42 U.S.C. § 300hh — Public health and medical preparedness and response functions

(a) In general The Secretary of Health and Human Services must lead all federal public health and medical response to public health emergencies and incidents covered by the National Response Plan — created under section 314(6) of title 6 — or any plan that replaces it. (b) Interagency agreement The Secretary, working with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the heads of other relevant federal agencies, must set up an interagency agreement that's consistent with the National Response Plan or its successor. Under that agreement, the Secretary of Health and Human Services takes operational control of emergency public health and medical response resources as needed during a public health emergency. The one exception: members of the armed forces stay under the command and control of the Secretary of Defense, and so do the Defense Department's related resources. (c) Coordination with Federal agencies While leading the federal public health and medical response to a declared or possible public health emergency, and consistent with this section, the Secretary must coordinate with, and can ask for support from, other federal departments and agencies as appropriate. This lets the Secretary carry out necessary activities and draw on those agencies' expertise, which can include providing help — at the Secretary's direction — to support the public health and medical response for states, local governments, and tribes. (d) Annual report on emergency response and preparedness Each fiscal year, the Secretary must send a written report to the Senate's Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and its Committee on Appropriations, and to the House's Committee on Energy and Commerce and its Committee on Appropriations. The report must contain (1) updated information assessing the response to any public health emergency declared, or still in effect, during the previous fiscal year; (2) findings from drills and operational exercises completed in the previous fiscal year under section 300hh–10(b)(4)(G); (3) the state of public health preparedness and response capability for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats, including emerging infectious diseases; and (4) any challenges, as appropriate, in preparing for or responding to those threats.