PREPARE Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 834 To establish the National Commission on the COVID–19 Pandemic, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 4, 2021 Mr. POSEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Finan- cial Services, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con- cerned A BILL To establish the National Commission on the COVID–19 Pandemic, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pandemics Require 4 Evaluating, Planning, And Responding Effectively Act’’ or 5 the ‘‘PREPARE Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Mar 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H834.IH H834 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 834 IH SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 1 There is established in the legislative branch the Na- 2 tional Commission on the COVID–19 Pandemic (in this 3 Act referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 4 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 5 The purposes of the Commission are to— 6 (1) examine and report upon the facts and 7 causes relating to the COVID–19 pandemic that re- 8 sulted from the global spread of the SARS–CoV–2 9 virus, from Wuhan, China; 10 (2) ascertain, evaluate, and report on the evi- 11 dence developed by all relevant governmental agen- 12 cies regarding the facts and circumstances sur- 13 rounding the pandemic and the emergence of SARS– 14 CoV–2; 15 (3) build upon the investigations of other enti- 16 ties, and avoid unnecessary duplication by critically 17 reviewing the findings, conclusions, and rec- 18 ommendations of executive branch, congressional, or 19 independent commission investigations into the 20 COVID–19 pandemic while adopting only the find- 21 ings, conclusions, and recommendations of such in- 22 vestigations as the Commission shall find accurate 23 and unbiased; 24 (4) make a full and complete accounting of the 25 circumstances surrounding the pandemic, and the 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Mar 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H834.IH H834 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 834 IH extent of the United States preparedness for, and 1 immediate response to, the pandemic; and 2 (5) investigate and report to the President and 3 Congress on its findings, conclusions, and rec- 4 ommendations for corrective measures that can be 5 taken to prevent, better prepare for, and respond to 6 pandemics. 7 SEC. 4. CONSIDERATIONS. 8 In carrying out its duties in furtherance of the pur- 9 poses specified in section 2, the Commission shall consider 10 the following: 11 (1) Compiling a full and complete accounting of 12 the circumstances surrounding the emergence of the 13 2019 novel coronavirus, the Nation’s preparedness 14 for the 2019 novel coronavirus pandemic, and the 15 actions taken by Federal, State, local, Tribal, and 16 territorial governments at critical junctures before 17 and after the World Health Organization designated 18 the 2019 novel coronavirus as a public health emer- 19 gency of international concern on January 30, 2020. 20 (2) Evaluating the effectiveness of United 21 States public health reconnaissance and intelligence 22 in recognizing the COVID–19 pandemic at its source 23 and effectively mobilizing the nation to meet the 24 challenge of the pandemic. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Mar 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H834.IH H834 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 834 IH (3) Identifying biological collaborations among 1 government, private, nonprofit, not-for-profit enti- 2 ties, and other scientific communities, evaluating the 3 manner in which such collaborations can increase 4 the risk of accidental releases of harmful pathogens, 5 and making recommendations that will decrease 6 such risks. 7 (4) Identifying the lead person or agency of the 8 Federal Government responsible for conducting the 9 reconnaissance and intelligence in (1) and evaluating 10 the performance of this entity and the efficacy of the 11 assignment of such lead to this entity. 12 (5) Articulating the policy objectives of the 13 Federal Government in preparing, responding to and 14 recovering from a pandemic and the performance 15 metrics and standards to evaluate contributions to 16 the overall objectives as articulated. 17 (6) Identifying the current agency of the Fed- 18 eral Government with the lead for pandemic pre- 19 paredness and response. 20 (7) Evaluating the integration of the pandemic 21 planning into the National Preparedness System and 22 other preparedness activities throughout the Federal 23 Government. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Mar 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H834.IH H834 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 834 IH (8) Evaluating the performance of the Federal, 1 State, and local governments in preparing for and 2 responding to the COVID–19 declared emergency 3 within the context of the National Preparedness Sys- 4 tem. 5 (9) Assessment of the assignment of roles and 6 responsibilities among Federal, State, and local gov- 7 ernments in preparing for, responding to and recov- 8 ering from the COVID–19 pandemic. 9 (10) Evaluation of the performance of an all- 10 hazard preparedness and response system in meeting 11 the challenges of the COVID–19 emergency and 12 whether actions should be taken to adapt prepared- 13 ness and response to unique circumstances related to 14 pandemics. 15 (11) Evaluating whether the identification of 16 lead person or agency for pandemic preparedness is 17 clear and effective and whether the lead for pan- 18 demic preparedness and response requires consolida- 19 tion or should be reassigned to an alternative agen- 20 cy. 21 (12) Examining ways to improve integration 22 and coordination of preparedness and responses to 23 pandemics at all levels of government, Federal, 24 State, and local. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Mar 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H834.IH H834 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 834 IH (13) Evaluating the resilience of production re- 1 sponses to the COVID–19 crisis particularly those 2 related medicines, medical equipment, protective 3 equipment and other medical supplies and the role 4 of the Federal and other governments in responding 5 to supply chain needs for pandemics. 6 (14) Identifying and evaluating the degree of 7 reliance of the United States on vulnerable supply 8 chains for medicines, medical equipment, protective 9 equipment and other medical supplies necessary to 10 prepare for and respond to a pandemic and all rea- 11 sonable alternatives for mitigating such 12 vulnerabilities in future pandemics. 13 (15) Evaluating the contribution of the Defense 14 Production Act in the COVID–19 emergency and 15 whether this law should be amended to improve pan- 16 demic preparedness and response. 17 (16) Evaluating the National Stockpile in pre- 18 paring for and responding to pandemics, the per- 19 formance of the National Stockpile in responding to 20 the COVID–19 emergency, and all reasonable alter- 21 natives improving the management and contribu- 22 tions of the Stockpile in preparing for and respond- 23 ing to future pandemics. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Mar 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H834.IH H834 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 834 IH (17) Evaluating the role of the Federal Govern- 1 ment in developing and approving surveillance, test- 2 ing, treatments, therapeutics and vaccines for 3 COVID–19 and all reasonable alternatives to im- 4 prove the development of therapeutics and vaccines 5 in future pandemics. 6 (18) Evaluating the Federal, State, and local 7 response to the COVID–19 emergency related to en- 8 suring adequate national surge capacity infrastruc- 9 ture in hospitals and medical centers and alter- 10 natives for improving such preparedness and re- 11 sponse to ensure adequate capacity in future 12 pandemics. 13 (19) Identifying and evaluating the array of 14 public health interventions at the Federal, State, 15 and local levels, including mask orders, social 16 distancing practices, stay-at-home directives, school 17 and business closures, and other measures, imple- 18 mented in response to the COVID–19 emergency 19 and evaluating all reasonable alternatives for im- 20 proving such public health responses in future 21 pandemics with a due consideration of the economic 22 and other public health costs and tradeoffs associ- 23 ated with such measures. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Mar 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H834.IH H834 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 834 IH (20) Evaluating the performance of financial 1 markets and regulators during the COVID–19 emer- 2 gency. 3 (21) Evaluating the overall efficacy of the Fed- 4 eral economic response to the COVID–19 emergency 5 and recommendations for modifying those responses 6 to improve preparedness and response to future 7 pandemics. 8 (22) Any other feature of the COVID–19 emer- 9 gency that would improve the prevention, prepared- 10 ness and response to future pandemic emergencies. 11 SEC. 5. COMPOSITION OF COMMISSION. 12 (a) MEMBERS.—The Commission shall be composed 13 of 10 members, of whom— 14 (1) 1 member shall be appointed by the Presi- 15 dent, who shall serve as chairperson of the Commis- 16 sion; 17 (2) 1 member shall be appointed by the leader 18 of the Senate whose political party is other than the 19 political party of the President (regardless of wheth- 20 er such individual is the majority or minority lead- 21 er), in consultation with the leader of the House of 22 Representatives whose political party is other than 23 the political party of the President (regardless of 24 whether such individual is the Speaker of the House 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Mar 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H834.IH H834 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 834 IH of Representatives or the minority leader), who shall 1 serve as vice chairperson of the Commission; 2 (3) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior 3 member of the majority leadership of the Senate; 4 (4) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior 5 member of the majority leadership of the House of 6 Representatives; 7 (5) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior 8 member of the minority leadership of the Senate; 9 and 10 (6) 2 members shall be appointed by the senior 11 member of the minority leadership of the House of 12 Representatives. 13 (b) QUALIFICATIONS; INITIAL MEETING.— 14 (1) POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATION.—Each 15 major political party shall be represented by not 16 fewer than five members of the Commission. 17 (2) NONGOVERNMENTAL APPOINTEES.—An in- 18 dividual appointed to the Commission may not be an 19 officer or employee of the Federal Government or 20 any State or local government. 21 (3) OTHER QUALIFICATIONS.—It is the sense of 22 Congress that individuals appointed to the Commis- 23 sion should be prominent United States citizens, 24 with national recognition and significant depth of ex- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Mar 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H834.IH H834 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 834 IH perience in such professions as governmental service, 1 science, health, law, public administration, intel- 2 ligence gathering, commerce, logistics, and foreign 3 affairs. 4 (4) NO CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—An indi- 5 vidual appointed to the Commission may not have a 6 conflict of interest with respect to any potential 7 issue or inquiry that may come within the purview 8 of the Commission consistent with Federal law relat- 9 ing to conflicts-of-interest and congressional ethics 10 rules. 11 (5) DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENT.—All mem- 12 bers of the Commission shall be appointed not later 13 than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this 14 Act. 15 (6) INITIAL MEETING.—The Commission shall 16 meet and begin the operations of the Commission as 17 soon as practicable. 18 (c) QUORUM; VACANCIES.—After its initial meeting, 19 the Commission shall meet upon the call of the chairman 20 or a majority of its members. Six members of the Commis- 21 sion shall constitute a quorum. Any vacancy in the Com- 22 mission shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled in 23 the same manner in which the original appointment was 24 made. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Mar 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H834.IH H834 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 834 IH SEC. 6. FUNCTIONS OF COMMISSION. 1 The functions of the Commission are to— 2 (1) conduct an investigation that— 3 (A) investigates relevant facts and cir- 4 cumstances relating to the COVID–19 pan- 5 demic, including any relevant legislation, Execu- 6 tive order, regulation, plan, policy, scientific re- 7 search, practice, or procedure; and 8 (B) include relevant facts and cir- 9 cumstances relating to— 10 (i) scientific and public health re- 11 search; 12 (ii) public and private scientific orga- 13 nizations; 14 (iii) charitable organizations; 15 (iv) academic organizations; 16 (v) economic, education, scientific and 17 commercial institutions; 18 (vi) healthcare, public health policies, 19 and pandemic preparedness; 20 (vii) the role of congressional over- 21 sight and resource allocation; and 22 (viii) other areas of the public and 23 private sectors determined relevant by the 24 Commission for its inquiry; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Mar 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H834.IH H834 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 834 IH (2) identify, review, and evaluate the lessons 1 learned from the COVID–19 pandemic from how the 2 virus emerged and spread to the ongoing response 3 efforts, regarding the structure, coordination, man- 4 agement policies, and procedures of the Federal 5 Government, and, where appropriate, State and local 6 governments, nongovernmental entities and inter- 7 national organizations, relative to detecting, pre- 8 venting, and responding to such disease events; and 9 (3) submit to the President and Congress such 10 reports as are required by this title containing such 11 findings, conclusions, and recommendations as the 12 Commission shall determine, including proposing or- 13 ganization, coordination, planning, management ar- 14 rangements, procedures, r [Text truncated for display. 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