[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2538 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2538

To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants 
to regional biocontainment laboratories for maintaining surge capacity 
for purposes of responding to outbreaks of infectious diseases or acts 
                            of bioterrorism.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 26, 2023

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants 
to regional biocontainment laboratories for maintaining surge capacity 
for purposes of responding to outbreaks of infectious diseases or acts 
                            of bioterrorism.

    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 ``Regional Biocontainment Laboratory 
Authorization Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. SUPPORTING RESEARCH AND LABORATORY SURGE CAPACITY.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services 
(referred to in this section as the ``Secretary'') shall make awards to 
establish or maintain, as applicable, not fewer than 12 regional 
biocontainment laboratories, for purposes of--
            (1) conducting biomedical research to support public health 
        and medical preparedness for, and rapid response to, biological 
        agents, including emerging infectious diseases;
            (2) ensuring the availability of surge capacity for 
        purposes of responding to such biological agents;
            (3) supporting information-sharing between, and the 
        dissemination of findings to, researchers and other relevant 
        individuals to facilitate collaboration between industry and 
        academia; and
            (4) providing, as appropriate and applicable, technical 
        assistance and training to researchers and other relevant 
        individuals to support the biomedical research workforce in 
        improving the management and mitigation of safety and security 
        risks in the conduct of research involving such biological 
        agents.
    (b) Requirements.--As a condition of receiving a grant under this 
section, a regional biocontainment laboratory shall agree--
            (1) to such oversight activities as the Secretary 
        determines appropriate, including periodic meetings with 
        relevant officials of the Department of Health and Human 
        Services, facility inspections, and other activities as 
        necessary and appropriate to ensure compliance with the terms 
        and conditions of such award; and
            (2) to report accidents, near-accidents, or other safety 
        incidents involving biological agents and toxins to the 
        Secretary.
    (c) Board.--The Secretary shall establish a Board consisting of a 
representative from each entity in receipt of an award under subsection 
(a), which shall be headed by an executive committee of 3 members 
elected upon an affirmative vote from a majority of such 
representatives. The Board shall make recommendations to the Secretary 
in administering awards under this section, for purposes of--
            (1) improving the quality and consistency of applicable 
        procedures and practices within laboratories funded pursuant to 
        subsection (a); and
            (2) ensuring coordination, as appropriate, of federally 
        funded activities carried out at such laboratories.
    (d) Definition.--In this section, the term ``regional 
biocontainment laboratory'' means a Biosafety or Animal Biosafety 
Level-3 and Level-2 facility located at an institution in the United 
States that is designated by the Secretary to carry out the activities 
described in subsection (a).
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section, 
there are authorized to be appropriated $52,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2024 through 2028.
    (f) Administrative Expenses.--Of the amount available to carry out 
this section for a fiscal year, the Secretary may use not more than 5 
percent for the administrative expenses of carrying out this section, 
including expenses related to carrying out subsection (c).
    (g) Report to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, and biannually thereafter, the Secretary, in 
consultation with the heads of applicable Federal departments and 
agencies shall report to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 
House of Representatives on--
            (1) the activities and accomplishments of the regional 
        biocontainment laboratories;
            (2) any published or disseminated research findings based 
        on research conducted in such laboratories in the applicable 
        year;
            (3) oversight activities carried out by the Secretary 
        pursuant to subsection (b);
            (4) activities undertaken by the Secretary to take into 
        consideration the capacity and capabilities of the network of 
        regional biocontainment laboratories in activities to prepare 
        for and respond to biological agents, which may include 
        leveraging such capacity and capabilities to support the 
        Laboratory Response Network, as applicable and appropriate;
            (5) plans for the maintenance and sustainment of federally 
        funded activities conducted at the regional biocontainment 
        laboratories, consistent with the strategy required under 
        section 2312 of the PREVENT Pandemics Act (Public Law 117-328); 
        and
            (6) activities undertaken by the Secretary to coordinate 
        with applicable agencies to ensure work carried out by such 
        facilities is prioritized and complementary to one another, and 
        avoiding unnecessary duplication.
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