Global Health Security Act of 2020

IIB 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 2166 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 23, 2020 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions AN ACT To authorize a comprehensive, strategic approach for United States foreign assistance to developing countries to strengthen global health security, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:07 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2166.RFS H2166 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 HR 2166 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Global Health Security 2 Act of 2020’’. 3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 4 Congress finds the following: 5 (1) In December 2009, President Obama re- 6 leased the National Strategy for Countering Biologi- 7 cal Threats, which listed as one of seven objectives 8 ‘‘Promote global health security: Increase the avail- 9 ability of and access to knowledge and products of 10 the life sciences that can help reduce the impact 11 from outbreaks of infectious disease whether of nat- 12 ural, accidental, or deliberate origin’’. 13 (2) In February 2014, the United States and 14 nearly 30 other nations launched the Global Health 15 Security Agenda (GHSA) to address several high- 16 priority, global infectious disease threats. The 17 GHSA is a multi-faceted, multi-country initiative in- 18 tended to accelerate partner countries’ measurable 19 capabilities to achieve specific targets to prevent, de- 20 tect, and respond to infectious disease threats, 21 whether naturally occurring, deliberate, or acci- 22 dental. 23 (3) In 2015, the United Nations adopted the 24 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which in- 25 clude specific reference to the importance of global 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:07 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2166.RFS H2166 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 HR 2166 RFS health security as part of SDG 3 ‘‘ensure healthy 1 lives and promote well-being for all at all ages’’ as 2 follows: ‘‘strengthen the capacity of all countries, in 3 particular developing countries, for early warning, 4 risk reduction and management of national and 5 global health risks’’. 6 (4) On November 4, 2016, President Obama 7 signed Executive Order No. 13747, ‘‘Advancing the 8 Global Health Security Agenda to Achieve a World 9 Safe and Secure from Infectious Disease Threats’’. 10 (5) In October 2017 at the GHSA Ministerial 11 Meeting in Uganda, the United States and more 12 than 40 GHSA member countries supported the 13 ‘‘Kampala Declaration’’ to extend the GHSA for an 14 additional 5 years to 2024. 15 (6) In December 2017, President Trump re- 16 leased the National Security Strategy, which in- 17 cludes the priority action: ‘‘Detect and contain bio- 18 threats at their source: We will work with other 19 countries to detect and mitigate outbreaks early to 20 prevent the spread of disease. We will encourage 21 other countries to invest in basic health care systems 22 and to strengthen global health security across the 23 intersection of human and animal health to prevent 24 infectious disease outbreaks’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:07 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2166.RFS H2166 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 HR 2166 RFS (7) In September 2018, President Trump re- 1 leased the National Biodefense Strategy, which in- 2 cludes objectives to ‘‘strengthen global health secu- 3 rity capacities to prevent local bioincidents from be- 4 coming epidemics’’, and ‘‘strengthen international 5 preparedness to support international response and 6 recovery capabilities’’. 7 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 8 It is the policy of the United States to— 9 (1) promote global health security as a core na- 10 tional security interest; 11 (2) advance the aims of the Global Health Se- 12 curity Agenda; 13 (3) collaborate with other countries to detect 14 and mitigate outbreaks early to prevent the spread 15 of disease; 16 (4) encourage other countries to invest in basic 17 resilient and sustainable health care systems; and 18 (5) strengthen global health security across the 19 intersection of human and animal health to prevent 20 infectious disease outbreaks and combat the growing 21 threat of antimicrobial resistance. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:07 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2166.RFS H2166 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 HR 2166 RFS SEC. 4. GLOBAL HEALTH SECURITY AGENDA INTERAGENCY 1 REVIEW COUNCIL. 2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President shall establish 3 a Global Health Security Agenda Interagency Review 4 Council (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Council’’) to 5 perform the general responsibilities described in sub- 6 section (c) and the specific roles and responsibilities de- 7 scribed in subsection (e). 8 (b) MEETINGS.—The Council shall meet not less than 9 four times per year to advance its mission and fulfill its 10 responsibilities. 11 (c) GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Council shall 12 be responsible for the following activities: 13 (1) Provide policy-level recommendations to 14 participating agencies on Global Health Security 15 Agenda (GHSA) goals, objectives, and implementa- 16 tion. 17 (2) Facilitate interagency, multi-sectoral en- 18 gagement to carry out GHSA implementation. 19 (3) Provide a forum for raising and working to 20 resolve interagency disagreements concerning the 21 GHSA. 22 (4)(A) Review the progress toward and work to 23 resolve challenges in achieving United States com- 24 mitments under the GHSA, including commitments 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:07 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2166.RFS H2166 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 HR 2166 RFS to assist other countries in achieving the GHSA tar- 1 gets. 2 (B) The Council shall consider, among other 3 issues, the following: 4 (i) The status of United States financial 5 commitments to the GHSA in the context of 6 commitments by other donors, and the con- 7 tributions of partner countries to achieve the 8 GHSA targets. 9 (ii) The progress toward the milestones 10 outlined in GHSA national plans for those 11 countries where the United States Government 12 has committed to assist in implementing the 13 GHSA and in annual work-plans outlining 14 agency priorities for implementing the GHSA. 15 (iii) The external evaluations of United 16 States and partner country capabilities to ad- 17 dress infectious disease threats, including the 18 ability to achieve the targets outlined within the 19 WHO Joint External Evaluation (JEE) tool, as 20 well as gaps identified by such external evalua- 21 tions. 22 (d) PARTICIPATION.—The Council shall consist of 23 representatives, serving at the Assistant Secretary level or 24 higher, from the following agencies: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:07 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2166.RFS H2166 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 HR 2166 RFS (1) The Department of State. 1 (2) The Department of Defense. 2 (3) The Department of Justice. 3 (4) The Department of Agriculture. 4 (5) The Department of Health and Human 5 Services. 6 (6) The Department of Labor. 7 (7) The Department of Homeland Security. 8 (8) The Office of Management and Budget. 9 (9) The United States Agency for International 10 Development. 11 (10) The Environmental Protection Agency. 12 (11) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre- 13 vention. 14 (12) The Office of Science and Technology Pol- 15 icy. 16 (13) The National Institutes of Health. 17 (14) The National Institute of Allergy and In- 18 fectious Diseases. 19 (15) Such other agencies as the Council deter- 20 mines to be appropriate. 21 (e) SPECIFIC ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The heads of agencies de- 23 scribed in subsection (d) shall— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:07 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2166.RFS H2166 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 HR 2166 RFS (A) make the GHSA and its implementa- 1 tion a high priority within their respective agen- 2 cies, and include GHSA-related activities within 3 their respective agencies’ strategic planning and 4 budget processes; 5 (B) designate a senior-level official to be 6 responsible for the implementation of this Act; 7 (C) designate, in accordance with sub- 8 section (d), an appropriate representative at the 9 Assistant Secretary level or higher to partici- 10 pate on the Council; 11 (D) keep the Council apprised of GHSA- 12 related activities undertaken within their re- 13 spective agencies; 14 (E) maintain responsibility for agency-re- 15 lated programmatic functions in coordination 16 with host governments, country teams, and 17 GHSA in-country teams, and in conjunction 18 with other relevant agencies; 19 (F) coordinate with other agencies that are 20 identified in this section to satisfy pro- 21 grammatic goals, and further facilitate coordi- 22 nation of country teams, implementers, and do- 23 nors in host countries; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:07 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2166.RFS H2166 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 HR 2166 RFS (G) coordinate across GHSA national 1 plans and with GHSA partners to which the 2 United States is providing assistance. 3 (2) ADDITIONAL ROLES AND RESPONSIBIL- 4 ITIES.—In addition to the roles and responsibilities 5 described in paragraph (1), the heads of agencies de- 6 scribed in subsection (d) shall carry out their respec- 7 tive roles and responsibilities described in sub- 8 sections (b) through (i) of section 3 of Executive 9 Order No. 13747 (81 Fed. Reg. 78701; relating to 10 Advancing the Global Health Security Agenda to 11 Achieve a World Safe and Secure from Infectious 12 Disease Threats), as in effect on the day before the 13 date of the enactment of this Act. 14 SEC. 5. UNITED STATES COORDINATOR FOR GLOBAL 15 HEALTH SECURITY. 16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall appoint an in- 17 dividual to the position of United States Coordinator for 18 Global Health Security, who shall be responsible for the 19 coordination of the interagency process for responding to 20 global health security emergencies. As appropriate, the 21 designee shall coordinate with the President’s Special Co- 22 ordinator for International Disaster Assistance. 23 (b) CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING.—Not less frequently 24 than twice each year, the employee designated under this 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:07 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2166.RFS H2166 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 HR 2166 RFS section shall provide to the appropriate congressional com- 1 mittees a briefing on the responsibilities and activities of 2 the individual under this section. 3 (c) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE- 4 FINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘appropriate con- 5 gressional committees’’ has the meaning given such term 6 in section 8 of the Global Health Security Act of 2019. 7 SEC. 6. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 8 It is the sense of the Congress that, given the complex 9 and multisectoral nature of global health threats to the 10 United States, the President— 11 (1) should consider appointing an individual 12 with significant background and expertise in public 13 health or emergency response management to the 14 position of United States Coordinator for Global 15 Health Security, as required by section 5(a), who is 16 an employee of the National Security Council at the 17 level of Deputy Assistant to the President or higher; 18 and 19 (2) in providing assistance to implement the 20 strategy required under section 7(a), should— 21 (A) coordinate, through a whole-of-govern- 22 ment approach, the efforts of relevant Federal 23 departments and agencies to implement the 24 strategy; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:07 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2166.RFS H2166 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 HR 2166 RFS (B) seek to fully utilize the unique capa- 1 bilities of each relevant Federal department and 2 agency while collaborating with and leveraging 3 the contributions of other key stakeholders; and 4 (C) utilize open and streamlined solicita- 5 tions to allow for the participation of a wide 6 range of implementing partners through the 7 most appropriate procurement mechanisms, 8 which may include grants, contracts, coopera- 9 tive agreements, and other instruments as nec- 10 essary and appropriate. 11 SEC. 7. STRATEGY AND REPORTS. 12 (a) STRATEGY.—The United States Coordinator for 13 Global Health Security (appointed under section 5(a)) 14 shall coordinate the development and implementation of 15 a strategy to implement the policy aims described in sec- 16 tion 3, which shall— 17 (1) set specific and measurable goals, bench- 18 marks, timetables, performance metrics, and moni- 19 toring and evaluation plans that reflect international 20 best practices relating to transparency, account- 21 ability, and global health security; 22 (2) support and be aligned with country-owned 23 global health security policy and investment plans 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:07 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2166.RFS H2166 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 HR 2166 RFS developed with input from key stakeholders, as ap- 1 propriate; 2 (3) facilitate communication and collaboration, 3 as appropriate, among local stakeholders in support 4 of a multi-sectoral approach to global health secu- 5 rity; 6 (4) support the long-term success of programs 7 by building the capacity of local organizations and 8 institutions in target countries and communities; 9 (5) develop community resilience to infectious 10 disease threats and emergencies; 11 (6) leverage resources and expertise through 12 partnerships with the private sector, health organi- 13 zations, civil society, nongovernmental organizations, 14 and health research and academic institutions; and 15 (7) support collaboration, as appropriate, be- 16 tween United States universities, and public and pri- 17 vate institutions in target countries and communities 18 to promote health security and innovation. 19 (b) COORDINATION.—The President, acting through 20 the United States Coordinator for Global Health Security, 21 shall coordinate, through a whole-of-government approach, 22 the efforts of relevant Federal departments and agencies 23 in the implementation of the strategy required under sub- 24 section (a) by— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:07 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]