Jobs to Fight COVID–19 Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3828 To establish an initiative for national testing, contact tracing, and pandemic response, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 21, 2020 Mr. SCHATZ (for himself, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Ms. HARRIS, and Mr. BOOKER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To establish an initiative for national testing, contact tracing, and pandemic response, 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 ‘‘Jobs to Fight COVID– 4 19 Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 Except as otherwise explicitly provided, in this Act: 7 (1) COVID–19.—The term ‘‘COVID–19’’ 8 means the novel coronavirus disease of 2019 9 (COVID–19). 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 Jun 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3828.IS S3828 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3828 IS (2) HEALTH PROFESSIONAL SHORTAGE 1 AREA.—The term ‘‘health professional shortage 2 area’’ has the meaning given the term in section 3 332(a) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 4 254e(a)). 5 (3) MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED POPU- 6 LATIONS.—The term ‘‘medically underserved popu- 7 lation’’ has the meaning given the term in section 8 330(b)(3) of the Public Health Service Act (42 9 U.S.C. 254b(b)(3)). 10 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 11 the Secretary of Labor. 12 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ refers to each 13 of the 50 States and the District of Columbia. 14 (6) TERRITORY.—The term ‘‘territory’’ means 15 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American 16 Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern 17 Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Is- 18 lands. 19 (7) TRIBAL.—The term ‘‘Tribal’’, with respect 20 to a health department, includes— 21 (A) Indian Tribes that— 22 (i) are operating one or more health 23 facilities pursuant to an agreement under 24 the Indian Self-Determination and Edu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 Jun 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3828.IS S3828 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3828 IS cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5301 et 1 seq.); or 2 (ii) receive services from a facility op- 3 erated by the Indian Health Services; and 4 (B) Tribal organizations and Native Ha- 5 waiian organizations, as such terms are defined 6 in section 166 of the Workforce Innovation and 7 Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3221), and urban 8 Indian organizations. 9 SEC. 3. GRANTS TO SUPPORT PANDEMIC PUBLIC WORKS. 10 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro- 12 vided in this section or section 2, the terms in this 13 section have the meanings given the terms in section 14 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 15 (29 U.S.C. 3102). 16 (2) APPRENTICESHIP; APPRENTICESHIP PRO- 17 GRAM.—The term ‘‘apprenticeship’’ or ‘‘apprentice- 18 ship program’’ means an apprenticeship program 19 registered under the Act of August 16, 1937 (com- 20 monly known as the ‘‘National Apprenticeship Act’’) 21 (50 Stat. 664, chapter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.), 22 including any requirement, standard, or rule promul- 23 gated under such Act, as such requirement, stand- 24 ard, or rule was in effect on December 30, 2019. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 Jun 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3828.IS S3828 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3828 IS (3) CONTACT TRACING AND PANDEMIC RE- 1 SPONSE POSITIONS.—The term ‘‘contact tracing and 2 pandemic response positions’’ means employment re- 3 lated to— 4 (A) contact tracing, surveillance, contain- 5 ment, and mitigation activities needed to imple- 6 ment the national system under section 6; 7 (B) other activities necessary for pandemic 8 response, including cleaning and mitigation ac- 9 tivities; and 10 (C) activities necessary to respond to the 11 economic impacts of COVID–19. 12 (4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 13 ty’’ means— 14 (A) a State or territory; 15 (B)(i) an Indian Tribe, Tribal organiza- 16 tion, Alaska Native entity, or Native Hawaiian 17 organization as such terms are defined in sec- 18 tion 166 of the Workforce Innovation and Op- 19 portunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3221); or 20 (ii) an Indian-controlled organization serv- 21 ing Indians as defined in such section 166; or 22 (C) a unit of local government, if an entity 23 described in subparagraph (A) has not applied 24 with respect to the area over which the unit has 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 Jun 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3828.IS S3828 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3828 IS jurisdiction by the deadline required under sub- 1 section (b)(2)(B). 2 (5) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘eligible 3 individual’’ means an individual seeking or securing 4 employment in a contact tracing or pandemic re- 5 sponse position and who is served by an eligible enti- 6 ty or community-based organization receiving fund- 7 ing under this section. 8 (6) UNIT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term 9 ‘‘unit of local government’’ means any city, county, 10 township, town, borough, parish, village, or other 11 general purpose political subdivision of a State. 12 (b) GRANTS.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of 14 appropriations under subsection (l), the Secretary 15 shall award a grant to each eligible entity that sub- 16 mits a complete application under subsection (c), to 17 enable the eligible entity to— 18 (A) as applicable, support the recruitment, 19 placement, and training of, and provide employ- 20 ment to, eligible individuals seeking employment 21 in contact tracing and pandemic response posi- 22 tions; and 23 (B) assist with the employment transition 24 to new employment or education and training of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 Jun 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3828.IS S3828 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3828 IS individuals employed under this section in prep- 1 aration for and upon termination of such em- 2 ployment. 3 (2) TIMELINE.— 4 (A) DEADLINE FOR SECRETARY APPLICA- 5 TION REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall 6 issue application requirements under subsection 7 (c) not later than 10 days after the date of en- 8 actment of this Act. 9 (B) STATE AND TRIBAL APPLICATIONS.— 10 The deadline for applications from eligible enti- 11 ties described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of 12 subsection (a)(4) shall be the date that is 30 13 days after the date the Secretary issues applica- 14 tion requirements under subparagraph (A). 15 (C) APPLICATIONS FOR LOCAL GOVERN- 16 MENTS SERVING AS ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—The 17 deadline for applications for grants from eligible 18 entities described in subsection (a)(4)(C) shall 19 be the date that is 10 days after the date that 20 applications are due under subparagraph (B). 21 (D) GRANT AWARDS.—The Secretary shall 22 award a grant to an eligible entity under para- 23 graph (1) not later than 15 days after the date 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 Jun 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3828.IS S3828 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3828 IS on which applications are due under subpara- 1 graph (C). 2 (c) GRANT APPLICATION.—An eligible entity apply- 3 ing for a grant under this section shall submit an applica- 4 tion to the Secretary, at such time and in such form and 5 manner as the Secretary may reasonably require, which 6 shall include a description of— 7 (1) how the eligible entity will, as applicable, 8 support the recruitment, placement, and training of, 9 and provide employment to, of eligible individuals 10 seeking employment in contact tracing and pandemic 11 response positions; 12 (2) how the activities described in paragraph 13 (1) will support State efforts to address the demand 14 for contact tracing and pandemic response positions 15 with respect to— 16 (A) the State plans referred to in the head- 17 ing ‘‘Public Health and Social Services Emer- 18 gency Fund’’ in title I of division B of the Pay- 19 check Protection Program and Health Care En- 20 hancement Act (Public Law 116–139); and 21 (B) the number of eligible individuals that 22 the State plans to recruit, train, and employ 23 under the plans described in subparagraph (A); 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 Jun 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3828.IS S3828 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3828 IS (3) the specific strategies for recruiting, place- 1 ment, and employment of eligible individuals from or 2 residing within the communities in which they will 3 work, including— 4 (A) plans for the recruitment of eligible in- 5 dividuals to serve in contact tracing or pan- 6 demic response positions, including dislocated 7 workers, individuals with barriers to employ- 8 ment, veterans, new entrants in the workforce, 9 self-employed individuals who are unemployed 10 as a result of COVID–19, or underemployed or 11 furloughed workers, who are from or reside in 12 or near the locality in which they will serve, and 13 who, to the extent practicable— 14 (i) have experience or a background in 15 industry sectors and occupations such as 16 public health, social services, customer 17 service, case management, or occupations 18 that require related qualifications, skills, or 19 competencies, such as strong interpersonal 20 and communication skills, needed for con- 21 tact tracing or pandemic response posi- 22 tions; or 23 (ii) seek to transition to public health 24 and public health related occupations upon 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 Jun 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3828.IS S3828 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3828 IS the conclusion of employment in contact 1 tracing or pandemic response positions; 2 and 3 (B) how such strategies will take into ac- 4 count the diversity of such community, includ- 5 ing racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, linguistic, or 6 geographic diversity; 7 (4) the amount, timing, and mechanisms for 8 distribution of funds provided to local units of gov- 9 ernment or through subgrants as described in sub- 10 section (d)(2)(A) or (e); 11 (5) for eligible entities described in subpara- 12 graph (A) or (B) of subsection (a)(4), a description 13 of how the eligible entity will ensure the equitable 14 distribution of funds with respect to— 15 (A) geography (such as urban and rural 16 distribution); 17 (B) medically underserved populations; 18 (C) health professional shortage areas; and 19 (D) the racial and ethnic diversity of the 20 area; and 21 (6) for eligible entities described in subsection 22 (a)(4)(C), a description of how a grant to such eligi- 23 ble entity would serve the equitable distribution of 24 funds as described in paragraph (5); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 Jun 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3828.IS S3828 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3828 IS (7) how the eligible entity will collaborate with 1 State boards and local boards, the unemployment 2 compensation system of the State, and the employ- 3 ment service offices (providing services under the 4 Wagner-Peyser Act (29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.)) of the 5 State regarding the State reemployment services and 6 eligibility assessment activities and the activities pro- 7 vided under this section. 8 (d) GRANT DISTRIBUTION.— 9 (1) FEDERAL DISTRIBUTION.— 10 (A) USE OF FUNDS.— The Secretary shall 11 use the funds appropriated to carry out this 12 section as follows: 13 (i) Subject to clause (ii), the Secretary 14 shall distribute funds among eligible enti- 15 ties that submit a complete application 16 under subsection (c) in accordance with a 17 formula to be established by the Secretary 18 that— 19 (I) provides a minimum level of 20 funding to each eligible entity that 21 submits a complete application; and 22 (II) allocates additional funding 23 as follows: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 Jun 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3828.IS S3828 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3828 IS (aa) The formula shall give 1 first priority based on the num- 2 ber and proportion of contact 3 tracing or pandemic response po- 4 sitions for which the eligible enti- 5 ty plans to recruit, place, train, 6 and employ individuals as a part 7 of the State strategy described in 8 subsection (c)(2)(A). 9 (bb) The formula shall give 10 second highest priority to appli- 11 cations that will serve States, ter- 12 ritories, Indian Tribes, or Native 13 Hawaiian populations that have 14 the highest unemployment rates, 15 as determined based on the most 16 recent data available. 17 (cc) The formula shall give 18 third highest priority to appli- 19 cants proposing to serve popu- 20 lations in one or more geographic 21 regions with a high burden of 22 COVID–19 based on data pro- 23 vided by the Centers for Disease 24 Control and Prevention, or other 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 Jun 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3828.IS S3828 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 3828 IS sources as determined by the 1 Secretary. 2 (dd) The formula shall give 3 fourth highest priority to appli- 4 cants preparing for, or currently 5 working to mitigate, a COVID– 6 19 surge in a geographic region 7 that does not yet have a high 8 number of reported cases of 9 COVID–19 based on data pro- 10 vided by the Centers for Disease 11 Control and Prevention, or other 12 sources as determined by the 13 Secretary. 14 (ee) The formula shall give 15 fifth highest priority to appli- 16 cants proposing to serve high 17 numbers of low-income and unin- 18 sured populations, including 19 medically underserved popu- 20 lations, health professional short- 21 age areas, racial and ethnic mi- 22 norities, or geographically diverse 23 areas, as determined by the Sec- 24 retary. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 Jun 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3828.IS S3828 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 3828 IS (ii) Not more than 2 percent of the 1 funding for administration of the grants 2 and for providing technical assistance to 3 recipients of funds under this section. 4 (B) EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION.—If the ge- 5 ographic region served by one or more eligible 6 entities overlaps, the Secretary shall distribute 7 funds among such entities in such a manner 8 that ensures equitable distribution with respect 9 to the factors under subsection (c)(5). 10 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY USE OF FUNDS.—An eli- 11 gible entity described in subsection (a)(4)(A)— 12 (A) [Text truncated for display. 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