Diagnostic Testing for Public Health Labs Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7025 To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants to certain public health laboratories to assist such laboratories in meeting the cost of acquiring high-throughput diagnostic equipment, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 27, 2020 Mr. BUCSHON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants to certain public health laboratories to assist such labora- tories in meeting the cost of acquiring high-throughput diagnostic equipment, 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 ‘‘Diagnostic Testing for 4 Public Health Labs Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:57 Jun 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7025.IH H7025 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7025 IH SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH LABORATORIES TO 1 ACQUIRE HIGH-THROUGHPUT DIAGNOSTIC 2 EQUIPMENT. 3 Section 2821 of the Public Health Service Act (42 4 U.S.C. 300hh–31) is amended— 5 (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub- 6 section (c); 7 (2) in subsection (c), as so redesignated— 8 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), 9 and (3) as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), re- 10 spectively, and moving the margin of each such 11 redesignated subparagraph 2 ems to the right; 12 and 13 (B) by striking ‘‘There are authorized to 14 be appropriated to carry out this section’’ and 15 inserting the following: 16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 17 appropriated to carry out subsection (a)’’; 18 (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol- 19 lowing new subsection: 20 ‘‘(b) GRANTS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH LABORATORIES 21 TO ACQUIRE HIGH-THROUGHPUT DIAGNOSTIC EQUIP- 22 MENT.— 23 ‘‘(1) GRANTS.—The Secretary, acting through 24 the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 25 Prevention, shall award grants to eligible entities to 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:57 Jun 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7025.IH H7025 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7025 IH assist such entities in purchasing high-throughput 1 diagnostic equipment and related supplies. 2 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for a grant 3 under paragraph (1), an entity shall— 4 ‘‘(A) be— 5 ‘‘(i) a State, local, or Tribal public 6 health laboratory; 7 ‘‘(ii) a laboratory within a public 8 health laboratory network coordinated or 9 managed by the Centers for Disease Con- 10 trol and Prevention; 11 ‘‘(iii) a laboratory not described in 12 clause (i) or (ii) that the Secretary deter- 13 mines (at the Secretary’s discretion) pro- 14 vides population-based testing for the pre- 15 vention and control of infectious, commu- 16 nicable, genetic, or chronic diseases; or 17 ‘‘(iv) a consortium of 2 or more enti- 18 ties described in any of clauses (i) through 19 (iii); and 20 ‘‘(B) submit to the Secretary an applica- 21 tion at such time, in such manner, and con- 22 taining such information as the Secretary may 23 reasonably require. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:57 Jun 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7025.IH H7025 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7025 IH ‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts received 1 through a grant under this subsection shall be used 2 to purchase high-throughput diagnostic equipment 3 and such materials as are necessary to administer, 4 store, and process applicable tests, including diag- 5 nostic and serological tests. 6 ‘‘(4) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The amount of a 7 grant under paragraph (1) may not exceed 8 $2,000,000, except in the case of eligible entity de- 9 scribed in paragraph (2)(A)(iv). 10 ‘‘(5) HIGH-THROUGHPUT DIAGNOSTIC EQUIP- 11 MENT DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘high- 12 throughput diagnostic equipment’ means legally- 13 marketed equipment and supplies capable of per- 14 forming multichannel analysis for use in clinical lab- 15 oratory diagnostic testing.’’; and 16 (4) by adding at the end of subsection (c), as 17 redesignated, the following new paragraph: 18 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of 20 carrying out subsection (b), there is authorized 21 to be appropriated $250,000,000 for fiscal year 22 2020, to remain available until expended. 23 ‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the 24 amount made available to carry out subsection 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:57 Jun 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7025.IH H7025 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7025 IH (b) for any fiscal year, the Secretary may not 1 use more than 5 percent of such amount for the 2 expenses of administering subsection (b).’’. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:57 Jun 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7025.IH H7025 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS