Public Description:
The bill would authorize the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants to state and local governments and other public entities as to: (1) effect improvement in the health of border area residents; and(2) enhance border area bioterrorism preparedness; would authorize a $10 million appropriation for Fiscal 2007 to carry out the aims of the United States-Mexico Border Health Commission, and would allow Commission members or staff to provide advice or recommendations to Congress at any time – whether there is a request for such advice/recommendations or not; would create a health alert system alerting medical and public health professionals to health concerns along the border; and would require HHS to contract with the Institute of Medicine for the conduct of a study concerning binational public health infrastructure and health insurance efforts.
To establish grant programs to improve the health of border area residents and for bioterrorism preparedness in the border area, and for other purposes.
