Federal

Promoting Public Health Information Act

Source: Congress.gov · 1,152 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill creates a new advisory committee called the Public Health Information and Communications Advisory Committee to help the government communicate better during public health emergencies. The committee will recommend ways to fight misinformation and share accurate health information with the public. The bill also provides funding to support educational programs that teach people how to identify false health information.

Who It Affects

The Secretary of Health and Human Services (the federal official leading the health department) will run the committee and fund educational programs. Federal officials and experts in public health, medicine, communications and psychology will serve on the advisory committee. Academic institutions, community organizations and the general public will be affected by the educational initiatives.

Key Provisions

- The Secretary must establish an advisory committee with federal officials as non-voting members and experts in health, medicine, communications and other areas as voting members. (Sec. 2(1)) - The advisory committee must make recommendations and provide reports about how to communicate scientific health information during emergencies, including how misinformation affects public health responses. (Sec. 2(1)) - The Secretary must award funding to develop educational programs that teach the public how to identify misinformation and find credible health information. (Sec. 2(1)) - The educational initiatives must reach underserved populations and people with low health literacy through culturally and linguistically appropriate approaches. (Sec. 2(1)) - The Secretary must submit a report to Congress within 180 days of receiving the committee's recommendations describing planned actions related to health communication. (Sec. 2(1))

What Changes

If this becomes law, a new advisory committee will be created to study and recommend ways to improve government communication during public health emergencies. Educational programs will receive funding to help Americans identify false health information. Federal agencies will receive guidance from experts on better ways to share accurate scientific information with the public, especially populations that are vulnerable to health misinformation.

Important Definitions

The bill does not explicitly define key terms. It uses "public health emergencies" but does not provide a specific definition of this term.

Effective Date

Not specified in bill text

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1004 To establish the Public Health Information and Communications Advisory Committee for purposes of providing recommendations and reports, and to support educational initiatives on communication and dissemination of information during public health emergencies. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 14, 2023 Ms. DEGETTE (for herself and Ms. CASTOR of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To establish the Public Health Information and Communica- tions Advisory Committee for purposes of providing rec- ommendations and reports, and to support educational initiatives on communication and dissemination of infor- mation during public health emergencies. 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 ‘‘Promoting Public 4 Health Information Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:56 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1004.IH H1004 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1004 IH SEC. 2. STRENGTHENING PUBLIC HEALTH COMMUNICA- 1 TION. 2 Section 319F of the Public Health Service Act (42 3 U.S.C. 247d–6) is amended— 4 (1) in subsection (b), to read as follows: 5 ‘‘(b) PUBLIC HEALTH INFORMATION AND COMMU- 6 NICATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab- 8 lish an advisory committee to be known as the Pub- 9 lic Health Information and Communications Advi- 10 sory Committee (referred to in this subsection as the 11 ‘Advisory Committee’). 12 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The Advisory Committee shall 13 make recommendations to the Secretary and report 14 on— 15 ‘‘(A) critical aspects of communication and 16 dissemination of scientific and evidence-based 17 public health information during public health 18 emergencies, including— 19 ‘‘(i) the role and impact of misin- 20 formation on the response to such public 21 health emergencies; 22 ‘‘(ii) the role of risk communication 23 before and during such public health emer- 24 gencies; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:56 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1004.IH H1004 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1004 IH ‘‘(iii) other relevant factors, as the 1 Secretary determines appropriate; 2 ‘‘(B) information from academic institu- 3 tions, community-based organizations, and 4 other nongovernmental organizations related to 5 evidence-based or evidence-informed strategies 6 and best practices to effectively communicate 7 and disseminate such information; and 8 ‘‘(C) strategies to improve communication 9 and dissemination of scientific and evidence- 10 based public health information to the public, 11 and, as appropriate, to address misinformation 12 during public health emergencies, including 13 strategies to— 14 ‘‘(i) identify the most effective meth- 15 ods for the dissemination of information 16 during a public health emergency; 17 ‘‘(ii) determine best practices and 18 communicate information to populations 19 that may be impacted by such misinforma- 20 tion; and 21 ‘‘(iii) adapt approaches for the dis- 22 semination of information, as appropriate, 23 to address emerging trends related to mis- 24 information. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:56 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1004.IH H1004 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1004 IH ‘‘(3) COMPOSITION.—The Advisory Committee 1 shall be composed of— 2 ‘‘(A) appropriate Federal officials, ap- 3 pointed by the Secretary, who shall serve as 4 nonvoting members; and 5 ‘‘(B) individuals, appointed by the Sec- 6 retary, with expertise in public health, medicine, 7 communications, related technology, psychology, 8 national security, and other areas, as the Sec- 9 retary determines appropriate, who shall serve 10 as voting members. 11 ‘‘(4) DISSEMINATION.—The Secretary shall re- 12 view the recommendations of the Advisory Com- 13 mittee and, not later than 180 days after receipt of 14 the report under paragraph (2), shall submit to the 15 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen- 16 sions of the Senate and the Committee on Energy 17 and Commerce of the House of Representatives a re- 18 port describing any actions planned by the Secretary 19 related to the communication and dissemination of 20 scientific and evidence-based public health informa- 21 tion, including addressing misinformation, as appro- 22 priate. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:56 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1004.IH H1004 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1004 IH ‘‘(5) TERMINATION.—The Advisory Committee 1 shall terminate 4 years after the date of enactment 2 of the Promoting Public Health Information Act.’’; 3 (2) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub- 4 section (g); 5 (3) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol- 6 lowing: 7 ‘‘(f) EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVES.— 8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 9 assistance for the development of evidence-based ini- 10 tiatives to promote fact-based public health and 11 medical science information to the public and edu- 12 cate the public on how to identify misinformation, 13 disinformation, and credible information. 14 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—In developing the initia- 15 tives under this subsection, the Secretary shall con- 16 sult with— 17 ‘‘(A) the Public Health Information and 18 Communications Advisory Committee estab- 19 lished under subsection (b); 20 ‘‘(B) experts in the fields of public health 21 and medicine, communication, technology, be- 22 havioral science, and other relevant disciplines 23 as appropriate; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:56 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1004.IH H1004 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1004 IH ‘‘(C) relevant Federal agencies, as appro- 1 priate. 2 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—The initiatives estab- 3 lished under this subsection shall— 4 ‘‘(A) be an evidence-based or evidence-in- 5 formed media and public engagement initiative 6 that includes partnerships with national and 7 local organizations; 8 ‘‘(B) ensure that official scientific and 9 public health guidance is accessible and commu- 10 nicated effectively to the public with specific 11 focus on populations that are underserved or 12 with low health literacy; and 13 ‘‘(C) ensure that activities are tailored to- 14 wards subgroups that are being targeted for 15 health misinformation and disinformation, or 16 are especially susceptible to health misinforma- 17 tion and disinformation, in a culturally and lin- 18 guistically appropriate manner.’’; and 19 (4) by adding at the end of subsection (g), as 20 so redesignated, the following: 21 ‘‘(3) FUNDING FOR ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND 22 EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVES.—There are authorized 23 to be appropriated $45,000,000 for each of fiscal 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:57 Mar 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1004.IH H1004 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1004 IH years 2023 through 2027 for purposes of carrying 1 out subsections (b) and (f).’’. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:56 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1004.IH H1004 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS

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