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Leaders of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee today released for comment until Feb. 4 a discussion  of bipartisan legislation to strengthen the nation’s public health and medical preparedness and response systems in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a , the PREVENT Pandemics Act would:

• create a bipartisan task force to review the COVID-19 response; 
• require a strategic plan for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Senate to confirm the agency’s director; 
• give the Secretary of Health and Human Services additional authority to coordinate the federal response to a public health emergency, and contract with public and private entities to more rapidly develop diagnostic tests for emerging infectious diseases; 
• direct the CDC director to disseminate standards to improve the exchange of public health data and reporting; 
• establish a “warm-base” domestic manufacturing surge capacity for medical countermeasures; 
• require the HHS secretary to report regularly on the contents of the Strategic National Stockpile and ensure items are in working condition; 
• award funds to recruit and train community health workers; 
• require HHS to report to Congress on ways to improve access to mental health and substance use disorder services during an emergency; 
• create an “advanced platform technology” designation to speed development and review of new treatments and countermeasures; 
• require makers of certain critical medical devices to maintain a redundancy risk management plan; and
• create a pilot program to develop novel manufacturing approaches for critical drugs, among other provisions. 

The committee will accept feedback on the discussion draft by email at HELPPandemicbill@help.senate.gov.