PREDICT Act

Key Points

• The bill would require the HHS Secretary, through the CDC, to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to state, tribal, and local health departments for detecting and monitoring infectious diseases through wastewater testing.
• The program specifically targets rural areas and individual facilities where wastewater isn't treated through standard local utilities, ensuring smaller communities aren't left out of disease surveillance efforts.
• Within 180 days of enactment, the HHS Secretary must issue draft guidance establishing standardized testing methods and a publicly available wastewater surveillance database and dashboard, making disease-tracking data accessible to everyone.
• The bill authorizes funding from fiscal years 2026 through 2030 but does not specify a dollar amount, leaving the actual spending level up to future appropriations decisions by Congress.
• The legislation also directs HHS to continue research on improving wastewater surveillance methods, including making sample collection more efficient and developing better ways to estimate disease levels across a community.