42 U.S.C. § 247b–6 — National strategy for combating and eliminating tuberculosis

(a) In general The Secretary, acting through the CDC Director, may give grants to States, political subdivisions, and other public entities for preventive health service programs that prevent, control, and eliminate tuberculosis (TB). (b) Research and development; demonstration projects; education and training Regarding preventing, treating, controlling, and eliminating TB, the Secretary may — directly or through grants to public or nonprofit private entities — carry out: (1) Research, prioritizing latent TB infection, drug-resistant TB strains, and TB cases affecting populations most at risk. (2) Research and development to build new tools to eliminate TB — drugs, diagnostics, vaccines, and public health interventions like directly observed therapy and non-drug approaches — and methods to better detect and respond to TB outbreaks, including multidrug-resistant TB. The Secretary is encouraged to prioritize research that public health practice can actually use. (3) Demonstration projects for: (A) building regional ability to prevent, control, and eliminate TB, including multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant strains; (B) intensifying efforts to reduce health disparities in how often TB occurs; (C) intensifying efforts to control TB along the United States-Mexico border and among U.S.-Mexico binational populations, including by expanding programs that (i) detect and treat binational TB cases, and (ii) treat high-risk TB cases referred from Mexican health departments; (D) intensifying efforts to prevent, detect, and treat TB among foreign-born people in the United States; (E) intensifying efforts to prevent, detect, and treat TB among populations and settings documented as high-risk; and (F) TB detection, control, and prevention generally. (4) Public information and education activities. (5) Education, training, clinical skills improvement, and workplace exposure prevention for health professionals, including allied health personnel and emergency response employees. (6) Supporting Centers that carry out the activities in paragraphs (1) through (4). (7) Working with international organizations and foreign countries on these activities. (8) Developing, improving, and expanding information technology that supports TB control, including surveillance and database systems that work across jurisdictions and meet the Secretary's recommended standards. (c) Cooperation with providers of primary health services The Secretary may make a grant under subsection (a) or (b) only if the applicant agrees to cooperate, in carrying out the grant, with public and nonprofit private providers of primary health or substance abuse services, including certain entities funded under other sections of this title. (d) Application for grant (1) In general The Secretary may make a grant under subsection (a) or (b) only if an application is submitted that, subject to paragraph (2), is in the form, made in the manner, and contains the agreements, assurances, and information the Secretary decides are necessary. (2) Plan for prevention, control, and elimination For a grant under subsection (a), the application must also contain a plan for preventing, controlling, and eliminating TB in the geographic area the grant covers. (3) Determination of amount of nonfederal contributions (A) Priority: In awarding grants, the Secretary gives highest priority to an applicant that promises to contribute non-federal funds — directly or through donations, cash or in-kind, including equipment or services. (B) Money the federal government already provided, or services it significantly subsidized, does not count as a non-federal contribution. (e) Supplies and services in lieu of grant funds (1) In general At a grantee's request, the Secretary may — subject to (2) — provide supplies, equipment, and services to help carry out the grant, including by lending the State an HHS officer or employee. (2) Corresponding reduction in payments When the Secretary does this, the Secretary must reduce the grant by the cost of the lent personnel and the fair market value of the supplies, equipment, or services, and then spend the withheld amount on those costs. (f) Advisory Council (1) In general The Secretary must establish the Advisory Council for the Elimination of Tuberculosis (called "the Council" in this subsection). (2) Duties The Council advises the Secretary on eliminating TB, and gives the Secretary and other federal officials advice on (A) coordinating HHS's and other federal agencies' TB-related activities, including under subsection (b); (B) responding quickly and effectively to new TB issues; and (C) using federal resources efficiently. (3) Comprehensive plan (A) The Council makes or updates recommendations on developing, revising, and carrying out a comprehensive plan to eliminate TB in the United States. (B) The Council may consult, subject to the Secretary's direction, with outside scientists, physicians, laboratory workers, and health professionals in relevant fields; members of public-private partnerships or private entities working on TB elimination; members of national and international nonprofits working to eliminate TB; knowledgeable members of the public, including people who have or have had TB; and foreign scientists, physicians, and health professionals from countries with a lot of TB. (C) The Council must, subject to the Secretary's direction, (i) consider recommendations for U.S. involvement in ongoing global and cross-border TB control where high TB rates abroad directly affect the U.S., and (ii) review how much progress has been made toward eliminating TB. (4) Biennial report (A) The Council must send the Secretary a report every two years, as the Secretary decides is needed, on the activities carried out under this section, including the Council's opinion on how far its recommendations on eliminating TB — including on activities under subsection (b) and the national plan under paragraph (3) — have been carried out. (B) The Secretary must make this report public. (5) Composition The Council is made up of: (A) representatives from CDC, NIH, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, HRSA, the U.S.-Mexico Border Health Commission, and other relevant federal agencies; (B) State and local TB control and public health officials; (C) scientists, physicians, laboratory workers, and other health professionals in relevant fields; and (D) members of national and international nonprofits working to eliminate TB. (6) Staff, information, and other assistance The Secretary must give the Council the staff, information, and other help it needs to do its work. (g) Federal Tuberculosis Task Force (1) Duties The Federal Tuberculosis Task Force (called "the Task Force" in this subsection) advises the Secretary and other federal officials on research into new TB tools under subsection (b)(2), including how to efficiently use the federal resources involved. (2) Comprehensive plan for new tools development The Task Force makes recommendations for a comprehensive plan to create new TB tools, including drugs, diagnostics, and vaccines. (3) Consultation While building this plan, the Task Force must consult outside parties, which may include: (A) scientists, physicians, laboratory workers, and health professionals in relevant fields; (B) members of relevant public-private partnerships, private entities, or foundations; (C) members of national and international nonprofits working to eliminate TB; (D) knowledgeable members of the public, including people who have or have had TB; and (E) foreign scientists, physicians, and health professionals from countries with a lot of TB. (h) Authorization of appropriations (1) General program (A) Congress authorized $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) Of that money, the Secretary may reserve no more than 25 percent each year for emergency grants under subsection (a), for any area, State, subdivision, or public entity that has, compared to other areas, a large or fast-growing number of TB, multidrug-resistant TB, or extensively drug-resistant TB cases. (C) In deciding how to allocate this money, the Secretary must give priority to grants under subsection (a). (D) Allocation of funds (i) Of the money not reserved for emergencies and allocated for grants under subsection (a), the Secretary must give out part of it using a formula. (ii) That formula must take into account TB illness levels and case complexity in each area, and may consider other relevant factors. (iii) This paragraph does not require the Secretary to change the formula used to distribute fiscal year 2009 funds. (2) Limitation This authorization of appropriations for a fiscal year only takes effect if Congress actually appropriates at least as much money for that year as it did to carry out this section for fiscal year 2009.