Pandemic Heroes Compensation Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1357 To provide for the establishment of a COVID–19 Compensation Fund, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 25, 2021 Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York (for herself, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. CARSON, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. CON- NOLLY, Mr. CUELLAR, Ms. DEAN, Mr. DESAULNIER, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. GOMEZ, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. NORTON, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. JONES, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. KEATING, Mr. KHANNA, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Mr. LYNCH, Ms. MENG, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. RASKIN, Miss RICE of New York, Ms. SHERRILL, Mr. SIRES, Mr. SOTO, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. TONKO, Mr. THOMP- SON of Mississippi, Mr. VELA, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. WATERS, Mrs. WAT- SON COLEMAN, Mr. WELCH, and Mr. SAN NICOLAS) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To provide for the establishment of a COVID–19 Compensation Fund, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘Pandemic Heroes 4 Compensation Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1357.IH H1357 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1357 IH SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 2 (1) CLAIMANT.—The term ‘‘claimant’’ means 3 an individual filing a claim for compensation under 4 this Act. 5 (2) COLLATERAL SOURCE.—The term ‘‘collat- 6 eral source’’ means all compensation other than 7 compensation under this Act, including life insur- 8 ance, pension funds, death benefit programs, and 9 payments by Federal, State, Territory, or local gov- 10 ernments. 11 (3) COVID–19.—The term ‘‘COVID–19’’ 12 means novel coronavirus disease 2019, as identified 13 by the Centers for Disease Control. 14 (4) ECONOMIC LOSS.—The term ‘‘economic 15 loss’’ means any pecuniary loss (including the loss of 16 earnings or other benefits related to employment, 17 medical expense loss, replacement services loss, loss 18 due to death, burial costs, and loss of business or 19 employment opportunities) resulting from harm due 20 to COVID–19 to the extent recovery for such loss is 21 allowed under applicable Federal, State, local, Trib- 22 al, or territorial law. 23 (5) ESSENTIAL WORKER.—The term ‘‘essential 24 worker’’ means any individual, employee, or con- 25 tractor working for a person, business, nonprofit en- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 Mar 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1357.IH H1357 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1357 IH tity, or Federal, State, tribal, territorial or local gov- 1 ernment that is determined, during the response to 2 the COVID–19 pandemic, to be essential, based on 3 State, local, tribal, or territorial orders or declara- 4 tions (or equivalent), or Federal guidance published 5 by the Cyber & Infrastructure Security Agency 6 (CISA), and who performed work outside their place 7 of residence. 8 (6) NONECONOMIC LOSSES.—The term ‘‘non- 9 economic losses’’ means losses for physical and emo- 10 tional pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical im- 11 pairment, mental anguish, disfigurement, loss of en- 12 joyment of life, loss of society and companionship, 13 loss of consortium (other than loss of domestic serv- 14 ice), hedonic damages, injury to reputation, and all 15 other nonpecuniary losses of any kind or nature. 16 (7) SPECIAL MASTER.—The term ‘‘Special Mas- 17 ter’’ means the Special Master appointed by the At- 18 torney General under section 3. 19 (8) PLACE OF RESIDENCE.—The term ‘‘place of 20 residence’’ means the physical location or locations 21 at which claimant resided or was residing during the 22 eligibility period. 23 (9) ELIGIBILITY PERIOD.—The term ‘‘eligibility 24 period’’ means any time during which any Federal, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 Mar 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1357.IH H1357 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1357 IH State, Tribal, territorial, or local COVID–19 related 1 emergency order or declaration (or equivalent) is or 2 was in effect, regardless of the claimant’s place of 3 residence. 4 SEC. 3. ADMINISTRATION. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General, acting 6 through a Special Master appointed by the Attorney Gen- 7 eral, shall— 8 (1) administer the compensation program es- 9 tablished under this Act; 10 (2) promulgate all procedural and substantive 11 rules for the administration of this Act; and 12 (3) employ and supervise hearing officers and 13 other administrative personnel to perform the duties 14 of the Special Master under this Act. 15 (b) APPOINTMENT OF SPECIAL MASTER AND DEP- 16 UTY SPECIAL MASTERS.—The Attorney General may ap- 17 point a Special Master and no more than two Deputy Spe- 18 cial Masters without regard to the provisions of title 5, 19 United States Code, governing appointments in the com- 20 petitive service. Any such employee shall serve at the 21 pleasure of the Attorney General. The Attorney General 22 shall fix the annual salary of the Special Master and the 23 Deputy Special Masters. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1357.IH H1357 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1357 IH (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 1 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 2 necessary to pay the administrative and support costs for 3 the Special Master in carrying out this Act. 4 SEC. 4. DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR COMPENSA- 5 TION. 6 (a) FILING OF CLAIM.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—A claimant may file a claim 8 for compensation under this Act with the Special 9 Master. The claim shall be on the form developed 10 under paragraph (2) and shall state the factual basis 11 for eligibility for compensation and the amount of 12 compensation sought. 13 (2) CLAIM FORM.— 14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Special Master 15 shall develop a claim form that claimants shall 16 use when submitting claims under paragraph 17 (1). The Special Master shall ensure that such 18 form can be filed electronically, if determined to 19 be practicable. 20 (B) CONTENTS.—The form developed 21 under subparagraph (A) shall request— 22 (i) information from the claimant con- 23 cerning the harm that the claimant suf- 24 fered as a result of COVID–19, or in the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1357.IH H1357 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1357 IH case of a claim filed on behalf of a dece- 1 dent, information confirming the dece- 2 dent’s death, as a result of COVID–19; 3 (ii) information establishing that the 4 claimant or decedent was an essential 5 worker; 6 (iii) information from the claimant 7 concerning any possible economic and non- 8 economic losses that the claimant suffered 9 as a result of COVID–19 or that was 10 caused by the death of the decedent from 11 COVID–19; and 12 (iv) information regarding collateral 13 sources of compensation the claimant has 14 received or is entitled to receive as a result 15 of COVID–19. 16 (3) LIMITATION.—No claim may be filed under 17 paragraph (1) after the date that is 5 years after 18 the end of the eligibility period. 19 (b) REVIEW AND DETERMINATION.— 20 (1) REVIEW.—The Special Master shall review 21 a claim submitted under subsection (a) and deter- 22 mine— 23 (A) whether the claimant is an eligible in- 24 dividual under subsection (c); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 Mar 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1357.IH H1357 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1357 IH (B) with respect to a claimant determined 1 to be an eligible individual— 2 (i) the extent of the harm to the 3 claimant, including any economic and non- 4 economic losses; and 5 (ii) subject to paragraph (7), the 6 amount of compensation to which the 7 claimant is entitled based on the harm to 8 the claimant, the facts of the claim, and 9 the individual circumstances of the claim- 10 ant. 11 (2) NEGLIGENCE.—With respect to a claimant, 12 the Special Master shall not consider negligence or 13 any other theory of liability. 14 (3) DETERMINATION.—A determination under 15 this subsection shall be final and not subject to judi- 16 cial review. 17 (4) RIGHTS OF CLAIMANT.—A claimant in a re- 18 view under paragraph (1) shall have— 19 (A) the right to be represented by an at- 20 torney or other representative; 21 (B) the right to present evidence, including 22 the presentation of witnesses and documents; 23 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1357.IH H1357 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1357 IH (C) any other due process rights deter- 1 mined appropriate by the Special Master. 2 (5) NO PUNITIVE DAMAGES.—The Special Mas- 3 ter may not include amounts for punitive damages 4 in any compensation paid under a claim under this 5 Act. 6 (6) COLLATERAL COMPENSATION.—The Special 7 Master shall reduce the amount of compensation de- 8 termined under paragraph (1) by the amount of the 9 collateral source compensation the claimant has re- 10 ceived or is entitled to receive as a result of the 11 claimant suffering from COVID–19. 12 (7) LIMITATIONS ON CLAIMS.—Noneconomic 13 losses shall not exceed such limit as the Special Mas- 14 ter may impose. 15 (c) ELIGIBILITY.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—A claimant or decedent shall 17 be determined to be an eligible individual for pur- 18 poses of this subsection if the Special Master deter- 19 mines that such claimant or decedent— 20 (A) was designated an essential worker 21 during the eligibility period or was a family 22 member of such an essential worker who re- 23 sided with the essential worker during the eligi- 24 bility period; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1357.IH H1357 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1357 IH (B) expressed symptoms consistent with 1 COVID–19, including those with laboratory 2 confirmations, diagnosis by a healthcare pro- 3 vider, or for whom there is or was an absence 4 of an alternate diagnosis that explains claim- 5 ant’s or decedent’s symptoms; 6 (C) suffered economic loss; and 7 (D) meets the requirements of paragraph 8 (2). 9 (2) SINGLE CLAIM.—Not more than one claim 10 may be submitted under this Act by an individual or 11 on behalf of a deceased individual. If the claimant 12 dies during the pendency of a claim, the decedent’s 13 family or other individual representing the decedent 14 may continue the claimant’s claim with added ex- 15 penses related to the claimant’s death, as needed. 16 SEC. 5. ASSISTANCE TO CLAIMANTS. 17 The Special Master will establish an office to provide 18 assistance to all claimants in submitting claims. 19 SEC. 6. PAYMENTS TO ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS. 20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the limitations under 21 subsection (d), not later than 20 days after the date on 22 which a determination is made by the Special Master re- 23 garding the amount of compensation due a claimant under 24 this Act, the Special Master shall authorize payment to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1357.IH H1357 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1357 IH such claimant of the amount determined with respect to 1 the claimant. 2 (b) FUNDING.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General is au- 4 thorized to accept such amounts as may be contrib- 5 uted by individuals, business concerns, or other enti- 6 ties to carry out this Act, under such terms and con- 7 ditions as the Attorney General may impose. 8 (2) USE OF SEPARATE ACCOUNT.—In making 9 payments under this section, amounts contained in 10 any account containing funds provided under para- 11 graph (1) shall be used prior to using appropriated 12 amounts. 13 (c) DEVELOPMENT OF AGENCY POLICIES AND PRO- 14 CEDURES.—Not later than 120 days after the date of en- 15 actment the Special Master shall develop agency policies 16 and procedures that meet the requirements including poli- 17 cies and procedures for presumptive award schedules, ad- 18 ministrative expenses, and related internal memoranda. 19 (d) ATTORNEY FEES.—The Special Master shall have 20 the sole discretion to determine reasonable compensation 21 for services rendered for attorney fees for services ren- 22 dered, if any. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1357.IH H1357 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1357 IH SEC. 7. REGULATIONS. 1 Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 2 of this Act, the Attorney General, in consultation with the 3 Special Master, shall promulgate regulations to carry out 4 this Act, including regulations with respect to— 5 (1) forms to be used in submitting claims under 6 this Act; 7 (2) the information to be included in such 8 forms; 9 (3) procedures for hearing and the presentation 10 of evidence; 11 (4) procedures to assist an individual in filing 12 and pursuing claims under this Act; and 13 (5) other matters determined appropriate by 14 the Attorney General. 15 SEC. 8. RIGHT OF SUBROGATION. 16 The United States shall have the right of subrogation 17 with respect to any claim paid by the United States, sub- 18 ject to the limitation described in this Act. 19 SEC. 9. VICTIM COMPENSATION FUND. 20 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the Treas- 21 ury of the United States a fund to be known as the 22 ‘‘COVID–19 Compensation Fund’’, consisting of amounts 23 deposited into such fund under subsection (b). 24 (b) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts deposited 25 into the COVID–19 Compensation Fund shall be avail- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1357.IH H1357 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1357 IH able, without further appropriation, to the Special Master 1 to provide compensation. 2 (c) TERMINATION.—The COVID–19 Compensation 3 Fund shall be permanently closed on the date that is 1 4 year after the Special Master determines that no addi- 5 tional claims may be filed. 6 SEC. 10. APPROPRIATION. 7 There is authorized to be appropriated for purposes 8 of carrying out this Act such sums as may be necessary 9 for fiscal year 2021 and each fiscal year thereafter 10 through fiscal year 2026, to remain available until ex- 11 pended. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1357.IH H1357 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS