Health Force, Resilience Force, and Jobs To Fight COVID–19 Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 460 To provide for the establishment of a standing Health Force and a Resilience Force to respond to public health emergencies and meet public health needs. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 25, 2021 Mr. CROW (for himself, Mr. PANETTA, Ms. UNDERWOOD, Mr. PHILLIPS, Ms. HOULAHAN, Ms. NORTON, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. CHU, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, and Mr. MORELLE) introduced the following bill; which was re- ferred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To provide for the establishment of a standing Health Force and a Resilience Force to respond to public health emer- gencies and meet public health needs. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Health Force, Resil- 4 ience Force, and Jobs To Fight COVID–19 Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:07 Feb 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H460.IH H460 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 460 IH SEC. 2. HEALTH FORCE. 1 (a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of the Health Force 2 established under this section to recruit, train, and employ 3 a standing workforce of Americans to respond to the 4 COVID–19 pandemic in their communities, provide capac- 5 ity for ongoing and future public health care needs, and 6 build skills for new workers to enter the public health and 7 health care workforce. 8 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Centers for Disease Con- 9 trol and Prevention, through its State, local, territorial, 10 and Tribal partners, shall establish a standing Health 11 Force (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Force’’) com- 12 posed of community members dedicated to preventing and 13 responding to public health crises and emergencies, includ- 14 ing those declared by the Secretary of Health and Human 15 Services under section 319 of the Public Health Service 16 Act, including the COVID–19 emergency, and providing 17 increased capacity to address ongoing and future public 18 and community health needs. 19 (c) ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION.—The 20 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shall— 21 (1) award grants, contracts, or enter into coop- 22 erative agreements for the recruitment, hiring, train- 23 ing, managing, administration, and organization of 24 the Force to States, localities, territories, Indian 25 Tribes, Tribal organizations, urban Indian health or- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:07 Feb 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H460.IH H460 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 460 IH ganizations, health service providers to Tribes, Na- 1 tive Hawaiian health organizations, community 2 health centers, or federally qualified health centers 3 (referred to in this section as ‘‘Funded Entities’’); 4 (2) ensure that State, county, local health de- 5 partments, agencies, and community-based organiza- 6 tions, including community health centers and clin- 7 ics, receive funding from Funded Entities or directly 8 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 9 for the recruitment, hiring, training, managing, ad- 10 ministration, and organization of the Force, as ap- 11 propriate; 12 (3) provide assistance for expenses incurred by 13 Funded Entities prior to the awarding of a grant, 14 contract, or cooperative agreement under subpara- 15 graph (A) to facilitate the implementation of the 16 Force, including assistance for planning and recruit- 17 ment activities, as provided for in section 424 of the 18 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 19 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5189b); and 20 (4) award and obligate funds as soon as is 21 practicable, and where possible, not later than 30 22 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 23 (d) FUNDING ALLOCATIONS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:07 Feb 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H460.IH H460 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 460 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—Of the total amount of funds 1 appropriated under this section for a fiscal year— 2 (A) not less than 5 percent shall be award- 3 ed to Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, urban 4 Indian health organizations, health service pro- 5 viders to Tribes, or Native Hawaiian health or- 6 ganizations under subsection (c)(1), of which 80 7 percent shall be awarded in proportion to popu- 8 lation size and 20 percent shall be awarded 9 based on the burden of disease and disability; 10 (B) not less than 80 percent shall be 11 awarded to States and territories under sub- 12 section (c)(1), of which— 13 (i) 60 percent shall be awarded in 14 proportion to population size, 20 percent 15 shall be awarded based on the number of 16 jobs lost over the preceding 12 months in 17 each State or territory as a proportion of 18 all jobs lost nationally during that time- 19 frame, and 20 percent shall be awarded 20 based on the burden of disease and dis- 21 ability; 22 (ii) not less than 40 percent shall be 23 allocated for State health departments; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:07 Feb 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H460.IH H460 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 460 IH (iii) not less than 40 percent shall be 1 allocated for county and other local health 2 departments within the State. 3 (2) SUPPLEMENT AND NOT SUPPLANT.—Funds 4 appropriated under this section shall be used to sup- 5 plement, not supplant any existing funding for In- 6 dian Tribes, Tribal organizations, urban Indian 7 health organizations, health service providers to 8 Tribes, Native Hawaiian health organizations, 9 States, territories, State health departments, county 10 and other local health departments. 11 (e) SERVICE.— 12 (1) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.—The Force 13 shall be composed of eligible members selected by 14 Funded Entities. At a minimum, Funded Entities 15 shall ensure that membership in the Force is not re- 16 stricted based on education or citizenship status. El- 17 igible individuals shall include those who are— 18 (A) at least 18 years of age; and 19 (B) authorized to work in the United 20 States, including an individual with Deferred 21 Action for Childhood Arrivals status (DACA) or 22 Temporary Protected Status (TPS) under sec- 23 tion 244 of the Immigration and Nationality 24 Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:07 Feb 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H460.IH H460 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 460 IH (2) RECRUITMENT.—With respect to the em- 1 ployment of Force members, Funded Entities shall 2 support recruitment efforts for Force personnel who 3 are from or reside in the locality in which they will 4 serve, including efforts to recruit Force members 5 among focal communities as described in subsection 6 (h), as well as dislocated workers, individuals with 7 barriers to employment, veterans, new entrants in 8 the workforce, underemployed or furloughed work- 9 ers, graduates and students from Historically Black 10 Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Uni- 11 versities, Hispanic Serving Institutions and histori- 12 cally marginalized populations. As practicable, State 13 labor offices shall share information about Force op- 14 portunities with those individuals applying for or re- 15 ceiving unemployment benefits. 16 (3) PREFERENCE.—Notwithstanding any other 17 provision of law, preference in the hiring of Force 18 members shall be given to individuals who are dis- 19 located workers, individuals with barriers to employ- 20 ment, veterans, new entrants in the workforce, un- 21 deremployed or furloughed workers, or community- 22 based nonprofit or public health or health care pro- 23 fessionals, from focal communities as described in 24 subsection (h), or unemployed or underemployed in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:07 Feb 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H460.IH H460 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 460 IH dividuals. First priority in such hiring shall be given 1 to individuals who are previous employees of Funded 2 Entities (or subawardees under paragraph (9)) who 3 were, within the 2020 or 2021 calendar year, fur- 4 loughed, laid off, subject to a reduction in force, 5 placed or went on leave, or have recall rights subject 6 to collective bargaining agreement or applicable per- 7 sonnel policies. 8 (4) PLACEMENT.—To the extent feasible, as de- 9 termined by Funded Entities, members of the Force 10 shall be recruited from and serve in their home com- 11 munities. Force members shall be physically co-lo- 12 cated within State, local, territorial, Tribal health 13 departments, or within other eligible organizations 14 as defined by subsection (c)(1). According to local 15 needs, Force members may be physically co-located 16 with other local public health, health care, and com- 17 munity-based organizations, including community 18 health centers and free and charitable clinics, as de- 19 termined appropriate by Funded Entities. 20 (5) TRAINING.— 21 (A) CONTACT TRACING TRAINING.— 22 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the 23 Centers for Disease Control and Preven- 24 tion (referred to in this section as ‘‘Direc- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:07 Feb 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H460.IH H460 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 460 IH tor’’) shall continue to provide contact 1 tracing guidance and resources on their 2 public internet website, including contact 3 tracing training plans, for Force members 4 to successfully conduct contact tracing ac- 5 tivities under subsection (f)(1). Funded 6 Entities shall determine which Force mem- 7 bers will be provided with contact tracing 8 training to meet State, locality, territory, 9 and Tribal public health needs. 10 (ii) TRAINING BY FUNDED ENTI- 11 TIES.—Funded Entities may provide con- 12 tact tracing training using the guidance 13 and resources described in clause (i) or 14 other evidence-informed programs, includ- 15 ing training programs carried out by the 16 Association of State and Territorial Health 17 Officials and by academic institutions. 18 (B) ADDITIONAL TRAINING.—Not later 19 than 90 days after the date of enactment of 20 this Act, the Director shall identify and, as nec- 21 essary, develop additional evidence-informed 22 training resource packages to provide Force 23 members the knowledge and skills necessary to 24 conduct the full complement of activities de- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:07 Feb 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H460.IH H460 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 460 IH scribe in subsections (f) and (g). Funded Enti- 1 ties shall determine which Force members will 2 be provided with additional training to meet 3 State, locality, territory, and Tribal public 4 health needs. 5 (C) SPECIALIZED TRAINING.—In orga- 6 nizing the Force under this section, the Direc- 7 tor may elect to establish divisions of Force 8 members who receive specialized comprehensive 9 training, including divisions of Force members 10 who have met State licensure requirements, 11 have prior relevant experience, have supervisory 12 skills, or demonstrated aptitude. 13 (D) TRAINING REQUIREMENTS.—The 14 training programs under this paragraph shall— 15 (i) be adaptable by Funded Entities to 16 meet local needs; 17 (ii) be implemented as quickly as pos- 18 sible by either or both of the Centers for 19 Disease Control and Prevention and Fund- 20 ed Entities, based on local needs and abili- 21 ties; 22 (iii) be distance-based eLearning that 23 can be accessed electronically, including by 24 using a smartphone, with the goal of lim- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:07 Feb 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H460.IH H460 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 460 IH iting opportunities for disease transmission 1 while maximizing knowledge and skills ac- 2 quisition and retention among Force train- 3 ees; 4 (iv) include refresher training at reg- 5 ular and frequent intervals as determined 6 appropriate by the Director or Funded En- 7 tities; 8 (v) incorporate training components 9 on personal safety, including staying safe 10 around animals in the context of home vis- 11 its, use of personal protective equipment, 12 and health privacy and ethics; and 13 (vi) leverage existing training and cer- 14 tification programs approved by States, 15 territories, Tribal Nations, and community 16 health worker certifying bodies. 17 (E) MISCELLANEOUS.—Where determined 18 necessary, the Director may— 19 (i) recommend training under this 20 paragraph that includes face-to-face inter- 21 action; 22 (ii) collaborate with, including 23 through grants or cooperative agreements, 24 public universities, including nursing, med- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:07 Feb 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H460.IH H460 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 460 IH ical, and veterinary schools, community 1 colleges, or other career and technical edu- 2 cation institutes, community health cen- 3 ters, federally qualified health centers, 4 community health worker and community 5 health representative training and certifi- 6 cation programs, and other community- 7 based organizations, federally recognized 8 Minority Serving Institutions, as well as 9 public health associations and State and 10 local health departments, to develop and 11 implement training under this subpara- 12 graph, particularly for skills that typically 13 have licensure requirements; and 14 (iii) develop training and communica- 15 tions materials in multiple languages. 16 (F) PAYMENT DURING TRAINING.—Force 17 members shall be paid for each hour spent in 18 training, including refresher training. 19 (G) SUPPORTING PUBLIC HEALTH CAREER 20 GROWTH.—Funded Entities shall support public 21 health career development and growth of Force 22 members, including by— 23 (i) providing additional disaster relief 24 employment and training activities de- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:07 Feb 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H460.IH H460 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 460 IH scribed in subparagraphs (A) and (C) of 1 section 170(d)(1) of the Workforce Innova- 2 tion and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3 3225(d)(1)(A) and (C)) and services de- 4 scribed in section 7(a)(1) of the Wagner- 5 Peyser Act (29 U.S.C. 49f(a)(1)), as ap- 6 propriate; 7 (ii) providing opportunities for Force 8 members to maintain employment, con [Text truncated for display. 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