Romney and Hassan Urge Senate Leaders to Improve Programs to Respond to Public Health Threats

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ranking Member and Chair of the Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight Subcommittee respectively, urged Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to reauthorize the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA), which improves programs to respond to public health threats. This is especially critical for supporting strong public health responses like the one to the recent human case of bird flu in the United States.

This legislation is part of Senator Romney’s efforts to ensure that the United States is prepared for any future public health emergencies. During PAHPA negotiations last year, Senator Romney secured the inclusion of several of his public health policies, including a measure that establishes a five-year pilot program to create a real-time, publicly available website at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to track the spread of infectious disease with voluntary and de-identified data. The CDC established the Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology following Romney’s proposal for the creation of a Center for Public Health Data (CPHD).

During those negotiations, Romney also secured his measure to strengthen and expand the National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS), which coordinates and builds the United States’ capacity to track the presence of infectious-disease causing pathogens in wastewater by awarding grants to state, Tribal, and local health departments. This provision would bolster Utah’s already sophisticated wastewater monitoring technology by ensuring it receives the funding needed to continue to invest in new research and technology.

“We must reauthorize PAHPA to ensure that the United States is prepared to meet the challenges we face today and the potential public health emergencies of tomorrow,” the senators wrote. “The reauthorization bills advanced in both House and Senate committees would strengthen our national approach to ever-changing and emerging threats. Congress has a responsibility to continually improve the country’s ability to identify and mitigate fast-evolving threats to public health.”

The full text of the letter can be found below.

Dear Leaders Schumer and McConnell,

We write to urge action on the reauthorization of the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA), which has broad implications for the country’s preparedness and response to public health threats. Critical preparedness and response authorities lapsed in 2023, and the recent reports of human infection with H5N1 avian flu that is highly pathogenic in birds, as confirmed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), underscore the need for Congress to quickly renew this legislation. We must reauthorize PAHPA to ensure that the United States is prepared to meet the challenges we face today and the potential public health emergencies of tomorrow.

The rapid response of the public health community in the face of the evolving bird flu outbreak highlights the importance of our health preparedness infrastructure. While the CDC has advised that the bird flu does not currently pose a risk to the public at large, public health experts continue to warn that the bird flu could mutate further and eventually pose a serious threat to humans. Studies indicate that bird flu infections in humans may lead to further health concerns, including acute respiratory distress syndrome and other serious conditions. Prompt congressional action will directly strengthen our national readiness and response in the face of an evolving threat like bird flu.

The bipartisan Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act advanced by the Senate HELP Committee would renew and build upon PAHPA to further improve our emergency response capacity. PAHPA, which was first passed in 2006, provided foundational resources to states and jurisdictions for early warning, prevention, and preparedness. Each subsequent reauthorization of PAHPA has made improvements to allow the Administration for Preparedness and Response and other HHS agencies to better anticipate threats and act swiftly during an emergency. The reauthorization bills advanced in both House and Senate committees would strengthen our national approach to ever-changing and emerging threats.

Congress has a responsibility to continually improve the country’s ability to identify and mitigate fast-evolving threats to public health. We look forward to working with Leadership to act on this legislation as soon as possible.