Diagnostic Testing for Public Health Labs Act of 2020

Diagnostic Testing for Public Health Labs Act of 2020

This bill establishes a grant program for public health laboratories and other laboratories to purchase high-throughput diagnostic equipment and related supplies to increase testing capacity and expedite test results. High-throughput diagnostic equipment refers to legally marketed equipment and supplies capable of performing multichannel analysis for use in clinical laboratory diagnostic testing.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7025 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7025

 To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants to certain 
 public health laboratories to assist such laboratories in meeting the 
 cost of acquiring high-throughput diagnostic equipment, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 27, 2020

 Mr. Bucshon introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants to certain 
 public health laboratories to assist such laboratories in meeting the 
 cost of acquiring high-throughput diagnostic equipment, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Diagnostic Testing for Public Health 
Labs Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH LABORATORIES TO ACQUIRE HIGH-
              THROUGHPUT DIAGNOSTIC EQUIPMENT.

    Section 2821 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300hh-31) 
is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c);
            (2) in subsection (c), as so redesignated--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) 
                as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), respectively, and 
                moving the margin of each such redesignated 
                subparagraph 2 ems to the right; and
                    (B) by striking ``There are authorized to be 
                appropriated to carry out this section'' and inserting 
                the following:
            ``(1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated 
        to carry out subsection (a)'';
            (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(b) Grants for Public Health Laboratories to Acquire High-
Throughput Diagnostic Equipment.--
            ``(1) Grants.--The Secretary, acting through the Director 
        of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall award 
        grants to eligible entities to assist such entities in 
        purchasing high-throughput diagnostic equipment and related 
        supplies.
            ``(2) Eligibility.--To be eligible for a grant under 
        paragraph (1), an entity shall--
                    ``(A) be--
                            ``(i) a State, local, or Tribal public 
                        health laboratory;
                            ``(ii) a laboratory within a public health 
                        laboratory network coordinated or managed by 
                        the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;
                            ``(iii) a laboratory not described in 
                        clause (i) or (ii) that the Secretary 
                        determines (at the Secretary's discretion) 
                        provides population-based testing for the 
                        prevention and control of infectious, 
                        communicable, genetic, or chronic diseases; or
                            ``(iv) a consortium of 2 or more entities 
                        described in any of clauses (i) through (iii); 
                        and
                    ``(B) submit to the Secretary an application at 
                such time, in such manner, and containing such 
                information as the Secretary may reasonably require.
            ``(3) Use of funds.--Amounts received through a grant under 
        this subsection shall be used to purchase high-throughput 
        diagnostic equipment and such materials as are necessary to 
        administer, store, and process applicable tests, including 
        diagnostic and serological tests.
            ``(4) Amount of grant.--The amount of a grant under 
        paragraph (1) may not exceed $2,000,000, except in the case of 
        eligible entity described in paragraph (2)(A)(iv).
            ``(5) High-throughput diagnostic equipment defined.--In 
        this subsection, the term `high-throughput diagnostic 
        equipment' means legally-marketed equipment and supplies 
        capable of performing multichannel analysis for use in clinical 
        laboratory diagnostic testing.''; and
            (4) by adding at the end of subsection (c), as 
        redesignated, the following new paragraph:
            ``(2) Authorization of appropriations.--
                    ``(A) In general.--For the purpose of carrying out 
                subsection (b), there is authorized to be appropriated 
                $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2020, to remain available 
                until expended.
                    ``(B) Administrative expenses.--Of the amount made 
                available to carry out subsection (b) for any fiscal 
                year, the Secretary may not use more than 5 percent of 
                such amount for the expenses of administering 
                subsection (b).''.
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