§ 247b-6. National strategy for combating and eliminating tuberculosis

(a) In general

The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, may make grants to States, political subdivisions, and other public entities for preventive health service programs for the prevention, control, and elimination of tuberculosis.

(b) Research and development; demonstration projects; education and training

With respect to the prevention, treatment, control, and elimination of tuberculosis, the Secretary may, directly or through grants to public or nonprofit private entities, carry out the following:

(1) Research, with priority given to research and development concerning latent tuberculosis infection, strains of tuberculosis resistant to drugs, and research concerning cases of tuberculosis that affect certain populations at risk for tuberculosis.

(2) Research and development and related activities to develop new tools for the elimination of tuberculosis, including drugs, diagnostics, vaccines, and public health interventions, such as directly observed therapy and non-pharmaceutical intervention, and methods to enhance detection and response to outbreaks of tuberculosis, including multidrug resistant tuberculosis. The Secretary is encouraged to give priority to programmatically relevant research so that new tools can be utilized in public health practice.

(3) Demonstration projects for—

(A) the development of regional capabilities to prevent, control, and eliminate tuberculosis and prevent multidrug resistant and extensively drug resistant strains of tuberculosis;

(B) the intensification of efforts to reduce health disparities in the incidence of tuberculosis;

(C) the intensification of efforts to control tuberculosis along the United States-Mexico border and among United States-Mexico binational populations, including through expansion of the scope and number of programs that—

(i) detect and treat binational cases of tuberculosis; and

(ii) treat high-risk cases of tuberculosis referred from Mexican health departments;

(D) the intensification of efforts to prevent, detect, and treat tuberculosis among foreign-born persons who are in the United States;

(E) the intensification of efforts to prevent, detect, and treat tuberculosis among populations and settings documented as having a high risk for tuberculosis; and

(F) tuberculosis detection, control, and prevention.

(4) Public information and education activities.

(5) Education, training, clinical skills improvement activities, and workplace exposure prevention for health professionals, including allied health personnel and emergency response employees.

(6) Support of Centers to carry out activities under paragraphs (1) through (4).

(7) Collaboration with international organizations and foreign countries in carrying out such activities.

(8) Develop, enhance, and expand information technologies that support tuberculosis control including surveillance and database management systems with cross-jurisdictional capabilities, which shall conform to the standards and implementation specifications for such information technologies as recommended by the Secretary.

The Secretary may make a grant under subsection (a) or (b) of this section only if the applicant for the grant agrees that, in carrying out activities under the grant, the applicant will cooperate with public and nonprofit private providers of primary health services or substance abuse services, including entities receiving assistance under section 254b, 254b, or 256a of this title ^[1] or under subchapter III–A or XVII of this chapter.

(d) Application for grant

(1) In general

The Secretary may make a grant under subsection (a) or (b) of this section only if an application for the grant is submitted to the Secretary and the application, subject to paragraph (2), is in such form, is made in such manner, and contains such agreements, assurances, and information as the Secretary determines to be necessary to carry out the subsection involved.

(2) Plan for prevention, control, and elimination

The Secretary may make a grant under subsection (a) of this section only if the application under paragraph (1) contains a plan regarding the prevention, control, and elimination of tuberculosis in the geographic area with respect to which the grant is sought.

(3) Determination of amount of nonfederal contributions

(A) Priority

In awarding grants under subsection (a) or (b), the Secretary shall give highest priority to an applicant that provides assurances that the applicant will contribute non-Federal funds to carry out activities under this section, which may be provided directly or through donations from public or private entities and may be in cash or in kind, including equipment or services.

(B) Federal amounts not to be included as contributions

Amounts provided by the Federal Government, or services assisted or subsidized to any significant extent by the Federal Government, may not be included in determining the amount of non-Federal contributions as described in subparagraph (A).

(e) Supplies and services in lieu of grant funds

(1) In general

Upon the request of a grantee under subsection (a) or (b) of this section, the Secretary may, subject to paragraph (2), provide supplies, equipment, and services for the purpose of aiding the grantee in carrying out the subsection involved and, for such purpose, may detail to the State any officer or employee of the Department of Health and Human Services.

(2) Corresponding reduction in payments

With respect to a request described in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall reduce the amount of payments under the grant involved by an amount equal to the costs of detailing personnel and the fair market value of any supplies, equipment, or services provided by the Secretary. The Secretary shall, for the payment of expenses incurred in complying with such request, expend the amounts withheld.

(f) Advisory Council

(1) In general

The Secretary shall establish an advisory council to be known as the Advisory Council for the Elimination of Tuberculosis (in this subsection referred to as the “Council”).

(2) Duties

The Council shall provide advice and recommendations regarding the elimination of tuberculosis to the Secretary. In addition, the Council shall, with respect to eliminating such disease, provide to the Secretary and other appropriate Federal officials advice on—

(A) coordinating the activities of the Department of Health and Human Services and other Federal agencies that relate to the disease, including activities under subsection (b);

(B) responding rapidly and effectively to emerging issues in tuberculosis; and

(3) Comprehensive plan

(A) In general

In carrying out paragraph (2), the Council shall make or update recommendations on the development, revision, and implementation of a comprehensive plan to eliminate tuberculosis in the United States.

(B) Consultation

In carrying out subparagraph (A), the Council may consult with appropriate public and private entities, which may, subject to the direction or discretion of the Secretary, include—

(i) individuals who are scientists, physicians, laboratorians, and other health professionals, who are not officers or employees of the Federal Government and who represent the disciplines relevant to tuberculosis elimination;

(ii) members of public-private partnerships or private entities established to address the elimination of tuberculosis;

(iii) members of national and international nongovernmental organizations whose purpose is to eliminate tuberculosis;

(iv) members from the general public who are knowledgeable with respect to tuberculosis elimination including individuals who have or have had tuberculosis; and

(v) scientists, physicians, laboratorians, and other health professionals who reside in a foreign country with a substantial incidence or prevalence of tuberculosis, and who represent the specialties and disciplines relevant to the research under consideration.

In carrying out subparagraph (A), the Council shall, subject to the direction or discretion of the Secretary—

(i) consider recommendations for the involvement of the United States in continuing global and cross-border tuberculosis control activities in countries where a high incidence of tuberculosis directly affects the United States; and

(ii) review the extent to which progress has been made toward eliminating tuberculosis.

(4) Biennial report

(A) In general

The Council shall submit a biennial report to the Secretary, as determined necessary by the Secretary, on the activities carried under this section. Each such report shall include the opinion of the Council on the extent to which its recommendations regarding the elimination of tuberculosis have been implemented, including with respect to—

(i) activities under subsection (b); and

(ii) the national plan referred to in paragraph (3).

(B) Public

The Secretary shall make a report submitted under subparagraph (A) public.

(5) Composition

The Council shall be composed of—

(A) ex officio representatives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the United States Agency for International Development, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the United States-Mexico Border Health Commission, and other Federal departments and agencies that carry out significant activities related to tuberculosis;

(B) State and local tuberculosis control and public health officials;

(C) individuals who are scientists, physicians, laboratorians, and other health professionals who represent disciplines relevant to tuberculosis elimination; and

(D) members of national and international nongovernmental organizations established to address the elimination of tuberculosis.

(6) Staff, information, and other assistance

The Secretary shall provide to the Council such staff, information, and other assistance as may be necessary to carry out the duties of the Council.

(g) Federal Tuberculosis Task Force

(1) Duties

The Federal Tuberculosis Task Force (in this subsection referred to as the “Task Force”) shall provide to the Secretary and other appropriate Federal officials advice on research into new tools under subsection (b)(2), including advice regarding the efficient utilization of the Federal resources involved.

(2) Comprehensive plan for new tools development

In carrying out paragraph (1), the Task Force shall make recommendations on the development of a comprehensive plan for the creation of new tools for the elimination of tuberculosis, including drugs, diagnostics, and vaccines.

(3) Consultation

In developing the comprehensive plan under paragraph (1),^[2] the Task Force shall consult with external parties including representatives from groups such as—

(A) scientists, physicians, laboratorians, and other health professionals who represent the specialties and disciplines relevant to the research under consideration;

(B) members from public-private partnerships, private entities, or foundations (or both) engaged in activities relevant to research under consideration;

(D) members from the general public who are knowledgeable with respect to tuberculosis including individuals who have or have had tuberculosis; and

(E) scientists, physicians, laboratorians, and other health professionals who reside in a foreign country with a substantial incidence or prevalence of tuberculosis, and who represent the specialties and disciplines relevant to the research under consideration.

(h) Authorization of appropriations

(1) General program

(A) In general

For the purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2009, $210,000,000 for fiscal year 2010, $220,500,000 for fiscal year 2011, $231,525,000 for fiscal year 2012, and $243,101,250 for fiscal year 2013.

(B) Reservation for emergency grants

Of the amounts appropriated under subparagraph (A) for a fiscal year, the Secretary may reserve not more than 25 percent for emergency grants under subsection (a) for any geographic area, State, political subdivision of a State, or other public entity in which there is, relative to other areas, a substantial number of cases of tuberculosis, multidrug resistant tuberculosis, or extensively drug resistant tuberculosis or a substantial rate of increase in such cases.

In allocating amounts appropriated under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall give priority to allocating such amounts for grants under subsection (a).

(D) Allocation of funds

(i) Requirement of formula Of the amounts appropriated under subparagraph (A), not reserved under subparagraph (B), and allocated by the Secretary for grants under subsection (a), the Secretary shall distribute a portion of such amounts to grantees under subsection (a) on the basis of a formula.

(ii) Relevant factors The formula developed by the Secretary under clause (i) shall take into account the level of tuberculosis morbidity and case complexity in the respective geographic area and may consider other factors relevant to tuberculosis in such area.

(iii) No change to formula required This subparagraph does not require the Secretary to modify the formula that was used by the Secretary to distribute funds to grantees under subsection (a) for fiscal year 2009.

(2) Limitation

The authorization of appropriations established in paragraph (1) for a fiscal year is effective only if the amount appropriated under such paragraph for such year equals or exceeds the amount appropriated to carry out this section for fiscal year 2009.

[1] See References in Text notes below.

[2] So in original. Probably should be “paragraph (2),”.

U.S. Code

§ 247b-6. National strategy for combating and eliminating tuberculosis