COVID PREPARE Act of 2020

IIB 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7496 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES OCTOBER 1, 2020 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs AN ACT To require Federal agencies to submit plans for responding to any resurgence of COVID–19, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:30 Oct 02, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7496.RFS H7496 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 HR 7496 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘COVID Preparedness, 2 Response, and Effective Planning for Advanced Require- 3 ments by the Executive Branch Act of 2020’’ or the 4 ‘‘COVID PREPARE Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. COVID–19 RESURGENCE PLAN. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 7 date of the enactment of this Act, the head of each agency 8 shall submit to Congress an initial report detailing an ac- 9 tion plan, informed by research and best practices learned 10 from the onset of COVID–19 and previous presidentially 11 declared emergencies, for addressing the needs and miti- 12 gating and eliminating the risks and challenges associated 13 with any resurgence in COVID–19 cases, that includes— 14 (1) agency priorities for preparing for and re- 15 sponding to any resurgence of COVID–19, including 16 continuity of operations and fulfilling the mission of 17 the agency; 18 (2) measurable goals specific to priorities and a 19 time line for addressing each priority; 20 (3) anticipated challenges to addressing prior- 21 ities and how the agency will address such chal- 22 lenges; 23 (4) how the agency will consult with Congress, 24 the public, State and municipal governments, and 25 relevant stakeholders while working remotely; and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:30 Oct 02, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7496.RFS H7496 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 HR 7496 RFS (5) how the agency plans to issue relevant guid- 1 ance to entities under the jurisdiction of the agency. 2 (b) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS.—Not later than 60 days 3 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and quarterly 4 thereafter until the President ends the declared emer- 5 gency, the head of each agency shall submit to Congress 6 a report that provides an update of the details submitted 7 in the plan under subsection (a), including— 8 (1) the status of each priority; 9 (2) an explanation for any goal that has not 10 been met within the specified time frame; and 11 (3) any changes or updates to the plan. 12 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 13 (1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the 14 meaning given that term in section 551 of title 5, 15 United States Code. 16 (2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 17 the several States, the District of Columbia, each 18 commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United 19 States, and each federally recognized Indian Tribe. 20 SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 21 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 22 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 23 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 24 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:30 Oct 02, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7496.RFS H7496 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 HR 7496 RFS Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 1 by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, pro- 2 vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 3 vote on passage. 4 Passed the House of Representatives September 30, 2020. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:30 Oct 02, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7496.RFS H7496 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS