[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5857 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5857
To amend the Public Health Service Act to enhance the national strategy
for combating and eliminating tuberculosis, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 4, 2021
Mr. Bera (for himself and Mr. Young) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act to enhance the national strategy
for combating and eliminating tuberculosis, 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 ``Comprehensive TB Elimination Act of
2021''.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR COMBATING AND ELIMINATING TUBERCULOSIS.
(a) In General.--Section 317E of the Public Health Service Act (42
U.S.C. 247b-6) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) by striking ``The Secretary'' and inserting the
following:
``(1) Grants.--The Secretary''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Priority.--In making grants under this subsection,
the Secretary may give priority to State health departments
proposing to focus on the prevention, control, and elimination
of tuberculosis in high-risk populations, including foreign-
born, homeless, incarcerated, HIV-tuberculosis co-infected, and
medically underserved populations.'';
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (3)--
(i) in subparagraph (C), by redesignating
clauses (i) and (ii) as subclauses (I) and
(II), respectively, and adjusting the margins
accordingly; and
(ii) by redesignating subparagraphs (A)
through (F) as clauses (i) through (vi),
respectively, and adjusting the margins
accordingly;
(B) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (8) as
subparagraphs (A) through (H), respectively, and
adjusting the margins accordingly;
(C) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), as so
redesignated, by striking ``With respect to'' and
inserting the following:
``(1) In general.--With respect to'';
(D) by striking subparagraph (B), as so
redesignated, and inserting the following:
``(B) Research, investigations, experiments,
demonstrations, and studies in the health sciences that
are related to--
``(i) the development of new tools,
including vaccines and antimicrobial drugs, to
prevent and treat tuberculosis;
``(ii) novel therapeutics for special
populations, including pediatric populations,
immunosuppressed individuals, and pregnant
women;
``(iii) the development or testing of
medical diagnostics to detect tuberculosis;
``(iv) research to address the
epidemiology, mechanisms, and pathogenesis of
tuberculosis;
``(v) public health interventions to
address the prevention, treatment, and control
of tuberculosis, such as directly observed
therapy and non-pharmaceutical intervention;
``(vi) methods to enhance detection and
response to outbreaks of tuberculosis,
including multidrug resistant tuberculosis; and
``(vii) other relevant research areas.'';
(E) in subparagraph (C), as so redesignated--
(i) by redesignating clause (vi), as so
redesignated, as clause (vii);
(ii) in clause (v), as so redesignated, by
striking ``; and'' and inserting ``;''; and
(iii) by inserting after clause (v), as so
redesignated, the following:
``(vi) the intensification of efforts to
prevent, detect, and treat latent tuberculosis;
and'';
(F) in subparagraph (D), as so redesignated, by
inserting before the period the following: ``,
including public awareness campaigns and development of
educational, risk, and media communications, using
materials in languages appropriate to target
audiences.'';
(G) in subparagraph (F), as so redesignated, by
striking ``paragraphs (1) through (4)'' and inserting
``subparagraphs (A) through (D)''; and
(H) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Selection.--In carrying out the activities described
in paragraph (1), the Secretary--
``(A) is encouraged to give priority to
programmatically relevant research so that new tools
can be utilized in public health practice; and
``(B) may seek input from the Biomedical Advanced
Research and Development Authority in identifying novel
candidates to utilize in the efforts under this
subsection to prevent, diagnose, and control
tuberculosis.'';
(3) by redesignating subsections (c) through (h) as
subsections (d) through (i), respectively;
(4) by inserting after subsection (b) the following--
``(c) Grants for Coordination of Programs and Services for
Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment.--
``(1) Grants.--The Secretary, acting through the
Administrator of the Health Resources and Services
Administration, may award grants to State and local
governments, territories, Indian Tribes, Tribal organization,
urban Indian health organizations, health service providers to
Indian Tribes, Native Hawaiian health organizations, community
health centers, and Federally qualified health centers for
coordinating the programs and services of such entities to
ensure timely and appropriate prevention, risk-based screening,
diagnosis, and treatment of latent and active tuberculosis.
``(2) Definition.--In this subsection, the term `Federally
qualified health center' has the meaning given to such term in
section 1861(aa) of the Social Security Act.'';
(5) in subsections (d), (e), and (f), as so redesignated,
by striking ``(a) or (b)'' each place it appears and inserting
``(a), (b), or (c)'';
(6) in subsection (g)(4), as so redesignated, by adding at
the end the following:
``(C) Report to congress.--The Secretary is
encouraged to make the reports under subparagraph (A),
or other publications relevant to domestic tuberculosis
surveillance, publicly available on the internet
website of the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention and to disseminate such information to
stakeholders.'';
(7) in subsection (h), as so redesignated--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) by striking ``research into new tools
under subsection (b)(2)'' and inserting ``the
research, investigations, experiments,
demonstrations, and studies in health science
under subsection (b)(1)(B)''; and
(ii) by inserting ``ensuring access to the
products developed as a result of such
research, investigations, experiments,
demonstrations, and studies and'' after
``advice regarding''; and
(B) in paragraph (3)--
(i) by redesignating subparagraphs (D) and
(E) as subparagraphs (E) and (F), respectively;
and
(ii) by inserting after subparagraph (C)
the following:
``(D) members of the Biomedical Advanced Research
and Development Authority;''; and
(8) in subsection (i)(1)(A), as so redesignated, by
striking ``$200,000,000'' and all that follows through the
period and inserting ``$142,200,000 for fiscal year 2022,
$195,700,000 for fiscal year 2023, $225,000,000 for fiscal year
2024, $236,250,000 for fiscal year 2025, $248,062,500 for
fiscal year 2026, and $260,465,625 for fiscal year 2027.''.
(b) NIH Tuberculosis Activities.--Section 424C(b) of the Public
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 285b-7c(b)) is amended by striking
paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
``(1) enhancing basic, clinical, and operational research
on tuberculosis, including with respect to--
``(A) drug-resistant tuberculosis;
``(B) infection with tuberculosis and latency and
progression of tuberculosis; and
``(C) pediatric tuberculosis;''.
SEC. 3. GAO STUDIES.
(a) Tuberculosis Prevention and Elimination Study.--Not later than
2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller
General of the United States shall issue a report on the coordination
of efforts in the United States to--
(1) prevent, control, and eliminate tuberculosis; and
(2) implement the activities under section 317E of the
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247b-6), as amended by
this Act, and the National Action Plan for Combating Multidrug-
Resistant Tuberculosis, issued in December 2015.
(b) Study on Tuberculosis Activities.--Not later than 6 months
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the
United States shall issue to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of
the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions of the Senate a report on the coordination of
activities between the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention with respect to--
(1) shortages of critical tuberculosis drugs in the United
States;
(2) efforts to increase the availability of pediatric
tuberculosis drug formulations in the United States;
(3) mitigating the cost of tuberculosis drugs for States,
including efforts to ensure States have timely access to
treatments for individuals with tuberculosis; and
(4) consideration for the introduction in the United States
of pediatric tuberculosis drug formulations that are available
in foreign countries.
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