Title 42The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-73

§289c Research on public health emergencies

Title 42 › Chapter CHAPTER 6A— - PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER III— - NATIONAL RESEARCH INSTITUTES › Part Part H— - General Provisions › § 289c

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

If the Secretary, after talking with the NIH Director, the FDA Commissioner, or the CDC Director, finds a disease or disorder is a public health emergency, the Secretary must act through the NIH Director to speed up review of grant and contract proposals for research on that disease. The Secretary must also use the authority in section 6101 of title 41 for public exigencies to waive the usual contract advertising rules. The Secretary may give extra administrative funding to existing grants and contracts to support new research on the disease. The Secretary must share research-based information about the disease’s cause, prevention, and treatment with health professionals and the public.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §289c

The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

If the Secretary determines, after consultation with the Director of NIH, the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, or the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that a disease or disorder constitutes a public health emergency, the Secretary, acting through the Director of NIH—
(1)shall expedite the review by advisory councils under section 284a of this title and by peer review groups under section 289a of this title of applications for grants for research on such disease or disorder or proposals for contracts for such research;
(2)shall exercise the authority in section 6101 of title 41 respecting public exigencies to waive the advertising requirements of such section in the case of proposals for contracts for such research;
(3)may provide administrative supplemental increases in existing grants and contracts to support new research relevant to such disease or disorder; and
(4)shall disseminate, to health professionals and the public, information on the cause, prevention, and treatment of such disease or disorder that has been developed in research assisted under this section.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification In par. (2), “section 6101 of title 41” substituted for “section 3709 of the Revised Statutes (41 U.S.C. 5)” on authority of Pub. L. 111–350, § 6(c), Jan. 4, 2011, 124 Stat. 3854, which Act enacted Title 41, Public Contracts.

Amendments

2007—Pub. L. 109–482 struck out subsec. (a) designation before “If the Secretary” and subsec. (b) which read as follows: “Not later than 90 days after the end of a fiscal year, the Secretary shall report to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the Senate on actions taken under subsection (a) of this section in such fiscal year.” 1992—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 102–531 substituted “Centers for Disease Control and Prevention” for “Centers for Disease Control”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2007 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 109–482 applicable only with respect to amounts appropriated for fiscal year 2007 or subsequent fiscal years, see section 109 of Pub. L. 109–482, set out as a note under section 281 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 289c

Title 42The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73