Pandemic Community Reserve and Public Health Response Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7801 To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to State, local, and Tribal public health departments to train and equip Federal public health reserve corps personnel to assist with testing, contact tracing, and treatment of COVID–19, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 27, 2020 Ms. FUDGE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Edu- cation and Labor, Armed Services, and Transportation and Infrastruc- ture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to State, local, and Tribal public health departments to train and equip Federal public health reserve corps personnel to assist with testing, contact tracing, and treatment of COVID–19, and for other pur- poses. 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 04:54 Aug 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7801.IH H7801 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7801 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pandemic Community 2 Reserve and Public Health Response Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. GRANTS TO INCREASE FEDERAL PUBLIC HEALTH 4 RESERVE CORPS PERSONNEL. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 6 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health 7 and Human Services shall— 8 (1) award grants to State, local, and Tribal 9 public health departments to train and equip public 10 health and medical personnel to serve as Federal 11 public health reserve corps personnel to assist with 12 testing, contact tracing, and treatment of COVID– 13 19; 14 (2) reactivate retired personnel of any such 15 corps to assist with such testing, contact tracing, 16 and treatment of COVID–19; and 17 (3) in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, 18 award grants to local workforce development boards 19 established under section 107 of the Workforce In- 20 novation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3122) to 21 develop transition plans (including career exposure, 22 career planning, and career pathways) and transfer- 23 able credits and certifications for Federal public 24 health reserve corps personnel to pursue further 25 service in a health-related career. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Aug 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7801.IH H7801 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7801 IH (b) FUNDS.—A State, local, or Tribal health depart- 1 ment that receives a grant under this section may use 2 funds received through the grant awarded under sub- 3 section (a)(1) to establish partnerships with medical train- 4 ing and public health programs, such as medical schools, 5 nursing schools, respiratory therapy programs, and com- 6 munity-based organizations, to recruit individuals to serve 7 as Federal public health reserve corps personnel. 8 (c) PRIORITY.—In establishing partnerships under 9 subsection (b), a State, local, or Tribal health department 10 that receives a grant under this section shall give priority 11 to institutions eligible to receive funding under section 371 12 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q). 13 (d) TRAINING.—The Secretary of Health and Human 14 Services shall establish, in consultation with the Secretary 15 of Defense, a national training program (in digital and 16 in-person formats) for individuals serving as Federal pub- 17 lic health reserve corps personnel with respect to respond- 18 ing to COVID–19, including necessary surge capacity and 19 activation on short notice in local communities, including 20 hot spot areas with 100 or more COVID–19 hospital ad- 21 missions. Any certification received for completion of any 22 such training shall not supersede any training required 23 under State law for public health personnel. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Aug 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7801.IH H7801 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7801 IH (e) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the date 1 on which the emergency period (as defined in section 2 1135(g)(1)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 3 1320b–5(g)(1)(B))) ends, and annually thereafter, the 4 Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit to 5 the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House 6 of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Edu- 7 cation, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate a report on the 8 state of the Federal public health reserve corps, includ- 9 ing— 10 (1) the rate of participation by members of ra- 11 cial and ethnic minority groups in such corps; 12 (2) specific occupations of corps personnel; 13 (3) careers attained after service in the corps; 14 and 15 (4) specific recommendations on the amount of 16 funding necessary for successful deployment of Fed- 17 eral heath reserve corps personnel during public 18 health emergencies. 19 (f) FEDERAL PUBLIC HEALTH RESERVE CORP.—In 20 this section, the term ‘‘Federal public health reserve 21 corps’’ includes— 22 (1) Federal public health and medical personnel 23 under the authority of the Secretary, including the 24 Ready Reserve Corps, the Regular Corps, the Na- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Aug 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7801.IH H7801 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7801 IH tional Disaster Medical System, the Medical Reserve 1 Corps, and the Emergency System for Advance Reg- 2 istration of Volunteer Health Professionals; 3 (2) personnel of the Federal Emergency Man- 4 agement Agency appointed under section 306(c) of 5 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer- 6 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5149); 7 (3) personnel of the Pandemic Community Re- 8 serve Corps; and 9 (4) members of the National Guard. 10 (g) STATE DEFINED.—In this section, the term 11 ‘‘State’’ has the meaning given that term in section 101 12 of title 38, United States Code. 13 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 14 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 15 $25,000,000,000 to remain available until expended. 16 SEC. 3. GRANTS TO ESTABLISH PANDEMIC COMMUNITY RE- 17 SERVE CORPS. 18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 19 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health 20 and Human Services, in consultation with the Office of 21 Minority Health and Health Equity of the Centers for Dis- 22 ease Control and Prevention, shall award grants to State, 23 local, and Tribal public health departments to establish 24 and operate a Pandemic Community Reserve Corps within 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Aug 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7801.IH H7801 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7801 IH the jurisdiction of such State, local, or Tribal public health 1 department for the purposes of— 2 (1) increasing diversity in recruitment of re- 3 serve corps personnel; 4 (2) ensuring a locally-sourced public health 5 workforce to supplement the existing State and Fed- 6 eral public health infrastructure; and 7 (3) assisting with testing, contact tracing, and 8 treatment of COVID–19. 9 (b) CONDITIONS.—The Secretary of Health and 10 Human Services shall, as a condition on the receipt of a 11 grant under this section, require that a State, local, or 12 Tribal public health department that receives a grant 13 under this section— 14 (1) requires that personnel of the Pandemic 15 Community Reserve Corps complete training under 16 the national program established under section 1(d); 17 and 18 (2) in establishing and operating a Pandemic 19 Community Reserve Corps, gives priority to dis- 20 located workers, the underemployed, youth, veterans, 21 and individuals with barriers to employment. 22 (c) REPORTS.— 23 (1) REPORTS TO SECRETARY.—Not later than 24 1 year after the date on which the first grant is 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Aug 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7801.IH H7801 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7801 IH awarded under this section, and annually thereafter, 1 each State, local, and Tribal public health depart- 2 ment receiving such a grant shall submit to the Sec- 3 retary of Health and Human Services a report on 4 the state of the Pandemic Community Reserve Corps 5 within the jurisdiction of such State, local, or Tribal 6 public health department, including— 7 (A) the rate of participation by members of 8 racial and ethnic minority groups in such corps; 9 (B) specific occupations of corps personnel; 10 (C) careers attained after service in the 11 corps; and 12 (D) specific recommendations on the 13 amount of funding necessary for successful de- 14 ployment of Pandemic Community Reserve 15 Corps personnel during public health emer- 16 gencies. 17 (2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 18 year after the date on which the emergency period 19 (as defined in section 1135(g)(1)(B) of the Social 20 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b–5(g)(1)(B))) ends, 21 and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Health and 22 Human Services shall submit to the Committee on 23 Energy and Commerce of the House of Representa- 24 tives and the Committee on Health, Education, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Aug 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7801.IH H7801 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7801 IH Labor, and Pensions of the Senate a report on the 1 state of the Pandemic Community Reserve Corps re- 2 ceiving funding pursuant to this section, including 3 the information specified in each of subparagraphs 4 (A) through (D) of paragraph (1). 5 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 6 (1) LOCALLY-SOURCED.—The term ‘‘locally- 7 sourced’’ means, with respect to personnel of a Pan- 8 demic Community Reserve Corps established pursu- 9 ant to subsection (a), individuals residing within the 10 community or communities served by that Pandemic 11 Community Reserve Corps that reflect the diversity 12 of such community or communities. 13 (2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean- 14 ing given that term in section 101 of title 38, United 15 States Code. 16 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 17 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 18 $50,000,000,000 to remain available until expended. 19 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Aug 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7801.IH H7801 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS