Bill > S1085

This bill establishes the MedShield program, a comprehensive pandemic preparedness and response initiative led by the Secretary of Health and Human Services that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to proactively protect public health. Recognizing lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, the bill aims to create a sophisticated "national medical shield" that can continuously monitor, detect, and respond to biological threats more efficiently than previous emergency response approaches like Operation Warp Speed. The program will utilize AI technologies for developing a global pathogen surveillance system, accelerating vaccine and treatment development, optimizing vaccine distribution strategies, and enabling rapid manufacturing of medical interventions. The Secretary is required to develop an integrated plan in consultation with federal agencies and international partners, with specific AI-enabled capabilities including real-time pathogen tracking, advanced modeling, and therapeutic treatment development. The bill authorizes increasing funding from $300 million in fiscal year 2025 to $500 million in fiscal year 2029, and mandates a detailed implementation report to be submitted to congressional committees within 180 days of enactment. The program is explicitly designed to function as a proactive, technology-driven shield against both naturally occurring and potentially manufactured biological threats.

Health and Social Services

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1085/all-info