Bill > HR1849

This bill authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to establish a core public health infrastructure program. The key provisions include: 1. Awarding grants to state, local, tribal, and territorial health departments to address core public health infrastructure needs, with at least 50% of the funds going to state health departments and at least 30% going to competitive grants for other health departments. 2. Establishing a public health accreditation program to develop and implement standards for voluntary accreditation of state, local, tribal, and territorial health departments and public health laboratories. 3. Requiring the Secretary to submit annual reports on progress in accrediting entities and identifying gaps in research related to core public health infrastructure. 4. Defining "core public health infrastructure" to include workforce capacity, laboratory systems, testing capacity, health information systems, disease surveillance, contact tracing, communications, and other related activities. 5. Authorizing $6 billion for the grant program and $1 billion for the CDC to expand and improve its own core public health infrastructure and activities over fiscal years 2022-2026.

Business and Industry, Health and Social Services

https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1849/all-info