SUPPORTING LABORATORY CAPACITY AND INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION TO ADDRESS ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE.

SEC. 2234. SUPPORTING LABORATORY CAPACITY AND INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION TO ADDRESS ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE. Section 319E of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d–5) is amended—(1) by redesignating subsections (k), (l), and (m) as subsections (m), (n), and (o), respectively; and (2) by inserting after subsection (j), the following:“(k) Network of Antibiotic Resistance Regional Laboratories.—“(1) In general.—The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall, as appropriate, maintain a network of antibiotic resistance laboratory sites to ensure the maintenance of appropriate capabilities, within existing laboratory capacity maintained or supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to—“(A) identify and monitor the emergence and changes in the patterns of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens; “(B) detect, identify, confirm, and isolate such resistant pathogens, including, as appropriate, performing such 136 STAT. 5755 activities upon the request of another laboratory and providing related technical assistance, and, as applicable, support efforts to respond to local or regional outbreaks of such resistant pathogens; and “(C) perform activities to support the diagnosis of such resistant pathogens and determine the susceptibility of relevant pathogen samples to applicable treatments. “(2) Geographic distribution.—The Secretary shall ensure that such capacity and capabilities are appropriately distributed among the geographical regions of the United States. “(3) Partnerships and nonduplication of current domestic capacity.—Activities supported under this subsection may be based in an academic center, a State health department, or other facility operated by a public or private entity that carries out relevant laboratory or public health surveillance activities. “(l) International Collaboration.—“(1) In general.—The Secretary, in coordination with heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies, shall support activities related to addressing antimicrobial resistance internationally, including by—“(A) supporting basic, translational, epidemiological, and clinical research related to antimicrobial-resistant pathogens, including such pathogens that have not yet been detected in the United States, and improving related public health surveillance systems, and laboratory and other response capacity; and “(B) providing technical assistance related to antimicrobial resistant infection and control activities. “(2) Awards.—In carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary may award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to public and private entities, including nongovernmental organizations, with applicable expertise, for purposes of supporting new and innovative approaches to the prevention, detection, and mitigation of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens.” .