H.R. 6347: To provide for the protection of health and safety during certain disasters.

109th Congress · introduced 2006-12-05 · Emergency Management · Latest: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2006-12-05 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Barton, Joe [R-TX-6] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

To provide for the protection of health and safety during certain disasters.

Plain summary

Authorizes the President (acting through the Secretary of Health and Human Substances), upon determining that a substance of concern has been released in an area declared to be a disaster area and has disrupted the transportation system of the United States, to carry out a program for the coordination, protection, assessment, monitoring and study of the health and safety of responding or affected individuals with high exposure levels. Requires that such a program: (1) apply to workers or volunteers, clean up workers, residents of the area, and persons who are employed in or who attend school in the area; (2) ensure that such individuals are informed about and protected against potential health impacts of any such substance in a timely manner, are monitored and studied for any health impacts, and receive health care referrals; and (3) ensure that information from any such monitoring and studies is used to prevent or protect against similar health impacts. Requires the President to take appropriate measures to protect the privacy of any participant in a registry or study. Gives priority in any registry or study to the protection, monitoring, and study of the heath and safety of individuals with the highest level of exposure to a substance of concern. Allows the President to carry out such a program through a cooperative agreement with a medical institution. Requires the Secretary, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to jointly enter into a contract with the National Academy of Sciences to study disaster area health and environmental protection and monitoring.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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A “Nay” vote

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

To provide for the protection of health and safety during certain disasters.

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Barton, Joe [R-TX-6] · 0 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-109hr6347.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/109/hr>

Record fed-us-cong109-hr6347 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong109 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong109