Loading AI tools
U.S. Federal law From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
On December 19, 2006, the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA), Public Law No. 109-417, was signed into law by President George W. Bush. First introduced in the House by Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), PAHPA had broad implications for the United States Department of Health and Human Services's (HHS) preparedness and response activities. Among other things, the act amended the Public Health Service Act to establish within the department a new Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR); provided new authorities for a number of programs, including the advanced development and acquisitions of medical countermeasures; and called for the establishment of a quadrennial National Health Security Strategy.
 | This article may have been created or edited in return for undisclosed payments, a violation of Wikipedia's terms of use. It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies, particularly neutral point of view. (November 2021) |
.svg) | |
| Long title | An act to amend the Public Health Service Act with respect to Public Health Security and all-hazards preparedness and response, and for other purposes. |
|---|---|
| Enacted by | the 109th United States Congress |
| Citations | |
| Public law | 109-417 |
| Legislative history | |
| |
The purpose of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act is "to improve the Nation's public health and medical preparedness and response capabilities for emergencies, whether deliberate, accidental, or natural."[1]
The law was most recently reauthorized by Congress in 2013.[2] After it lapsed, an amended version, the Pandemic All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act, was signed into law in June 2019.[3]
In January 2018, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held two separate hearings on the reauthorization of the PAHPA law. The conclusion from many witnesses who testified before the hearings is that "decreased and episodic funding from the United States government has stakeholders questioning the true commitment federal lawmakers have for sustaining the nation's preparedness and response capabilities during a catastrophic event linked to infectious diseases, natural disasters or chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) agents."[2]
Many provisions in PAHPA are set to expire in September 2018 unless Congress reauthorizes them.[2]
PAHPA expired October 1, 2018. A revised authorization, in the form of the "Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act", was signed into law June 28, 2019.[5]
One of the two January 2018 committee hearings focused on the private sector's relationship with providing preparedness and response capabilities. Private sector witnesses expressed concerns about the decreased or lack of federal funding for preparedness and response, saying that it's gotten to the point where the U.S. government's reputation is at stake with companies and public health and medical professionals.[2]
"Unfortunately, over the last several years, the private sector has become more skeptical of the government's commitment to biodefense," testified Brent MacGregor of Seqirus, a global influenza vaccine developer and manufacturer.[2]
Like many laws that authorize activities for federal agencies, PAHPA must be reauthorized by its expiration date in order for the law to continue taking effect. As of January 2018, most of the provisions in PAHPA are set to expire in September 2018. The Senate HELP Committee started the process of reauthorizing the law with a set of hearings beginning on January 17, 2018.[6]
U.S. Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) sponsored both Senate versions of PAHPA authorization and reauthorization. The original bill, S. 3678, which created PAHPA, became law in 2006. In 2013, Burr sponsored the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act (PAHPRA) of 2013, S. 242, which became law that same year.[6]
On May 15, 2018, Burr introduced the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act of 2018 (bill number S. 2852). Original cosponsors of the bill were U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), and Patty Murray (D-WA).[7]
The Alliance for Biosecurity and U.S. Chamber of Commerce wrote a joint letter to all U.S. House members urging their passage of the House version, H.R. 6378 (the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act of 2018).[8] Congresswoman Susan Brooks (R-IN) introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives (H.R. 6378). The bill increases funding to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to develop responses to pandemics and biological threats. Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA), who coauthored the bill with Brooks, called it "critical to our national security."[9]
On June 15, 2018, the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing focused on discussing biopreparedness oversight issues and stressing the need to reauthorize PAHPA. One of the witnesses, Rick Bright, director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), proposed that "cutting-edge testing tools" developed by private companies should go directly to doctors' offices for "rapid, regional response to outbreaks, rather than funneling samples primarily to the CDC for testing."[10]
The chairman of the HELP Committee, Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), said, "I look forward to a timely, bipartisan reauthorization of this crucial legislation to ensure we are prepared to respond to natural disasters like hurricanes, and protect Americans against bioterror attacks and infectious disease outbreaks, like the Zika virus or a pandemic influenza."[6]
The purpose of reauthorizing PAHPA is to protect public health from threats coming from exposure to infectious diseases, natural disasters or chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) agents.[6]
During the committee hearing, Burr said that the U.S. is not fully prepared and that gaps have left the U.S. vulnerable to both terrorists and natural threats. He said that developing countermeasures "should be top of mind."[6]
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
