National Pandemic Response Act

1. The Secretary of Health and Human Services is hereby designated the chief pandemic officer of the United States and is responsible for assuring that the United States is prepared to handle any pandemic and for organizing our response to any such pandemic.
2. The Secretary may delegate this responsibility and authority to an assistant secretary confirmed by the Senate who is also a commissioned officer of the Public Health Service.
3. On the written recommendation of the chief pandemic officer, the President may declare that a pandemic emergency exists which shall constitute a declaration of disaster for the entire United States and authorize the measures below to assure the continuation of interstate commerce. The President may end such declaration at any time.
4. The chief pandemic officer shall report as needed but at least annually to Congress on the preparedness of the United States and each State and territory to manage through a pandemic. To enable such reporting the chief pandemic officer may collect such information as is reasonably necessary and on such timely basis as is reasonably necessary from officials within federal, state, territory or local governments. The specific collection shall be set forth in regulations published in the Federal Register and adopted only after at least thirty days of public comment. Failure to comply with such regulations shall be a misdemeanor under federal law punishable by a fine of up to $250,000 or one year in prison or both.
5. The chief pandemic officer shall include in this report what stockpiles of materials are reasonably required and what stockpiles exist at the federal, state and territory level.
6. The chief pandemic officer shall publish and maintain pandemic response guidance regulations adopted as above to guide state, territory and local officials. Compliance with such guidance is mandatory during a pandemic emergency, and failure to do so by any official shall be a misdemeanor under federal law punishable by a fine of up to $250,000 or one year in prison or both.
7. During a pandemic emergency the chief pandemic officer shall publish at least weekly an assessment by state and territory of compliance with the guidance using whatever reasonable methods exist to do so. The assessment may include smaller geographic areas as appropriate.
8. During a pandemic emergency, the chief pandemic officer shall meet at least weekly electronically with an advisory group consisting of a representative from each state or territory appointed by its chief executive and up to ten federal officials designated by the chief pandemic officer. Minutes of each meeting shall be published within 72 hours of the end of each meeting.