Public health countermeasures to a bioterrorist attack

The Secretary, in collaboration with the Secretary of Defense, and in consultation with relevant public and private entities, shall develop core health and medical response curricula and trainings by adapting applicable existing curricula and training programs to improve responses to public health emergencies. The public health and medical response training program may include course work related to— On a periodic basis, products prepared as part of the program shall be rigorously tested and peer-reviewed by experts in the relevant fields. The Secretary and the Secretary of Defense shall— The Secretary may provide for the dissemination and teaching of the materials described in paragraphs (1) and (2) by appropriate means, as determined by the Secretary. The education and training activities described in subparagraph (A) may be carried out by Federal public health, medical, or dental entities, appropriate educational entities, professional organizations and societies, private accrediting organizations, and other nonprofit institutions or entities meeting criteria established by the Secretary. In carrying out this subsection, the Secretary may carry out activities directly or through the award of grants and contracts, and may enter into interagency agreements with other Federal agencies. In coordination with the working group under subsection (a), the Secretary shall establish advisory committees in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3) to provide expert recommendations to assist such working groups in carrying out their respective responsibilities under subsections (a) and (b). For purposes of paragraph (1), the Secretary shall establish an advisory committee to be known as the National Advisory Committee on At-Risk Individuals and Public Health Emergencies (referred to in this paragraph as the “Advisory Committee”). The Advisory Committee shall provide recommendations regarding— The Advisory Committee shall be composed of such Federal officials as may be appropriate to address the special needs of the diverse population groups of at-risk populations. The Advisory Committee terminates six years after June 12, 2002. For purposes of paragraph (1), the Secretary shall establish an advisory committee to be known as the Emergency Public Information and Communications Advisory Committee (referred to in this paragraph as the “EPIC Advisory Committee”). The EPIC Advisory Committee shall make recommendations to the Secretary and report on appropriate ways to communicate public health information regarding bioterrorism and other public health emergencies to the public. The EPIC Advisory Committee shall be composed of individuals representing a diverse group of experts in public health, medicine, communications, behavioral psychology, and other areas determined appropriate by the Secretary. The Secretary shall review the recommendations of the EPIC Advisory Committee and ensure that appropriate information is disseminated to the public. The EPIC Advisory Committee terminates one year after June 12, 2002. The Secretary may establish 20 officer positions in the Epidemic Intelligence Service Program, in addition to the number of the officer positions offered under such Program in 2006, for individuals who agree to participate, for a period of not less than 2 years, in the Career Epidemiology Field Officer program in a State, local, or tribal health department that serves a health professional shortage area (as defined under section 254e(a) of this title), a medically underserved population (as defined under section 254b(b)(3) of this title), or a medically underserved area or area at high risk of a public health emergency as designated by the Secretary. The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, may award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to institutions of higher education, including accredited schools of public health, or other nonprofit private entities to establish or maintain a network of Centers for Public Health Preparedness and Response (referred to in this subsection as “Centers”). To be eligible to receive an award under this subsection, an entity shall submit to the Secretary an application containing such information as the Secretary may require, including a description of how the entity will— The Centers established or maintained under this subsection shall use funds awarded under this subsection to carry out activities to advance public health preparedness and response capabilities, which may include— In awarding grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements under this subsection, the Secretary shall support not fewer than 10 Centers, subject to the availability of appropriations, and ensure that such awards are equitably distributed among the geographical regions of the United States. With respect to pathogens of potential use in a bioterrorist attack, and other agents that may cause a public health emergency, the Secretary, taking into consideration any recommendations of the working group under subsection (a), shall conduct, and award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements for, research, investigations, experiments, demonstrations, and studies in the health sciences relating to— The Secretary shall give priority under this section to the funding of research and other studies related to priority countermeasures. In carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consider using the biomedical research and development capabilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs, in conjunction with that Department’s affiliations with health-professions universities. When advantageous to the Government in furtherance of the purposes of such paragraph, the Secretary may enter into cooperative agreements with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to achieve such purposes. For purposes of this section, the term “priority countermeasure” means a drug, biological product, device, vaccine, vaccine adjuvant, antiviral, or diagnostic test that the Secretary determines to be— There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section for fiscal year 2007— to carry out subsection (a)— There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section for fiscal year 2008 and each subsequent fiscal year.