July 30, 2026
Mr. Gottheimer (for himself and Mr. Bacon) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
To prohibit reductions in force or other staffing reductions for certain Centers of Disease Control and Prevention divisions, and for other purposes.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Foodborne Illness Rapid Response Act
.
Sec. 2. Prohibition on reductions in force or other staffing reductions for certain Centers of Disease Control and Prevention divisions
Section 205 of the Food Safety Modernization Act (21 U.S.C. 2224) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(d) Prohibition on reductions in force or other staffing reductions
(1) In general
The Secretary may not, during the 1-year period following a multi-state or nationally significant foodborne illness outbreak, carry out a covered staffing reduction effort with respect to the divisions of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention responsible for surveillance of foodborne diseases and foodborne illness outbreak response.
(2) Covered staffing reduction effort
In this subsection, the term staffing reduction effort means any agency action (including a reduction in force conducted pursuant to subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 5, United States Code, or any agency reorganization) that provides for the removal of 1 percent or more of the total number of employees at each of the divisions of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention responsible for surveillance of foodborne diseases and foodborne illness outbreak response within a 60-day period.