Border Health Security Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6070 To establish grant programs to improve the health of border area residents and for all hazards preparedness in the border area including bioter- rorism, infectious disease, and noncommunicable emerging threats, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 3, 2020 Ms. TORRES SMALL of New Mexico (for herself, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. GRI- JALVA, Mr. GONZALEZ of Texas, Mr. VELA, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. ESCOBAR, Ms. HAALAND, Mrs. DAVIS of California, and Mr. VARGAS) in- troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on En- ergy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Af- fairs, 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 concerned A BILL To establish grant programs to improve the health of border area residents and for all hazards preparedness in the border area including bioterrorism, infectious disease, and noncommunicable emerging threats, 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 03:33 Mar 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6070.IH H6070 SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6070 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Border Health Secu- 2 rity Act of 2020’’. 3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 4 Congress makes the following findings: 5 (1) The United States-Mexico border is an 6 interdependent and dynamic region of approximately 7 15,000,000 residents and millions of border cross- 8 ings each year, with significant and unique public 9 health challenges. 10 (2) These challenges include low rates of health 11 insurance coverage, poor access to health care serv- 12 ices, lack of education or access to information, pov- 13 erty, and high rates of dangerous diseases, such as 14 tuberculosis and West Nile virus, as well as other 15 noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular 16 disease, asthma, diabetes, and obesity. 17 (3) As the 2020 dengue outbreak in Mexico and 18 many parts of Latin America illustrates, diseases do 19 not respect international boundaries, and a strong 20 public health effort at and along the borders is cru- 21 cial to not only protect and improve the health of 22 Americans but also to help secure the country 23 against threats to biosecurity and other emerging 24 threats. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:33 Mar 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6070.IH H6070 SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6070 IH (4) For 20 years, the United States-Mexico 1 Border Health Commission has served as a crucial 2 binational institution to address these unique and 3 truly cross-border health issues. 4 (5) In 2016, 66 percent of Canadians lived 5 within 100 miles of the United States border. The 6 2003 epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome 7 caused more than 250 illnesses in the Greater To- 8 ronto Area, just 80 miles from New York. 9 (6) The recent coronavirus outbreak has high- 10 lighted the need for continued coordination of re- 11 sources, effective communication, and information 12 sharing between countries to address emerging pub- 13 lic health crises. 14 SEC. 3. UNITED STATES-MEXICO BORDER HEALTH COMMIS- 15 SION ACT AMENDMENTS. 16 The United States-Mexico Border Health Commis- 17 sion Act (22 U.S.C. 290n et seq.) is amended— 18 (1) in section 3— 19 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 20 and inserting ‘‘;’’; 21 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking the pe- 22 riod and inserting a semicolon; and 23 (C) by adding at the end the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:33 Mar 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6070.IH H6070 SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6070 IH ‘‘(3) to cooperate with the Canada-United 1 States Pan Border Public Health Preparedness 2 Council (referred to in this Act as the ‘Council’), as 3 appropriate; and 4 ‘‘(4) to serve as an independent and objective 5 body to both recommend and implement initiatives 6 that solve border health issues.’’; 7 (2) in section 5— 8 (A) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘should 9 be the leader’’ and inserting ‘‘shall be the 10 Chair’’; and 11 (B) by adding at the end the following: 12 ‘‘(d) PROVIDING ADVICE AND RECOMMENDATIONS.— 13 Members of the Commission and the Council may at any 14 time provide advice or recommendations to the Secretary, 15 Congress, or any Member of Congress concerning issues 16 that are considered by the Commission or Council. Such 17 advice or recommendations may be provided regardless of 18 whether a request for such is made and regardless of 19 whether the member or individual is authorized to provide 20 such advice or recommendations by the Commission or 21 Council or any other Federal official.’’; 22 (3) by redesignating section 8 as section 12; 23 (4) by striking section 7 and inserting the fol- 24 lowing: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:33 Mar 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6070.IH H6070 SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6070 IH ‘‘SEC. 7. BORDER HEALTH GRANTS. 1 ‘‘(a) ELIGIBLE ENTITY DEFINED.—In this section, 2 the term ‘eligible entity’ means a State, public institution 3 of higher education, local government, Indian Tribe, Trib- 4 al organization, urban Indian organization, nonprofit 5 health organization, trauma center, critical access hospital 6 or other hospital that serves rural or other vulnerable com- 7 munities and populations, faith-based entity, or commu- 8 nity health center receiving assistance under section 330 9 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254b), that 10 is located in the United States-Mexico border area or the 11 United States-Canada border area. 12 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION.—From amounts appropriated 13 under section 11, the Secretary, in consultation with mem- 14 bers of the Commission and Council and in coordination 15 with the Office of Global Affairs, shall award grants to 16 eligible entities to address priorities and recommendations 17 outlined by the strategic plan and operational work plan 18 of the Commission and the Council, as authorized under 19 section 9, to improve the health of United States-Mexico 20 border area and United States-Canada border area resi- 21 dents. 22 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity that desires a 23 grant under subsection (b) shall submit an application to 24 the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con- 25 taining such information as the Secretary may require. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:33 Mar 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6070.IH H6070 SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6070 IH ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 1 a grant under subsection (b) shall use the grant funds for 2 any of the following: 3 ‘‘(1) Programs relating to any one or more of 4 the following: 5 ‘‘(A) Maternal and child health. 6 ‘‘(B) Primary care and preventative health. 7 ‘‘(C) Infectious disease testing, monitoring, 8 and surveillance. 9 ‘‘(D) Public health and public health infra- 10 structure. 11 ‘‘(E) Health promotion, health literacy, 12 and health education. 13 ‘‘(F) Oral health. 14 ‘‘(G) Behavioral and mental health. 15 ‘‘(H) Substance abuse prevention and 16 harm reduction. 17 ‘‘(I) Health conditions that have a high 18 prevalence in the United States-Mexico border 19 area or United States-Canada border area. 20 ‘‘(J) Medical and health services research. 21 ‘‘(K) Workforce training and development. 22 ‘‘(L) Community health workers and 23 promotoras. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:33 Mar 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6070.IH H6070 SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6070 IH ‘‘(M) Health care infrastructure problems 1 in the United States-Mexico border area or 2 United States-Canada border area (including 3 planning and construction grants). 4 ‘‘(N) Health disparities in the United 5 States-Mexico border area or United States- 6 Canada border area. 7 ‘‘(O) Environmental health. 8 ‘‘(P) Bioterrorism and zoonosis. 9 ‘‘(Q) Outreach and enrollment services 10 with respect to Federal programs (including 11 programs authorized under titles XIX and XXI 12 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et 13 seq.; 42 U.S.C. 1397aa et seq.)). 14 ‘‘(R) Trauma care. 15 ‘‘(S) Health research with an emphasis on 16 infectious disease, such as measles, and press- 17 ing issues related to noncommunicable diseases. 18 ‘‘(T) Epidemiology and health research. 19 ‘‘(U) Cross-border health surveillance co- 20 ordinated with Mexican Health Authorities or 21 Canadian Health Authorities. 22 ‘‘(V) Chronic diseases, such as diabetes 23 and obesity, particularly childhood obesity. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:33 Mar 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6070.IH H6070 SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6070 IH ‘‘(W) Community-based participatory re- 1 search on border health issues. 2 ‘‘(X) Domestic violence and violence pre- 3 vention. 4 ‘‘(Y) Cross-border public health prepared- 5 ness. 6 ‘‘(2) Other programs as the Secretary deter- 7 mines appropriate. 8 ‘‘(e) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Amounts pro- 9 vided to an eligible entity awarded a grant under sub- 10 section (b) shall be used to supplement and not supplant 11 other funds available to the eligible entity to carry out the 12 activities described in subsection (d). 13 ‘‘SEC. 8. GRANTS FOR EARLY WARNING INFECTIOUS DIS- 14 EASE SURVEILLANCE IN THE BORDER AREA. 15 ‘‘(a) ELIGIBLE ENTITY DEFINED.—In this section, 16 the term ‘eligible entity’ means a State, local government, 17 Indian Tribe, Tribal organization, urban Indian organiza- 18 tion, trauma center, regional trauma center coordinating 19 entity, or public health entity. 20 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION.—From funds appropriated 21 under section 11, the Secretary shall award grants for 22 Early Warning Infectious Disease Surveillance to eligible 23 entities for infectious disease surveillance activities in the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:33 Mar 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6070.IH H6070 SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 6070 IH United States-Mexico border area or United States-Can- 1 ada border area. 2 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity that desires a 3 grant under this section shall submit an application to the 4 Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing 5 such information as the Secretary may require. 6 ‘‘(d) USES OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that re- 7 ceives a grant under subsection (b) shall use the grant 8 funds, in coordination with State and local all hazards pro- 9 grams, to— 10 ‘‘(1) develop and implement infectious disease 11 surveillance plans and networks and public health 12 emergency and readiness assessments and prepared- 13 ness plans, and purchase items necessary for such 14 plans; 15 ‘‘(2) coordinate infectious disease surveillance 16 planning and interjurisdictional risk assessments in 17 the region with appropriate United States-based 18 agencies and organizations and appropriate authori- 19 ties in Mexico or Canada; 20 ‘‘(3) improve infrastructure, including surge ca- 21 pacity, syndromic surveillance, and isolation and de- 22 contamination capacity, and policy preparedness, in- 23 cluding for mutual assistance and for the sharing of 24 information and resources; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:33 Mar 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6070.IH H6070 SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 6070 IH ‘‘(4) improve laboratory capacity, in order to 1 maintain and enhance capability and capacity to de- 2 tect potential infectious disease, whether naturally 3 occurring or the result of terrorism; 4 ‘‘(5) create and maintain a health alert net- 5 work, including risk communication and information 6 dissemination that is culturally competent and takes 7 into account the needs of at-risk populations, includ- 8 ing individuals with disabilities; 9 ‘‘(6) educate and train clinicians, epidemiolo- 10 gists, laboratories, and emergency management per- 11 sonnel; 12 ‘‘(7) implement electronic data and infrastruc- 13 ture inventory systems to coordinate the triage, 14 transportation, and treatment of multicasualty inci- 15 dent victims; 16 ‘‘(8) provide infectious disease testing in the 17 United States-Mexico border area or United States- 18 Canada border area; and 19 ‘‘(9) carry out such other activities identified by 20 the Secretary, members of the Commission, members 21 of the Council, State or local public health authori- 22 ties, representatives of border health offices, or au- 23 thorities at the United States-Mexico or United 24 States-Canada borders. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:33 Mar 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6070.IH H6070 SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 6070 IH ‘‘SEC. 9. PLANS, REPORTS, AUDITS, AND BY-LAWS. 1 ‘‘(a) STRATEGIC PLAN.— 2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 3 after the date of enactment of this section, and every 4 5 years thereafter, the Commission (including the 5 participation of members representing both the 6 United States and Mexican sections) and the Coun- 7 cil (including the participation of members rep- 8 resenting both the United States and Canada) shall 9 each prepare a binational strategic plan to guide the 10 operations of the Commission and the Council and 11 submit such plan to the Secretary and Congress. 12 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The binational strategic 13 plan under paragraph (1) shall include— 14 ‘‘(A) health-related priority areas deter- 15 mined most important by the full membership 16 of the Commission or Council, as applicable; 17 ‘‘(B) recommendations for goals, objec- 18 tives, strategies, and actions designed to ad- 19 dress such priority areas; and 20 ‘‘(C) a proposed evaluation framework with 21 output and outcome indicators appropriate to 22 gauge progress toward meeting the objectives 23 and priorities of the Commission or Council, as 24 applicable. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:33 Mar 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6070.IH H6070 SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 6070 IH ‘‘(b) WORK PLAN.—Not later than January 1, 2023, 1 and every 2 years thereafter, the Commission and the 2 Council shall develop and approve an operational work 3 plan and budget based on the strategic plan under sub- 4 section (a). 5 ‘‘(c) GAO REVIEW.—Not later than January 1, 6 2024, and every 2 years thereafter, the Comptroller Gen- 7 eral of the United States shall conduct an evaluation of 8 the activities conducted by the Commissio [Text truncated for display. 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