[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7717 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7717

  To establish a pilot program at the Centers for Disease Control and 
 Prevention to support local jurisdictions in developing neighborhood-
   level, publicly accessible health data platforms, to establish a 
 National Neighborhood Health Data Repository, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 25, 2026

    Mr. Torres of New York introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To establish a pilot program at the Centers for Disease Control and 
 Prevention to support local jurisdictions in developing neighborhood-
   level, publicly accessible health data platforms, to establish a 
 National Neighborhood Health Data Repository, 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 ``Community Health Profiles Act''.

SEC. 2. COMMUNITY HEALTH DATA PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (in this section referred to as the ``Secretary''), shall 
establish a pilot program (in this section referred to as the 
``Program'') to award grants, on a competitive basis, to not more than 
25 eligible entities to develop or enhance neighborhood-level, publicly 
accessible health data platforms. Such platforms shall submit de-
identified, aggregated data to the National Neighborhood Health Data 
Repository established under subsection (h), consistent with applicable 
Federal, State, and local privacy laws.
    (b) Program Objectives.--The objectives of the Program shall be 
to--
            (1) promote equitable access to local health data;
            (2) support the integration of Federal, State, and local 
        surveillance systems into user-friendly, publicly accessible 
        health data platforms;
            (3) facilitate data-driven public health planning and 
        community engagement;
            (4) provide actionable insights at the State and local 
        level, with a focus on addressing health disparities; and
            (5) support the establishment and maintenance of the 
        National Neighborhood Health Data Repository to enable national 
        comparability while upholding local data privacy standards.
    (c) Eligible Entities.--To be eligible for a grant under the 
Program, an entity shall be--
            (1) a State or local health department; or
            (2) a municipality or county government.
    (d) Partnership With Academic and Nonprofit Institutions.--In 
administering a grant under the Program, an eligible entity may partner 
with an academic or nonprofit institution.
    (e) Priority.--In awarding grants under the Program, the 
Secretary--
            (1) shall prioritize eligible entities that--
                    (A) serve populations experiencing health 
                disparities, such as medically underserved communities, 
                low-income communities, or environmentally burdened 
                communities;
                    (B) lack a neighborhood-level, publicly accessible 
                health data system; and
                    (C) demonstrate plans to use the data collected 
                from such a system to reduce health disparities; and
            (2) may prioritize eligible entities that propose 
        innovative indicators beyond traditional public health 
        surveillance (pursuant to subsection (f)(1)).
    (f) Use of Funds.--A grant under the Program may only be used to--
            (1) develop or expand a publicly accessible health data 
        platform to provide neighborhood-level data across key domains, 
        including--
                    (A) social and economic conditions, such as 
                education, economic stress, neighborhood, violence, and 
                incarceration;
                    (B) housing and neighborhood conditions, such as 
                the prevalence and quality of air conditioners, housing 
                quality, and the quality of the built environment;
                    (C) maternal and child health;
                    (D) healthy living, such as self-reported health 
                status;
                    (E) health care, such as access to care and 
                avoidable hospitalization and vaccination; and
                    (F) health outcomes, such as chronic conditions, 
                the prevalence or treatment of human immunodeficiency 
                virus (commonly known as ``HIV'') and Hepatitis C, 
                binge drinking and psychiatric hospitalizations, infant 
                mortality and premature death, and life expectancy;
            (2) integrate data from multiple sources, including--
                    (A) Federal surveillance systems;
                    (B) State and local administrative survey data; and
                    (C) local education, housing, and public safety 
                data;
            (3) ensure data disaggregation by neighborhood, ZIP code, 
        or census tract, and support comparability across local 
        jurisdictions where feasible;
            (4) design neighborhood-level, publicly accessible health 
        data platforms with clear citation of sources and transparent 
        methodology;
            (5) incorporate into such platforms--
                    (A) visualization tools, such as charts, maps, and 
                trend lines; and
                    (B) downloadable datasets for public use;
            (6) provide training or technical assistance to community 
        and local institutions to ensure sustainability and usability 
        of such platforms, including assistance in aligning such 
        platforms with Federal interoperability standards and model 
        legal frameworks for privacy, confidentiality, and data-sharing 
        compliance; and
            (7) submit de-identified, aggregated data collected or 
        generated using grant funds under the Program to the National 
        Neighborhood Health Data Repository, in such standardized 
        format as the Secretary may require.
    (g) Administration and Evaluation.--
            (1) Administration.--In administering the Program, the 
        Secretary shall--
                    (A) issue program guidance and technical assistance 
                for platform development, data integration, and public 
                accessibility, including--
                            (i) standards for secure data reporting to 
                        the National Neighborhood Health Data 
                        Repository and alignment with Federal, State, 
                        and local laws; and
                            (ii) model provisions on confidentiality 
                        and comparability;
                    (B) provide technical assistance to grant 
                recipients on data methodology, privacy protection, and 
                system interoperability; and
                    (C) facilitate collaboration and peer learning 
                among grant recipients to share best practices and 
                promote replicability.
            (2) Evaluation.--
                    (A) Initial report.--Not later than 1 year after 
                the establishment of the Program, the Secretary shall 
                submit to Congress a report that--
                            (i) summarizes the outcomes of the Program 
                        and the progress made on the development of 
                        neighborhood-level, publicly accessible health 
                        data platforms;
                            (ii) assesses improvements the Program has 
                        made in public access to health data, data 
                        usability, and community engagement; and
                            (iii) identifies lessons learned and makes 
                        recommendations for whether and how the Program 
                        could be expanded nationally or extended beyond 
                        the 4-year termination period described in 
                        subsection (k).
                    (B) Updates.--The Secretary may update or 
                supplement the report described in subparagraph (A) as 
                the Secretary determines appropriate.
    (h) National Neighborhood Health Data Repository.--
            (1) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish and 
        maintain a publicly accessible, searchable National 
        Neighborhood Health Data Repository to aggregate de-identified, 
        neighborhood-level health data from recipients of grants under 
        the Program.
            (2) Elements.--The Repository shall--
                    (A) display data submitted by recipients of grants 
                under the Program;
                    (B) enable comparisons across local jurisdictions; 
                and
                    (C) include tools for visualization, filtering, and 
                downloading of data.
            (3) Oversight.--The Secretary shall provide oversight of 
        the Repository by--
                    (A) reviewing data submissions;
                    (B) developing and implementing a methodology for 
                the aggregation of health data as described in 
                paragraph (4); and
                    (C) in consultation with States and local 
                jurisdictions, enforcing national data standards for 
                quality and consistency.
            (4) Review of methodology by independent panel.--
                    (A) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish 
                an independent advisory panel (in this paragraph 
                referred to as the ``panel'') for the purposes of 
                reviewing the methodology developed by the Secretary 
                under subparagraph (C).
                    (B) Appointment of members.--The Comptroller 
                General of the United States shall develop, maintain, 
                and make publicly available a list of nominees to serve 
                as members of the panel. The Secretary shall appoint a 
                member of the panel only after reviewing such list. 
                Such members shall be experts in epidemiology, 
                statistics, public health surveillance, and data 
                privacy.
                    (C) Review authority.--The Secretary shall develop 
                and implement a methodology for the aggregation of 
                health data for the purposes of the Repository, which 
                shall go into effect only upon certification by the 
                panel that such methodology--
                            (i) reflects scientific best practices; and
                            (ii) maintains public accessibility, 
                        privacy protections, and data comparability 
                        across jurisdictions.
    (i) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Health disparity.--The term ``health disparity'' means 
        a difference in health outcomes or access to health services 
        that is closely linked to social, economic, environmental, 
        racial, ethnic, or other demographic factors.
            (2) Local jurisdiction.--The term ``local jurisdiction'' 
        means a municipality, county, local health department, or 
        regional public health authority with the capacity to implement 
        a neighborhood-level, publicly accessible health data platform.
            (3) Medically underserved community.--The term ``medically 
        underserved community'' has the meaning given such term in 
        section 799B of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 295p).
            (4) National neighborhood health data repository.--The term 
        ``National Neighborhood Health Data Repository'' means the 
        National Neighborhood Health Data Repository established under 
        subsection (h).
            (5) Neighborhood-level.--The term ``neighborhood-level'' 
        means, with respect to a publicly accessible health data 
        platform, that such health data platform focuses on a 
        geographic area within a local jurisdiction that is smaller 
        than the municipal or county level, such as a ZIP code, census 
        tract, or community district.
            (6) Publicly accessible health data platform.--The term 
        ``publicly accessible health data platform'' means an online 
        tool, website, or dashboard that makes health data accessible 
        to the general public through visualizations, downloadable 
        datasets, or written summaries.
    (j) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to preempt or supersede any applicable Federal, State, or 
local privacy laws.
    (k) Termination.--The Program shall terminate on the date that is 4 
years after the date on which the Secretary establishes the Program.
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