Securing America From Epidemics Act

IIB 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6334 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 30, 2020 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations AN ACT To authorize United States participation in the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, 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 21:14 Dec 01, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6334.RFS H6334 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 HR 6334 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Securing America 2 From Epidemics Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 4 Congress finds the following: 5 (1) Due to increasing population and popu- 6 lation density, human mobility, and ecological 7 change, emerging infectious diseases pose a real and 8 growing threat to global health security. 9 (2) While vaccines can be the most effective 10 tools to protect against infectious disease, the ab- 11 sence of vaccines for a new or emerging infectious 12 disease with epidemic potential is a major health se- 13 curity threat globally, posing catastrophic potential 14 human and economic costs. 15 (3) The 1918 influenza pandemic infected 16 500,000,000 people, or about one-third of the 17 world’s population at the time, and killed 18 50,000,000 people—more than died in the First 19 World War. 20 (4) The economic cost of an outbreak can be 21 devastating. The estimated global cost today, should 22 an outbreak of the scale of the 1918 influenza pan- 23 demic strike, is 5 percent of global gross domestic 24 product. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Dec 01, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6334.RFS H6334 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 HR 6334 RFS (5) Even regional outbreaks can have enormous 1 human costs and substantially disrupt the global 2 economy and cripple regional economies. The 2014 3 Ebola outbreak in West Africa killed more than 4 11,000 and cost $2,800,000,000 in losses in the af- 5 fected countries alone. 6 (6) The ongoing novel coronavirus outbreak re- 7 flects the pressing need for quick and effective vac- 8 cine and countermeasure development. 9 (7) While the need for vaccines to address 10 emerging epidemic threats is acute, markets to drive 11 the necessary development of vaccines to address 12 them—a complex and expensive undertaking—are 13 very often critically absent. Also absent are mecha- 14 nisms to ensure access to those vaccines by those 15 who need them when they need them. 16 (8) To address this global vulnerability and the 17 deficit of political commitment, institutional capac- 18 ity, and funding, in 2017, several countries and pri- 19 vate partners launched the Coalition for Epidemic 20 Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). CEPI’s mission 21 is to stimulate, finance, and coordinate development 22 of vaccines for high-priority, epidemic-potential 23 threats in cases where traditional markets do not 24 exist or cannot create sufficient demand. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Dec 01, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6334.RFS H6334 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 HR 6334 RFS (9) Through funding of partnerships, CEPI 1 seeks to bring priority vaccines candidates through 2 the end of phase II clinical trials, as well as support 3 vaccine platforms that can be rapidly deployed 4 against emerging pathogens. 5 (10) CEPI has funded multiple partners to de- 6 velop vaccine candidates against the novel 7 coronavirus, responding to this urgent, global re- 8 quirement. 9 (11) Support for and participation in CEPI is 10 an important part of the United States own health 11 security and biodefense and is in the national inter- 12 est, complementing the work of many Federal agen- 13 cies and providing significant value through global 14 partnership and burden-sharing. 15 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION FOR UNITED STATES PARTICIPA- 16 TION. 17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The United States is hereby au- 18 thorized to participate in the Coalition for Epidemic Pre- 19 paredness Innovations. 20 (b) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.—The Administrator for 21 the United States Agency for International Development 22 is authorized to designate an employee to serve on the In- 23 vestors Council of the Coalition for Epidemic Prepared- 24 ness Innovations as a representative of the United States. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Dec 01, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6334.RFS H6334 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 HR 6334 RFS (c) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 180 1 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Presi- 2 dent shall submit to the appropriate congressional com- 3 mittees a report that includes the following: 4 (1) The United States planned contributions to 5 the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations 6 and the mechanisms for United States participation 7 in such Coalition. 8 (2) The manner and extent to which the United 9 States shall participate in the governance of the Co- 10 alition. 11 (3) How participation in the Coalition supports 12 relevant United States Government strategies and 13 programs in health security and biodefense, to in- 14 clude— 15 (A) the Global Health Security Strategy 16 required by section 7058(c)(3) of division K of 17 the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 18 (Public Law 115–141); 19 (B) the applicable revision of the National 20 Biodefense Strategy required by section 1086 of 21 the National Defense Authorization Act for Fis- 22 cal Year 2017 (6 U.S.C. 104); and 23 (C) any other relevant decision-making 24 process for policy, planning, and spending in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Dec 01, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6334.RFS H6334 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 HR 6334 RFS global health security, biodefense, or vaccine 1 and medical countermeasures research and de- 2 velopment. 3 (d) UNITED STATES CONTRIBUTIONS.—Amounts au- 4 thorized to be appropriated under chapters 1 and 10 of 5 part I and chapter 4 of part II of the Foreign Assistance 6 Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) are authorized to 7 be made available for United States contributions to the 8 Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. 9 (e) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.— 10 In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 11 mittees’’ means— 12 (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 13 Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep- 14 resentatives; and 15 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 16 the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate. 17 Passed the House of Representatives November 18, 2020. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Dec 01, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6334.RFS H6334 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS