To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the establishment of emergency medical preparedness centers in the Department of Veterans Affairs.

November 8, 2001

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. EVANS, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr. BUYER, and Mr. STEARNS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the establishment of emergency medical preparedness centers in the Department of Veterans Affairs.

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 `National Medical Emergency Preparedness Act of 2001'.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF EMERGENCY MEDICAL PREPAREDNESS CENTERS.

(a) IN GENERAL- (1) Subchapter II of chapter 73 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

`Sec. 7323. Medical emergency preparedness centers

`(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF CENTERS- (1) The Secretary shall establish at least four medical emergency preparedness centers in accordance with this section. Each such center shall be established at a Department medical center and shall be staffed by Department employees.

`(2) The official within the central office of the Veterans Health Administration responsible for medical preparedness shall be responsible for supervising the operation of the centers established pursuant to this section and shall provide for ongoing evaluation of the centers and their compliance with the requirements of this section.

`(b) MISSION- The mission of the centers shall be--

`(1) to carry out research on and develop methods of detection, diagnosis, vaccination, protection, and treatment for chemical, biological, and radiological threats to the public health and safety;

`(2) to provide education, training, and advice to health-care professionals, including health-care professionals outside the Veterans Health Administration; and

`(3) to provide contingent rapid response laboratory assistance and other assistance to local health care authorities in the event of a national emergency.

`(c) CENTER DIRECTORS- Each center shall have a Director with (1) expertise in managing organizations that deal with threats referred to in subsection (b), (2) expertise in providing care to populations exposed to toxic substances, or (3) significant research experience in those fields.

`(d) SELECTION OF CENTERS- (1) The Secretary shall select the sites for the centers on the basis of a competitive selection process and a finding under paragraph (2). The centers selected shall be located in different regions of the Nation, and any such center may be a consortium of efforts of more than one medical center. At least one of the centers shall be established to concentrate on chemical threats, at least one shall be established to concentrate on biological threats, and at least one shall be established to concentrate on radiological threats.

`(2) The finding referred to in paragraph (1) with respect to a proposal for designation of a site as a location of a center under this section is a finding by the Secretary, upon the recommendation of the Under Secretary for Health, that the facility or facilities submitting the proposal have developed (or may reasonably be anticipated to develop) each of the following:

`(A) An arrangement with a qualifying medical school and a qualifying school of public health (or a consortium of such schools) under which physicians and other persons in the health field receive education and training through the participating Department medical centers so as to provide those persons with training in the diagnosis and treatment of illnesses induced by exposures to toxins, including chemical and biological substances and nuclear ionizing radiation.

`(B) An arrangement with an accredited graduate program of epidemiology under which students receive education and training in epidemiology through the participating Department facilities so as to provide such students with training in the epidemiology of contagious and infectious diseases and chemical and radiation poisoning in an exposed population.

`(C) An arrangement under which nursing, social work, counseling, or allied health personnel and students receive training and education in recognizing and caring for conditions associated with exposures to toxins through the participating Department facilities.

`(D) The ability to attract scientists who have made significant contributions to the development of innovative approaches to the detection, diagnosis, vaccination, protection, or treatment of persons exposed to chemical, biological, or radiological substances.

`(3) For purposes of paragraph (2)(A)--

`(A) a qualifying medical school is an accredited medical school that provides education and training in toxicology and environmental health hazards and with which one or more of the participating Department medical centers is affiliated; and

`(B) a qualifying school of public health is an accredited school of public health that provides education and training in toxicology and environmental health hazards and with which one or more of the participating Department medical centers is affiliated.

`(e) FUNDING- (1) Amounts appropriated for the activities of the centers shall be appropriated separately from amounts appropriated for the Department for medical care.

`(2) There are authorized to be appropriated for the centers under this section $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2002 through 2006.

`(3) In addition to funds appropriated for a fiscal year pursuant to the authorization of appropriations in paragraph (2), the Under Secretary for Health shall allocate to such centers from other funds appropriated for that fiscal year generally for the Department of Veterans Affairs medical care account and the Department of Veterans Affairs medical and prosthetics research account such amounts as the Under Secretary for Health determines appropriate to carry out the purposes of this section.

`(f) RESEARCH ACTIVITIES- Each center shall conduct research on improved medical preparedness to protect the Nation from threats in the area of that center's expertise. Each center may seek research funds from public and private sources for such purpose.

`(g) PEER REVIEW PANEL- (1) In order to provide advice to assist the Secretary and the Under Secretary for Health to carry out their responsibilities under this section, the Under Secretary shall establish a peer review panel to assess the scientific and clinical merit of proposals that are submitted to the Secretary for the designation of centers under this section.

`(2) The peer review panel shall include experts in the fields of toxicological research, bio-hazards management education and training, radiology, clinical care of patients exposed to such hazards, and other persons as determined appropriate by the Secretary. Members of the panel shall serve as consultants to the Department.

`(3) The panel shall review each proposal submitted to the panel by the officials referred to in paragraph (1) and shall submit to the Under Secretary for Health its views on the relative scientific and clinical merit of each such proposal. The panel shall specifically determine with respect to each such proposal whether that proposal is among those proposals which have met the highest competitive standards of scientific and clinical merit.

`(4) The panel shall not be subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).

`(h) RESEARCH PRODUCTS- (1) The Under Secretary for Health shall ensure that information produced by the research, education and training, and clinical activities of centers established under this section is made available, as appropriate, to health-care providers in the United States. Dissemination of such information shall be made through publications, through programs of continuing medical and related education provided through regional medical education centers under subchapter VI of chapter 74 of this title, and through other means. Such programs of continuing medical education shall receive priority in the award of funding.

`(2) The Secretary shall ensure that the work of the centers is conducted in close coordination with the Office of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense, and research products or other information of the centers shall be coordinated and shared with that Office and the Department of Defense.

`(i) ASSISTANCE TO OTHER AGENCIES- The Secretary may provide assistance requested by appropriate Federal, State, and local civil and criminal authorities in investigations, inquiries, and data analyses as necessary to protect the public safety and prevent or obviate biological, chemical, or radiological threats.

`(j) DETAIL OF EMPLOYEES FROM OTHER AGENCIES- Upon approval by the Secretary, the Director of a center may request the temporary assignment or detail to the center, on a nonreimbursable basis, of employees from other Departments and agencies of the United States who have expertise that would further the mission of the center. Any such employee may be so assigned or detailed on a nonreimbursable basis pursuant to such a request. The duration of any such assignment or detail shall be subject to approval by the Office of Personnel Management.'.

(2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 7322 the following new item:

`7323. Medical emergency preparedness centers.'.

(b) INITIAL FUNDING- Funds for fiscal year 2002 for the medical emergency preparedness centers established under section 7323 of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall be provided from funds made available under Public Law 107-38.

END