TRACE Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4315 To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to eligible entities to conduct testing and contact tracing for COVID– 19, and related activities such as supported isolation, through mobile health units and, as necessary, at individuals’ residences, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 23, 2020 Mr. KING (for himself and Ms. MURKOWSKI) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Edu- cation, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to eligible entities to conduct testing and contact tracing for COVID–19, and related activities such as supported isolation, through mobile health units and, as necessary, at individuals’ residences, 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 23:04 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4315.IS S4315 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4315 IS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘COVID–19 Testing, 2 Reaching, And Contacting Everyone Act’’ or the ‘‘TRACE 3 Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. COVID–19 TESTING AND CONTACT TRACING USING 5 MOBILE HEALTH UNITS. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.— 7 (1) GRANTS.—The Secretary, acting through 8 the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 9 Prevention, may award grants to eligible entities to 10 conduct testing for COVID–19, to trace and monitor 11 the contacts of infected individuals, and to support 12 the quarantine and isolation of such contacts, and 13 by providing such services— 14 (A) through mobile health units; 15 (B) through community-based organiza- 16 tions; or 17 (C) with respect to quarantine and isola- 18 tion of contacts, at individuals’ residences or 19 another facility that a State, territorial, Tribal, 20 or local health authority has provided for such 21 purposes. 22 (2) USE OF EXISTING MECHANISMS AND PRO- 23 GRAMS.—The Secretary may use existing mecha- 24 nisms and programs to administer and distribute 25 grants under paragraph (1). 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4315.IS S4315 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4315 IS (b) PERMISSIBLE USES OF FUNDS.—A recipient of 1 a grant under this section may use the grant funds to— 2 (1) hire, train, and equip personnel to provide 3 services described in subsection (a)(1); 4 (2) cover other expenses related to carrying out 5 the activities described in subsection (a)(1), which 6 may include covering appropriate and related ex- 7 penses incurred by individuals receiving services de- 8 scribed in subsection (a)(1); or 9 (3) purchase personal protective equipment, 10 testing supplies and equipment, and other supplies 11 for persons carrying out the activities or receiving 12 services described in subsection (a)(1). 13 (c) APPLICANTS.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 15 grant under this section, an eligible entity shall sub- 16 mit an application to the Secretary, at such time, in 17 such manner, and containing such information as 18 the Secretary may require, including the entity’s 19 proposal for using evidence-based models for testing, 20 tracing, and supported isolation. 21 (2) PRIORITY.—In selecting grant recipients 22 under this section, the Secretary shall give priority 23 to applicants that meet one or more of the following 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4315.IS S4315 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4315 IS criteria, in proportion to the number of the following 1 criteria met: 2 (A) Proposing to conduct activities funded 3 under this section in hot spots and medically 4 underserved communities. 5 (B) For purposes of carrying out activities 6 funded under this section, proposing to hire 7 residents of the area or community where the 8 activities will primarily occur, with priority 9 among applicants described in this subpara- 10 graph given in proportion to the percentage of 11 individuals to be hired from such area or com- 12 munity. 13 (C) With respect to contact tracing activi- 14 ties, demonstrating experience or expertise in 15 training, conducting, participating in, or admin- 16 istering public health contact tracing programs. 17 (D) Committing to distributing at least 30 18 percent of grant funds received under this sec- 19 tion to county and other local governmental en- 20 tities within the State that do not receive funds 21 directly from the Department of Health and 22 Human Services for the programs supported by 23 an award under this section. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4315.IS S4315 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4315 IS (d) DISTRIBUTION.—In selecting grant recipients 1 under this section, the Secretary shall ensure that grants 2 are distributed across urban and rural areas. 3 (e) FEDERAL PRIVACY REQUIREMENTS.—Nothing in 4 this section shall be construed to supersede any Federal 5 privacy or confidentiality requirement, including the regu- 6 lations promulgated under section 264(c) of the Health 7 Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 8 (Public Law 104–191; 110 Stat. 2033) and section 543 9 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290dd–2). 10 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 11 (1) The term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means an entity 12 that— 13 (A) is— 14 (i) a federally qualified health center 15 (as defined in section 1861(aa) of the So- 16 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(aa))); 17 (ii) a school-based health clinic; 18 (iii) a disproportionate share hospital 19 (as defined under the applicable State plan 20 under title XIX of the Social Security Act 21 (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) pursuant to sec- 22 tion 1923(a)(1)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 23 1396r–4)); 24 (iv) an academic medical center; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4315.IS S4315 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4315 IS (v) a nonprofit organization (including 1 any such faith-based organization); 2 (vi) an institution of higher education 3 (as defined in section 101 of the Higher 4 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)); 5 (vii) a high school (as defined in sec- 6 tion 8101 of the Elementary and Sec- 7 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8 7801)); or 9 (viii) an Indian Tribe or a Tribal Or- 10 ganization as defined in section 4 of the 11 Indian Self-Determination and Education 12 Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304); and 13 (B) is working in coordination with a 14 State, territorial, Tribal, county, or municipal 15 health department. 16 (2) The term ‘‘emergency period’’ has the 17 meaning given to that term in section 1135(g)(1)(B) 18 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b– 19 5(g)(1)(B)). 20 (3) The term ‘‘hot spot’’ means a geographic 21 area where the prevalence or incidence of SARS– 22 CoV–2 (the virus that causes COVID–19) or of 23 COVID–19 exceeds the national or State average. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4315.IS S4315 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4315 IS (4) The term ‘‘medically underserved commu- 1 nity’’ has the meaning given to that term in section 2 799B of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 3 295p). 4 (5) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 5 of Health and Human Services. 6 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 7 out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated 8 such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 9 2020 and 2021, and for any subsequent fiscal year during 10 which the emergency period continues. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Aug 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S4315.IS S4315 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS