S.Amdt. 2523

SA 2523. Mr. BLUNT (for himself and Mr. Daines) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 2499 proposed by Mr.
McConnell to the bill S. 178, to condemn gross human rights violations
of ethnic Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang, and calling for an end to
arbitrary detention, torture, and harassment of these communities
inside and outside China; which was ordered to lie on the table; as
follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

TITLE __--

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Office of the Secretary

public health and social services emergency fund

(including transfer of funds)

For an additional amount for ``Public Health and Social
Services Emergency Fund'', $26,000,000,000, to remain
available until September 30, 2024, to prevent, prepare for,
and respond to coronavirus, domestically or internationally,
including the development of necessary countermeasures and
vaccines, prioritizing platform-based technologies with U.S.-
based manufacturing capabilities, the purchase of vaccines,
therapeutics, diagnostics, necessary medical supplies, as
well as medical surge capacity, addressing blood supply
chain, workforce modernization, telehealth access and
infrastructure, initial advanced manufacturing, novel
dispensing, enhancements to the U.S. Commissioned Corps, and
other preparedness and response activities:  Provided, That
funds appropriated under this paragraph in this Act may be
used to develop and demonstrate innovations and enhancements
to manufacturing platforms to support such capabilities:
Provided further, That the Secretary of Health and Human
Services shall purchase vaccines developed using funds made
available under this paragraph in this Act to respond to an
outbreak or pandemic related to coronavirus in quantities
determined by the Secretary to be adequate to address the
public health need:  Provided further, That products
purchased by the Federal government with funds made available
under this paragraph in this Act, including vaccines,
therapeutics, and diagnostics, shall be purchased in
accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation guidance on
fair and reasonable pricing:  Provided further, That the
Secretary may take such measures authorized under current law
to ensure that vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics
developed from funds provided in this title will be
affordable in the commercial market:  Provided further, That
in carrying out the previous proviso, the Secretary shall not
take actions that delay the development of such products:
Provided further, That the Secretary shall ensure that
protections remain for individuals enrolled in group or
individual health care coverage with pre-existing conditions,
including those linked to coronavirus:  Provided further,
That products purchased with funds appropriated under this
paragraph in this Act may, at the discretion of the Secretary
of Health and Human Services, be deposited in the Strategic
National Stockpile under section 319F-2 of the Public Health
Service Act:  Provided further, That funds appropriated under
this paragraph in this Act may be transferred to, and merged
with, the fund authorized by section 319F-4, the Covered
Counter measure Process Fund, of the Public Health Service
Act:  Provided further, That of the amount appropriated under
this paragraph in this Act, $20,000,000,000 shall be
available to the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development
Authority for necessary expenses of manufacturing,
production, and purchase, at the discretion of the Secretary,
of vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, and small molecule
active pharmaceutical ingredients, including the development,
translation, and demonstration at scale of innovations in
manufacturing platforms:  Provided further, That funds in the
previous proviso may be used for the construction or
renovation of U.S.-based next generation manufacturing
facilities, other than facilities owned by the United States
Government:  Provided further, That of the amount provided
under this heading in this Act, $6,000,000,000 shall be for
activities to plan, prepare for, promote, distribute,
administer, monitor, and track coronavirus vaccines to ensure
broad-based distribution, access, and vaccine coverage:
Provided further, That the Secretary shall coordinate funding
and activities outlined in the previous proviso through the
Director of CDC:  Provided further, That the Secretary,
through the Director of CDC, shall report to the Committees
on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the
Senate within 60 days of enactment of this Act on a
comprehensive coronavirus vaccine distribution strategy and
spend plan that includes how existing infrastructure will be
leveraged, enhancements or new infrastructure that may be
built, considerations for moving and storing vaccines,
guidance for how States and health care providers should
prepare for, store, and administer vaccines, nationwide
vaccination targets, funding that will be distributed to
States, how an informational campaign to both the public and
health care providers will be executed, and how the vaccine
distribution plan will focus efforts on high risk,
underserved, and minority populations:  Provided further,
That such plan shall be updated and provided to the
Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives
and the Senate 90 days after submission of the first plan:
Provided further, That the Secretary shall notify the
Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives
and the Senate 2 days in advance of any obligation in excess
of $50,000,000, including but not limited to contracts and
interagency agreements, from funds provided in this paragraph
in this Act:  Provided further, That funds appropriated under
this paragraph in this Act may be used for the construction,
alteration, or renovation of non-federally owned facilities
for the production of vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics,
and medical supplies where the Secretary determines that such
a contract is necessary to secure sufficient amounts of such
supplies:  Provided further, That the not later than 30 days
after enactment of this Act, and every 30 days thereafter
until funds are expended, the Secretary shall report to the
Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives
and the Senate on uses of funding for Operation Warp Speed,
detailing current obligations by Department or Agency, or
component thereof broken out by the coronavirus supplemental
appropriations Act that provided the source of funds:
Provided further, That the plan outlined in the previous
proviso shall include funding by contract, grant, or other
transaction in excess of $20,000,000 with a notation of which
Department or Agency, and component thereof is managing the
contract: Provided further, That the Secretary shall enter
into an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences,
Engineering, and Medicine (``Academies'') to develop a
decision framework to assist domestic and global health
authorities in planning an equitable distribution of
coronavirus vaccines: Provided further, That the Academies,
in developing the framework, shall consider equity criteria
which may include consideration of risk factors related to
health disparities and health care access, underlying health
conditions, conditions faced by racial and ethnic minorities,
individuals in higher-risk occupations, and first responders,
geographic distribution of the coronavirus, and vaccine
hesitancy: Provided further, That the Academies shall provide
recommendations on vaccine distribution to the Advisory
Committee on Immunization Practices not later than September
18, 2020: Provided further, That the agreement shall provide
for an ongoing assessment by the Academies of how vaccine
distribution meets equity criteria and recommendations for
how vaccine distribution may better align with such criteria
as applicable, which shall inform the Advisory Committee on
Immunization Practices's prioritization recommendations and
vaccine distribution activities:  Provided further, That such
amount is designated by the Congress as being for an
emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of
the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of
1985.
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