To prepare for future pandemics, U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) on Jan. 31 introduced bipartisan legislation that would authorize sustained funding of $175 million per year for fiscal years 2023 through 2027 for genetic surveillance and genomic sequencing.
“Plain and simple, we need to be better prepared for the next pandemic,” Sen. Cassidy said. “This bill increases our ability to identify, prevent and respond to new variants and pathogens.”
Sen. Cassidy is the lead original cosponsor of the Tracking Pathogens Act, S. 3534, which is sponsored by U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) to strengthen and expand activities related to genomic sequencing of pathogens, according to the text of the bill.
If enacted, S. 3534 also would require that guidance be issued to support collaborations for genomic sequencing, including the use of new and innovative approaches and technology for the detection, characterization and sequencing of pathogens, to improve public health surveillance and preparedness and response activities, according to a bill summary provided by Sen. Cassidy’s office.
Additionally, the bill would direct government health agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health, to expand and improve activities related to genomic sequencing, the summary says.
The legislation also would authorize that grants be awarded to public health agencies and partnerships to establish centers of excellence that would promote innovation in pathogen genomics and molecular epidemiology.
“Unfortunately, it is not ‘if’ but ‘when’ our nation will face another pandemic and we must be better prepared than we were for COVID-19 to track new threats and mitigate the virus,” said Sen. Baldwin.
S. 3534 has been referred to the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee for consideration.