S. 4048

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4048 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4048

To amend the Public Health Service to require the Secretary to award 
grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to eligible entities to 
establish, maintain, or improve activities related to the detection and 
monitoring of infectious diseases through wastewater for public health 
emergency preparedness and response purposes, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

March 11, 2026

Mr. Scott of South Carolina (for himself, Mr. Booker, Mr. Budd, Mr. 
King, Mr. Wicker, and Ms. Hassan) introduced the following bill; which 
was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend the Public Health Service to require the Secretary to award 
grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to eligible entities to 
establish, maintain, or improve activities related to the detection and 
monitoring of infectious diseases through wastewater for public health 
emergency preparedness and response purposes, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Public health Response and Emergency 
Detection through Integrated wastewater Community Testing Act'' or the 
``PREDICT Act''.

SEC. 2. PUBLIC HEALTH RESPONSE AND EMERGENCY DETECTION THROUGH 
INTEGRATED WASTEWATER SURVEILLANCE.

(a) In General.--Subtitle C of title XXVIII of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300hh-31 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 
end the following:

``SEC. 2827. WASTEWATER SURVEILLANCE FOR PATHOGEN DETECTION.

``(a) Wastewater Surveillance System.--The Secretary, acting 
through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
(in this section referred to as the `Secretary'), and in coordination 
with other Federal departments and agencies, shall award grants, 
contracts, or cooperative agreements to eligible entities to establish, 
maintain, or improve activities related to the detection and monitoring 
of infectious diseases through wastewater for public health emergency 
preparedness and response purposes.
``(b) Eligible Entities.--To be eligible to receive an award under 
this section, an entity shall--
``(1) be a State, Tribal, or local health department, or a 
partnership between such a health department and other public 
and private entities; and
``(2) submit to the Secretary an application at such time, 
in such manner, and containing such information as the 
Secretary may reasonably require, which shall include--
``(A) a description of activities proposed to be 
carried out pursuant to an award under subsection (a);
``(B) factors such entity proposes to use to select 
wastewater sampling sites;
``(C) a plan for responding, as appropriate, to 
findings from such wastewater sampling, consistent with 
applicable plans developed by such entity pursuant to 
section 319C-1;
``(D) a plan to sustain such wastewater 
surveillance activities described in such application 
following the conclusion of the award period; and
``(E) any additional information the Secretary may 
require.
``(c) Consideration.--In making awards under subsection (a), the 
Secretary may give priority to eligible entities that have submitted an 
application that--
``(1) details plans to provide public access to data 
generated through such wastewater surveillance activities in a 
manner that enables comparison to such data generated by other 
recipients of an award under subsection (a); and
``(2) provides an assessment of community needs related to 
ongoing infectious disease monitoring, including burden of 
infectious diseases that can be detected in wastewater and 
availability of other forms of infectious disease surveillance.
``(d) Use of Funds.--An eligible entity shall use amounts awarded 
under this section to--
``(1) establish, or enhance existing, capacity and 
capabilities to conduct wastewater sampling and related 
analysis;
``(2) conduct wastewater surveillance, as appropriate, at 
individual facilities, institutions, and locations in rural 
areas, in which there is an increased risk of infectious 
disease outbreaks and wastewater is not treated through the 
relevant local utility of the jurisdiction; and
``(3) implement projects that use evidence-based or 
promising practices to conduct wastewater surveillance 
activities.
``(e) Partnerships.--In carrying out activities under this section, 
eligible entities shall identify opportunities to partner with other 
public or private entities to leverage relevant capabilities maintained 
by such entities, as appropriate and consistent with this section.
``(f) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary, in consultation with 
the heads of other applicable Federal agencies and departments, as 
appropriate, shall provide technical assistance to recipients of awards 
under this section to facilitate the planning, development, and 
implementation of activities described in subsection (d).
``(g) Wastewater Surveillance Guidance.--Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of the PREDICT Act, the Secretary shall 
issue draft guidance--
``(1) to provide recommendations for recipients of awards 
under this section regarding--
``(A) the use of assays to promote efficient 
wastewater surveillance; and
``(B) the use of assays for data on multiple 
infectious diseases; and
``(2) to establish standards for--
``(A) wastewater testing methods and metrics used 
by such recipients that--
``(i) use a consistent protocol and 
process; and
``(ii) sample using scientifically rigorous 
and sensitive methods; and
``(B) wastewater sample data reporting by such 
recipients to the Secretary, to be published by the 
Secretary in a publicly available wastewater 
surveillance database and dashboard.
``(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section, 
there is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary 
for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030.''.
(b) Wastewater Surveillance Research.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services 
(in this subsection referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall 
continue to conduct or support research on the use of 
wastewater surveillance to detect and monitor emerging 
infectious diseases, which may include--
(A) research to improve the efficiency of 
wastewater sample collection and analysis and increase 
the sensitivity and specificity of wastewater testing 
methods; and
(B) implementation and development of evidence-
based practices to facilitate the estimation of 
population-level data within a community.
(2) Non-duplication of effort.--The Secretary shall ensure 
that activities carried out under this subsection do not 
unnecessarily duplicate efforts of other agencies and offices 
within the Department of Health and Human Services related to 
wastewater surveillance.
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