[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 201 (Thursday, November 18, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8494-S8495]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 4806. Ms. SMITH (for herself and Mr. Young) submitted an amendment
intended to be proposed to amendment SA 3867 submitted by Mr. Reed and
intended to be proposed to the bill H.R. 4350, to authorize
appropriations for fiscal year 2022 for military activities of the
Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense
activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel
[[Page S8495]]
strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
TITLE __--EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
SEC. _01. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ``Advancing Emergency
Preparedness Through One Health Act of 2021''.
SEC. _02. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The term ``One Health'' reflects the interconnectedness
of human health, animal health, and the environment. As
technology and population growth facilitates increased
interaction of human settlements with wildlife habitats and
as international travel and trade increases, the interface
between these elements will also continue to rise.
(2) When zoonotic diseases spill over to humans, there are
often enormous health and economic costs. The World Bank
estimates that, between 1997 and 2009, the global costs from
six zoonotic outbreaks exceeded $80,000,000,000 and the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that
there are annually 2,500,000,000 cases of zoonotic infections
globally, resulting in 2,700,000 deaths.
(3) There are also immense effects on the agriculture
sector. In 2014 and 2015, a high pathogenic avian influenza
(HPAI) outbreak in the United States led to the cull of
nearly 50,000,000 birds, and imposed up to approximately
$3,300,000,000 in losses for poultry and egg farmers, animal
feed producers, baked good production, and other related
industries.
(4) Public health preparedness depends on agriculture in a
variety of ways. For example, a wide range of vaccines,
including those for influenza, yellow fever, rabies, and
measles-mumps-rubella (MMR), are primarily cultivated in
poultry eggs. Egg shortages resulting from zoonotic disease
outbreaks could impose serious risks to vaccine manufacturing
efforts.
(5) It is estimated that approximately 80 percent of
potential pathogens likely to be used in bioterrorism or
biowarfare are common zoonotic pathogens.
(6) While existing Federal Government initiatives related
to One Health span multiple agencies, including the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention One Health office and the
Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Services' One Health Coordination Center, additional
interagency coordination is necessary to help better prevent,
prepare for, and respond to zoonotic disease outbreaks.
SEC. _03. INTERAGENCY ONE HEALTH PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior, the
Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Secretary of
Agriculture (referred to in this title as the
``Secretaries''), in coordination with the United States
Agency for International Development, the Environmental
Protection Agency, the Department of Homeland Security, the
Department of Defense, the Department of Commerce, and other
departments and agencies as appropriate, shall develop,
publish, and submit to Congress a national One Health
Framework (referred to in this title as the ``framework'')
for coordinated Federal Activities under the One Health
Program.
(b) National One Health Framework.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretaries, in cooperation with
the United States Agency for International Development, the
Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Homeland
Security, the Department of Defense, the Department of
Commerce, and other departments and agencies as appropriate,
shall develop, publish, and submit to Congress a One Health
Framework (referred to in this section as the ``framework'')
for coordinated Federal activities under the One Health
Program.
(2) Contents of framework.--The framework described in
paragraph (1) shall describe existing efforts and contain
recommendations for building upon and complementing the
activities of the Department of the Interior, the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug
Administration, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for
Preparedness and Response, the Department of Agriculture, the
United States Agency for International Development, the
Environmental Protection Agency, the National Institutes of
Health, the Department of Homeland Security, and other
departments and agencies, as appropriate, and shall--
(A) assess, identify, and describe, as appropriate,
existing activities of Federal agencies and departments under
the One Health Program and consider whether all relevant
agencies are adequately represented;
(B) for the 10-year period beginning in the year the
framework is submitted, establish specific Federal goals and
priorities that most effectively advance--
(i) scientific understanding of the connections between
human, animal, and environmental health;
(ii) coordination and collaboration between agencies
involved in the framework including sharing data and
information, engaging in joint fieldwork, and engaging in
joint laboratory studies related to One Health;
(iii) identification of priority zoonotic diseases and
priority areas of study;
(iv) surveillance of priority zoonotic diseases and their
transmission between animals and humans;
(v) prevention of priority zoonotic diseases and their
transmission between animals and humans;
(vi) protocol development to improve joint outbreak
response to and recovery from zoonotic disease outbreaks in
animals and humans; and
(vii) workforce development to prevent and respond to
zoonotic disease outbreaks in animals and humans;
(C) describe specific activities required to achieve the
goals and priorities described in subparagraph (B), and
propose a timeline for achieving these goals;
(D) identify and expand partnerships, as appropriate, among
Federal agencies, States, Indian tribes, academic
institutions, nongovernmental organizations, and private
entities in order to develop new approaches for reducing
hazards to human and animal health and to strengthen
understanding of the value of an integrated approach under
the One Health Program to addressing public health threats in
a manner that prevents duplication;
(E) identify best practices related to State and local-
level research coordination, field activities, and disease
outbreak preparedness, response, and recovery related to One
Health; and
(F) provide recommendations to Congress regarding
additional action or legislation that may be required to
assist in establishing the One Health Program.
(3) Addendum.--Not later than 3 years after the creation of
the framework, the Secretaries, in coordination with the
agencies described in paragraph (1), shall submit to Congress
an addendum to the framework that describes the progress made
in advancing the activities described in the framework.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this
section, there is authorized to be appropriated such sums as
may be necessary.
SEC. _04. GAO REPORT.
Not later than 2 years after the date of the submission of
the addendum under section _03(b)(3), the Comptroller General
of the United States shall submit to Congress a report that--
(1) details existing collaborative efforts between the
Department of the Interior, the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the
Department of Agriculture, the United States Agency for
International Development, the Environmental Protection
Agency, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of
Homeland Security, and other departments and agencies to
prevent and respond to zoonotic disease outbreaks in animals
and humans; and
(2) contains an evaluation of the framework and the
specific activities requested to achieve the framework.
______