PPE Innovation Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4767 To establish programs to support research and development with respect to personal protective equipment for health care workers. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 30 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 29), 2020 Mr. CASEY (for himself and Ms. STABENOW) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Edu- cation, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To establish programs to support research and development with respect to personal protective equipment for health care workers. 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 ‘‘PPE Innovation Act 4 of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:41 Oct 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4767.IS S4767 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4767 IS SEC. 2. IMPROVING THE SUPPLY OF PERSONAL PROTEC- 1 TIVE EQUIPMENT. 2 Part B of title III of the Public Health Service Act 3 (42 U.S.C. 243 et seq.) is amended by inserting after sec- 4 tion 319M the following: 5 ‘‘SEC. 319N. PROGRAMS TO IMPROVE THE SUPPLY OF PER- 6 SONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT. 7 ‘‘(a) NATIONAL PERSONAL PROTECTIVE TECH- 8 NOLOGY LABORATORY.—The Secretary, acting through 9 the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Pre- 10 vention, shall continue to carry out the activities of the 11 National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory with- 12 in the National Institute for Occupational Safety and 13 Health, including by— 14 ‘‘(1) conducting research and development re- 15 lated to personal protective equipment, which shall 16 include developing new methods to test effectiveness 17 of such equipment; 18 ‘‘(2) developing and implementing science-based 19 national guidance for respiratory equipment and 20 other personal protective equipment; 21 ‘‘(3) establishing guidance and tools to help em- 22 ployers and workers use personal protective equip- 23 ment as effectively and efficiently as possible; and 24 ‘‘(4) developing and evaluating innovative de- 25 signs and test methods to improve acceptability, 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:41 Oct 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4767.IS S4767 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4767 IS comfort, fit, and usability of personal protective 1 equipment. 2 ‘‘(b) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR 3 PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT FOR HEALTH CARE 4 WORKERS.— 5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 6 through the Director of the Centers for Disease 7 Control and Prevention, shall establish, within the 8 National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory 9 described in subsection (a), a program to ensure in- 10 novation with respect to personal protective equip- 11 ment for health care workers, by conducting and ap- 12 plying scientific research on essential safety, design 13 considerations, and usage qualities and standards of 14 personal protective equipment used in health care 15 settings. 16 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The program estab- 17 lished under paragraph (1) shall— 18 ‘‘(A) integrate consultation with heath care 19 personnel who use personal protective equip- 20 ment in their work to inform factors such as 21 comfort over short- and long-durations, fit, du- 22 rability, and feasibility in real-world health care 23 settings; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:41 Oct 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4767.IS S4767 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4767 IS ‘‘(B) conduct pilot testing for periods of 6 1 months to evaluate workforce experience with, 2 and preliminary efficacy of, newly developed 3 equipment; and 4 ‘‘(C) coordinate with manufacturers to— 5 ‘‘(i) ensure capability for large scale- 6 production of personal protective equip- 7 ment, even in the potential circumstance of 8 low-profitability, and 9 ‘‘(ii) guarantee the ability to increase 10 supply of such equipment rapidly in re- 11 sponse to sudden medical need, through 12 manufacturing at facilities within the 13 United States and at reliable manufac- 14 turing facilities abroad. 15 ‘‘(3) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the pro- 16 gram under this subsection, the Director of the Cen- 17 ters for Disease Control and Prevention shall consult 18 with— 19 ‘‘(A) the Assistant Secretary of Labor for 20 Occupational Safety and Health to align and in- 21 tegrate the objectives of the 2 agencies with re- 22 spect to innovative development of personal pro- 23 tective equipment for health care workers; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:41 Oct 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4767.IS S4767 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4767 IS ‘‘(B) the Commissioner of Food and Drugs 1 to ensure appropriate communication related to 2 relevant certification of personal protective 3 equipment. 4 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 5 To carry out this subsection, there are authorized to 6 be appropriated $180,000,000 for each of fiscal 7 years 2021 through 2025. 8 ‘‘(c) REPORTING.— 9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall seek to 10 enter into a contract with the National Academies of 11 Science, Engineering and Medicine (referred to in 12 this subsection as the ‘Academies’) under which, not 13 later than 3 years after the date of enactment of the 14 PPE Innovation Act of 2020, and thereafter, at 15 such regular intervals as the Secretary shall deter- 16 mine, the Standing Committee on Personal Protec- 17 tive Equipment for Workplace Safety and Health of 18 such Academies shall— 19 ‘‘(A) present a workshop to update the 20 public on progress of the program under sub- 21 section (b) and the progress and remaining 22 knowledge gaps with respect to implementation 23 of such program and innovative product deploy- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:41 Oct 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4767.IS S4767 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4767 IS ment of personal protective equipment in health 1 care settings in the United States; and 2 ‘‘(B) submit a written summary of such 3 workshop to the Committee on Health, Edu- 4 cation, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and 5 the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 6 House of Representatives. 7 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 8 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 9 as may be required to carry out this subsection. 10 ‘‘(d) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘per- 11 sonal protective equipment’ means equipment worn to 12 minimize exposure to hazards that cause serious workplace 13 injuries and illnesses and includes respiratory protection, 14 clothing, eye protection, and such other equipment to pro- 15 tect the wearer as the Secretary may determine.’’. 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:41 Oct 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S4767.IS S4767 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS