Pandemic Responder Service Award Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6953 To establish the Pandemic Responder Service Award program to express our gratitude to front-line health care workers. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 19, 2020 Ms. SHALALA (for herself and Ms. HOULAHAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subse- quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish the Pandemic Responder Service Award pro- gram to express our gratitude to front-line health care workers. 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 Responder 4 Service Award Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:11 Jun 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6953.IH H6953 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6953 IH SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF PANDEMIC RESPONDER SERV- 1 ICE AWARD PROGRAM. 2 (a) ENTITLEMENT.—Subject to subsection (c), each 3 qualified health care worker shall be entitled to a pan- 4 demic responder service award, as determined under sub- 5 section (b). 6 (b) DETERMINATION OF AWARD.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under 8 subsection (c)(3)(B)(ii), in the case of a qualified 9 health care worker, the amount of the pandemic re- 10 sponder service award shall be equal to— 11 (A) the applicable percentage of the 12 amount determined under paragraph (2) for the 13 calendar year in which the application described 14 in subsection (c)(2) has been submitted by such 15 worker and approved by the Secretary; and 16 (B) the applicable percentage of the 17 amount determined under paragraph (2) for 18 each of the 3 calendar years subsequent to the 19 year described in subparagraph (A). 20 (2) ANNUAL AMOUNT.— 21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The amount deter- 22 mined under this paragraph shall be equal to— 23 (i) for calendar year 2021, $10,000; 24 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:11 Jun 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6953.IH H6953 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6953 IH (ii) in the case of any calendar year 1 beginning after 2021, the dollar amount in 2 clause (i), as increased by an amount equal 3 to— 4 (I) such dollar amount; multi- 5 plied by 6 (II) the cost-of-living adjustment 7 determined under section 1(f)(3) of 8 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 9 for such calendar year, determined by 10 substituting ‘‘2020’’ for ‘‘2016’’ in 11 subparagraph (A)(ii) thereof. 12 (B) ROUNDING.—If any increase under 13 subparagraph (A) is not a multiple of $100, 14 such increase shall be rounded to the nearest 15 multiple of $100. 16 (3) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE.— 17 (A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of para- 18 graph (1), with respect to any qualified health 19 care worker, the applicable percentage shall be 20 determined in accordance with the following 21 table: 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:11 Jun 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6953.IH H6953 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6953 IH If the number of days during the applicable period in which the individual The applicable provided eligible services was: percentage is: Equal to or greater than 180 days ................................... 100 percent Greater than 150 days and less than 180 days ................ 87.5 percent Greater than 120 days and less than 151 days ................ 75 percent Greater than 90 days and less than 121 days .................. 62.5 percent Greater than 60 days and less than 91 days .................... 50 percent Greater than 30 days and less than 61 days .................... 37.5 percent Greater than 6 days and less than 31 days ...................... 25 percent Less than 7 days ............................................................... 12.5 percent. (B) DEATH OR HOSPITALIZATION OF 1 QUALIFIED HEALTH CARE WORKER.—In the 2 case of any qualified health care worker who 3 was hospitalized or died as a result of con- 4 tracting COVID–19, the applicable percentage 5 shall be 100 percent. 6 (C) DETERMINING WORK PERFORMED 7 DURING ILLNESS.—In the case of any qualified 8 health care worker who was unable to provide 9 eligible services for any period of days during 10 the applicable period as a result of contracting 11 COVID–19, such period of days shall be in- 12 cluded for purposes of determining the applica- 13 ble percentage with respect to such worker 14 under this paragraph. 15 (c) PANDEMIC RESPONDER SERVICE AWARD PRO- 16 GRAM.— 17 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.— 18 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:11 Jun 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6953.IH H6953 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6953 IH (A) PANDEMIC RESPONDER SAVINGS AC- 1 COUNTS.—Except as provided in subparagraph 2 (B), not later than 12 months after the date of 3 enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es- 4 tablish the Pandemic Responder Service Award 5 Program to carry out the purposes of this sec- 6 tion. 7 (B) PANDEMIC RESPONDER CHILD SAV- 8 INGS ACCOUNTS.—Not later than December 31, 9 2021, the Secretary shall establish the Pan- 10 demic Responder Child Savings Account Pro- 11 gram to carry out the purposes of paragraph 12 (5). 13 (2) APPLICATIONS.— 14 (A) IN GENERAL.—An individual claiming 15 or applying for a pandemic responder service 16 award under this section shall submit an appli- 17 cation to the Secretary at such time, in such 18 manner, and containing such information as the 19 Secretary may require. 20 (B) INFORMATION MADE AVAILABLE TO 21 PUBLIC.—Not later than 12 months after the 22 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 23 shall make publicly available all instructions 24 and forms necessary for an individual to apply 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:11 Jun 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6953.IH H6953 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6953 IH for a pandemic responder service award under 1 this section, including— 2 (i) guidelines regarding the processes 3 for determining entitlement to, and the 4 amount of, such award; 5 (ii) processes for the employer of any 6 individual to certify— 7 (I) that such individual provided 8 eligible services; and 9 (II) the number of days during 10 the applicable period in which such in- 11 dividual provided such services. 12 (C) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall not 13 accept or approve any application submitted by 14 an individual after the date which is 5 years 15 after the date described in subsection (d)(1)(B). 16 (D) DEATH OF QUALIFIED HEALTH CARE 17 WORKER.—In the case of an individual de- 18 scribed in subsection (d)(5)(A) who has died 19 due to COVID–19 prior to filing an application 20 described in subparagraph (A), the Secretary 21 shall establish a procedure to permit the spouse 22 of such worker or any dependent of such worker 23 to file an application under such subparagraph 24 to provide for— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:11 Jun 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6953.IH H6953 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6953 IH (i) establishment of a pandemic re- 1 sponder savings account (as described in 2 paragraph (3)) on behalf of such spouse or 3 a pandemic responder child savings ac- 4 count (as described in paragraph (5)) on 5 behalf of a dependent described in sub- 6 paragraph (A) of such paragraph; and 7 (ii) transfer of any pandemic re- 8 sponder service award to which the de- 9 ceased individual would otherwise be enti- 10 tled under this section to such account. 11 (3) PANDEMIC RESPONDER SAVINGS AC- 12 COUNT.— 13 (A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to each 14 qualified health care worker, the Secretary shall 15 establish and maintain a separate trust account 16 (referred to in this section as a ‘‘pandemic re- 17 sponder savings account’’) on behalf of such 18 worker, which shall consist of any pandemic re- 19 sponder service award to which such worker is 20 entitled under this section. 21 (B) TRANSFER TO ACCOUNT.— 22 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 23 under clause (ii), with respect to each 24 qualified health care worker, for each cal- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:11 Jun 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6953.IH H6953 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6953 IH endar year described in paragraph (1) of 1 subsection (b), the Secretary shall transfer 2 from the general fund of the Treasury of 3 the United States to the pandemic re- 4 sponder savings account of such worker an 5 amount equal to the applicable percentage 6 of the amount determined under paragraph 7 (2) of such subsection with respect to such 8 year. 9 (ii) EXCEPTION FOR LOAN REPAY- 10 MENT.—In the case of a qualified health 11 care worker who, pursuant to their applica- 12 tion under paragraph (2), elects to apply 13 the entirety of the pandemic responder 14 service award to which they are entitled for 15 a qualified purpose described in subsection 16 (d)(6)(A), the Secretary shall, during the 17 calendar year in which such application is 18 approved, transfer from the general fund 19 of the Treasury of the United States to the 20 pandemic responder savings account of 21 such worker an amount equal to 400 per- 22 cent of the applicable percentage of the 23 amount determined under paragraph (2) of 24 subsection (b) with respect to such year. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:11 Jun 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6953.IH H6953 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 6953 IH (4) DISTRIBUTION OF AWARD AMOUNTS.—The 1 Secretary shall establish such guidelines as may be 2 necessary to ensure that— 3 (A) funds held in a pandemic responder 4 savings account are withdrawn or transferred— 5 (i) only for qualified purposes or 6 transfer to a pandemic responder child sav- 7 ings account; 8 (ii) at the direction of the qualified 9 health care worker; and 10 (iii) in such proportion or amount as 11 is directed by such worker; 12 (B) not greater than 4 withdrawals are 13 made from such account during any calendar 14 year; and 15 (C) beneficiary designations for such ac- 16 count are made in the case of the death of such 17 worker. 18 (5) PANDEMIC RESPONDER CHILD SAVINGS AC- 19 COUNT.— 20 (A) IN GENERAL.—At the election of any 21 qualified health care worker, the Secretary shall 22 establish and maintain a separate trust account 23 (referred to in this section as a ‘‘pandemic re- 24 sponder child savings account’’) on behalf of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:11 Jun 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6953.IH H6953 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 6953 IH any dependent (as designated by such worker) 1 who, at the time of such election, has not at- 2 tained 18 years of age and which shall consist 3 of such amounts as are elected by such worker 4 to be transferred to such account. 5 (B) INVESTMENT WITHOUT FEES.—Any 6 amount transferred to a pandemic responder 7 child savings account shall be invested solely in 8 United States Treasury bonds. No fees shall be 9 assessed on participants in the Pandemic Re- 10 sponder Child Savings Account Program. 11 (C) ACCOUNTS MAY NOT BE ASSIGNED.— 12 An account established on behalf of an indi- 13 vidual under the Pandemic Responder Child 14 Savings Account Program may not be pledged 15 or assigned to any other person, and any trans- 16 fer to such account by a qualified health care 17 worker may not subsequently be transferred or 18 returned to the pandemic responder savings ac- 19 count of such worker. 20 (D) DISTRIBUTION OF AMOUNTS IN PAN- 21 DEMIC RESPONDER CHILD SAVINGS AC- 22 COUNT.—The Secretary shall establish such 23 guidelines as may be necessary to ensure that— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:11 Jun 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6953.IH H6953 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 6953 IH (i) funds held in a pandemic re- 1 sponder child savings account are with- 2 drawn or transferred— 3 (I) only for purposes described in 4 subparagraphs (A) through (G) of 5 subsection (d)(6) with respect to the 6 individual on whose behalf such ac- 7 count has been established; and 8 (II) except for purposes described 9 in subparagraph (A) or (B) of sub- 10 section (d)(6), only after such indi- 11 vidual has attained 18 years of age 12 and at the direction of such individual 13 and in such proportion or amount as 14 is directed by such individual; 15 (ii) not greater than 4 withdrawals 16 are made from such account during any 17 calendar year; and 18 (iii) beneficiary designations for such 19 account are made in the case of the death 20 of the individual on whose behalf an ac- 21 count was established. 22 (d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 23 (1) APPLICABLE PERIOD.—The term ‘‘applica- 24 ble period’’ means the period— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:11 Jun 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6953.IH H6953 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 6953 IH (A) beginning on January 27, 2020; and 1 (B) ending on the date on which the Sec- 2 retary of Health and Human Services deter- 3 mines that the public health emergency declared 4 by such Secretary under section 319 of the 5 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) on 6 January 31, 2020, with respect to COVID–19, 7 has ended. 8 (2) COVID–19.—The term ‘‘COVID–19’’ 9 means the virus SARS–CoV–2 or coronavirus dis- 10 ease 2019 (COVID–19). 11 (3) DEPENDENT.—The term ‘‘dependent’’ has 12 the same meaning given such term under section 13 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 14 (4) ELIGIBLE SERVICES.— 15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara- 16 graph (C), the term ‘‘eligible services’’ means, 17 with respect to any individual, services de- 18 scribed in subparagraph (B) which were pro- 19 vided by such individual in person during the 20 applicable period in a work environment in 21 which— 22 (i) there was an elevated risk of such 23 individual contracting COVID–19 (as de- 24 termined by the Secretary, in consultation 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:11 Jun 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6953.IH H6953 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 6953 IH with the Director of the Centers for Dis- 1 ease Control and Prevention and the Occu- 2 pational Safety and Health Administra- 3 tion); or 4 (ii) such services were provided to in- 5 dividuals who had been diagnosed with 6 COVID–19 or who were at a high risk of 7 having contracted COVID–19. 8 (B) DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES.—The 9 services described in this subparagra [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]