(J) Treatment, transport, and discharge 
                protocols.--A description of how treatment, transport, 
                and discharge protocols were standardized to ensure 
                consistency and efficiency in patient care and 
                movement, including the incorporation of telehealth and 
                remote monitoring solutions where feasible, explaining 
                the choices made, the technologies used, and the 
                outcomes of the interventions.
                    ``(K) Case management protocols.--Descriptions of--
                            ``(i) how case management protocols were 
                        refined to address both clinical and non-
                        clinical needs of patients and residents; and
                            ``(ii) the measures taken to ensure 
                        coordinated care and support throughout the 
                        treatment and recovery phases, detailing the 
                        challenges faced and the strategies employed to 
                        overcome such challenges.
                    ``(L) Medical countermeasures.--Descriptions of--
                            ``(i) the strategy employed to accelerate 
                        the development, distribution, and 
                        administration of medical countermeasures, such 
                        as vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostic tests, 
                        and treatments; and
                            ``(ii) strategies to streamline the 
                        emergency use authorization process for such 
                        countermeasures, including any challenges 
                        encountered and how such challenges were 
                        addressed.
                    ``(M) Recovery.--A description of any implemented 
                recovery strategies focusing on administrative, 
                financial, policy, and equity considerations.''.

SEC. 3. RISK COMMUNICATION STRATEGY.

    Part P of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
280g et seq.), as amended by section 2, is further amended by adding at 
the end the following:

``SEC. 399V-9. RISK COMMUNICATION STRATEGY.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish, maintain, and 
implement a comprehensive strategy to ensure that communications about 
infectious diseases and other public health risks by agencies and 
offices of the Department of Health and Human Services, including the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are clear, accurate, 
inclusive, and culturally sensitive.
    ``(b) Components.--The strategy under subsection (a) shall be 
designed to--
            ``(1) clearly identify at-risk populations during public 
        health emergencies;
            ``(2) ensure that communications are targeted, 
        understandable, and accessible; and
            ``(3) ensure the translation of public health 
        communications into multiple languages, including most commonly 
        spoken languages within each demographic in each area targeted 
        by the communications, which languages might include Spanish, 
        Mandarin, Cantonese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Arabic, French 
        (including Cajun), Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Haitian, Hindi, 
        or any other language that the Secretary determines to be 
        appropriate.
    ``(c) Initial Strategy.--The Secretary shall establish and begin 
implementation of the initial strategy under subsection (a) not later 
than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section.''.
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