Last Year’s Government Funding Package Includes Important Policy Advances for People-First Places

At the end of last year, President Biden passed a $1.7 trillion bill to fund the federal government called the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA). This end-of-year funding package happened to be a big deal for healthy buildings and people-first strategies and interventions. Here are a few of the highlights of some of those policy provisions, which the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) supported.

Social Determinants Accelerator Act Moves Forward
In 2021, U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) introduced the Social Determinants Accelerator Act of 2021, an important piece of bipartisan legislation to help states and localities improve health outcomes by activating around the social determinants of health (SDOH).

“A person’s health should not be dependent on where they live or the economic challenges they face,” said Senator Young upon introducing the bill. “If we attack the challenges, such as reliable transportation and affordable housing, that negatively impact the health and well-being of our most vulnerable citizens, we can make our citizens healthier.”

This proposed legislation, a bill IWBI supported, would create a Social Determinants Accelerator Interagency Council at HHS and provide grant funding to state, local and Tribal governments and qualified non-governmental groups to conduct research and pursue Social Determinants Accelerator Plans. Fortunately, aspects of this bill were integrated into the CAA, including $8 million for a pilot program on social determinants of health.

The PREVENT Pandemics Act Passes
Also, as part of the CAA, Congress passed the Prepare for and Respond to Existing Viruses, Emerging New Threats and Pandemics Act, or PREVENT Pandemics Act, another bill IWBI supported. The Act establishes an Office of Preparedness and Response Policy within the Executive Office of the President, headed by a Director who is situated within both the Domestic Policy Council and National Security Council. This office was already up and running at the White House, but now it is formally codified through the passage of this bill. This is an important office that has prioritized healthy building solutions. In fact, it is the same office that is spearheading much of the work across the federal government to address indoor air quality (IAQ), as well as the office that hosted last year’s White House Summit on Indoor Air Quality.

The passage of the PREVENT Pandemics Act also includes new funding opportunities, reporting requirements and the authorization of the Advanced Research Projects Agency—Health (ARPH-H).

• The Act includes $35 million in new funding for grants, contracts or cooperative agreements over the next five years to conduct evidence-based projects that improve health outcomes by addressing factors that contribute to negative health outcomes in communities
• HHS will be required to submit a report every year on the state of the country’s emergency response and preparedness.
• ARPH-H, which was authorized $500 million a year for the next five years, is designed to be more aggressive and more ambitious in driving health breakthroughs. Similar to ARPA-E on the energy side, ARPH-H is tasked with creating “transformational innovation” in health science and medicine, going beyond traditional federal R&D programs.

Looking Ahead: Reauthorizing Important Preparedness Policy
The provisions of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA) are set to expire at the end of the federal government’s fiscal year, Sept. 30, 2023. The new Congress, and the House Energy & Commerce Committee in particular, will focus attention in the coming months on the reauthorization of this bill, which includes several significant federal authorities to sustain and strengthen the country’s preparedness for public health emergencies involving chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) agents, as well as emerging infectious disease threats.