[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7879 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7879

 To require the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary 
    of Health and Human Services and other relevant departments and 
   agencies, as appropriate, to formulate a strategy for the Federal 
   Government to secure support from foreign countries, multilateral 
    organizations, and other appropriate entities to facilitate the 
  development and commercialization of qualified pandemic or epidemic 
                   products, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 9, 2026

Mr. Levin (for himself and Mr. Valadao) introduced the following bill; 
         which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary 
    of Health and Human Services and other relevant departments and 
   agencies, as appropriate, to formulate a strategy for the Federal 
   Government to secure support from foreign countries, multilateral 
    organizations, and other appropriate entities to facilitate the 
  development and commercialization of qualified pandemic or epidemic 
                   products, 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 TITLES.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Saving Us from Pandemic Era 
Resistance by Building a Unified Global Strategy Act of 2026'' or the 
``SUPER BUGS Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Emerging infectious diseases, including antimicrobial-
        resistant pathogens, pose a significant threat to United States 
        national security by--
                    (A) increasing the risk of outbreaks reaching the 
                United States;
                    (B) disrupting critical infrastructure;
                    (C) undermining economic stability and public 
                health; and
                    (D) undermining the readiness of the United States 
                Armed Forces abroad.
            (2) Strengthening international collaboration to develop, 
        commercialize, and deploy qualified pandemic and epidemic 
        products is essential to preventing, detecting, and containing 
        infectious disease threats before they reach the borders of the 
        United States.
            (3) Enhancing partner countries' public health capabilities 
        and pandemic and epidemic response mechanisms directly 
        contributes to United States homeland security by reducing the 
        likelihood of global outbreaks affecting the United States.
            (4) Coordinated strategies that leverage United States 
        leadership, technology, and medical countermeasures, while 
        ensuring equitable access for international partners, promote 
        global resilience and reduce threats to United States citizens, 
        infrastructure, and national interests.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term 
        ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
                Senate;
                    (B) the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
                Pensions of the Senate;
                    (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 
                of Representatives; and
                    (D) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 
                House of Representatives.
            (2) Priority pathogens.--The term ``priority pathogens'' 
        means pathogens identified in--
                    (A) the latest ``Antibiotic Resistance Threats 
                Report'' of the Centers for Disease Control and 
                Prevention (or any successor report); or
                    (B) the current list of qualifying pathogens 
                maintained by the Secretary of Health and Human 
                Services under section 505E(f)(2) of the Federal Food, 
                Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 355f(f)(2)) (or any 
                successor list).
            (3) Qualified pandemic or epidemic product.--The term 
        ``qualified pandemic or epidemic product'' has the meaning 
        given such term in section 319F-3(i) of the Public Health 
        Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d-6d(i)).

SEC. 4. INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY FOR DEVELOPMENT OF QUALIFIED PANDEMIC OR 
              EPIDEMIC PRODUCTS.

    (a) Strategy.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in 
        consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
        and such other heads of departments and agencies as the 
        Secretary of State considers appropriate, shall--
                    (A) formulate a strategy for the Federal Government 
                to secure support from foreign countries, multilateral 
                organizations, and other appropriate entities to 
                facilitate the development and commercialization of 
                qualified pandemic or epidemic products, including 
                products to address antimicrobial resistant pathogens--
                            (i) with pandemic potential; or
                            (ii) that are priority pathogens; and
                    (B) submit such strategy to the appropriate 
                committees of Congress.
            (2) Contents.--The strategy required under paragraph (1) 
        shall--
                    (A) provide for processes the Federal Government is 
                using and would use to enter into arrangements with 
                foreign countries, multilateral organizations, and 
                other appropriate entities in certain circumstances to 
                implement the strategy;
                    (B) strive to ensure that the arrangements 
                described in subparagraph (A) promote equitable 
                contributions based on the budgets and technical 
                expertise of participating countries, organizations, 
                and other entities, as appropriate;
                    (C) focus the arrangements described in 
                subparagraph (A) on global priorities, while enabling 
                participating countries, organizations, and other 
                entities to emphasize national or regional issues of 
                importance;
                    (D) support efforts to strengthen partner country 
                public health capabilities by promoting sustainable 
                improvements in their ability to prevent, detect, and 
                contain infectious disease threats;
                    (E) seek to ensure that new and existing 
                arrangements described in subparagraph (A) are 
                harmonized with each other and with other relevant 
                existing or planned efforts to amplify impact, address 
                gaps, prevent duplication of effort, and efficiently 
                distribute funds;
                    (F) provide for collaboration to ensure the 
                arrangements described in subparagraph (A) allocate 
                joint or individual responsibility across participating 
                countries, organizations, and other entities for the 
                development and commercialization of particular 
                qualified pandemic or epidemic products, where such 
                collaboration is clearly described in such arrangement;
                    (G) provide for the stewardship of qualified 
                pandemic or epidemic products developed pursuant to the 
                strategy;
                    (H) identify priority actions in the arrangements 
                described in subparagraph (A) so that scarce domestic 
                and international funds are allocated to develop and 
                commercialize qualified pandemic or epidemic products 
                that can achieve the greatest positive impact on human 
                health, including unprecedented approaches to 
                preventing, treating, and diagnosing infectious 
                diseases;
                    (I) consider securing contracts with United States 
                companies and the broader private sector, entering into 
                public-private partnerships, implementing alternative 
                payment models, creating coverage and reimbursement 
                pathways, and streamlining regulatory approval 
                processes; and
                    (J) be synchronized with United States pandemic 
                preparedness priorities, such as those articulated in--
                            (i) the National Strategy for Combating 
                        Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria (dated September 
                        2014); and
                            (ii) the National Biodefense Strategy and 
                        Implementation Plan (dated October 2022) and 
                        the associated Action Plan (dated October 
                        2022).
    (b) Arrangements With Foreign Countries and Multilateral 
Organizations.--The Secretary of State, in consultation with the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the heads of other relevant 
departments and agencies, as appropriate, shall seek to enter into 
arrangements with foreign countries, multilateral organizations, and 
other appropriate entities to implement the strategy required under 
subsection (a).
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