Coronavirus Language Access Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4526 To ensure that COVID–19-related Federal programs and assistance provide for the translation of informational materials relating to awareness, screening, testing, and treatment for COVID–19 into priority languages. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES AUGUST 12, 2020 Ms. HIRONO (for herself, Mr. CASEY, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. BROWN, Ms. ROSEN, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. BOOKER, Ms. BALDWIN, and Mr. BLUMENTHAL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen- sions A BILL To ensure that COVID–19-related Federal programs and assistance provide for the translation of informational materials relating to awareness, screening, testing, and treatment for COVID–19 into priority languages. 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 ‘‘Coronavirus Language 4 Access Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Sep 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4526.IS S4526 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4526 IS (1) COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATION.—The 1 term ‘‘community-based organization’’ means an en- 2 tity that has established relationships with the com- 3 munities served by the entity, including especially 4 hard-to-reach populations, racial and ethnic minority 5 communities, individuals with limited English pro- 6 ficiency, and individuals with disabilities. 7 (2) CORONAVIRUS PUBLIC HEALTH EMER- 8 GENCY.—The term ‘‘coronavirus public health emer- 9 gency’’ means the public health emergency declared 10 by the Secretary pursuant to section 319 of the Pub- 11 lic Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) with respect 12 to COVID–19. 13 (3) CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE LAW.—The term 14 ‘‘coronavirus response law’’ means— 15 (A) the Coronavirus Preparedness and Re- 16 sponse Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020 17 (Public Law 116–123); 18 (B) the Families First Coronavirus Re- 19 sponse Act (Public Law 116–127); 20 (C) the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Eco- 21 nomic Security Act (Public Law 116–136); 22 (D) the Paycheck Protection Program and 23 Health Care Enhancement Act (Public Law 24 116–139); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Sep 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4526.IS S4526 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4526 IS (E) the Paycheck Protection Program 1 Flexibility Act (Public Law 116–142); and 2 (F) any subsequent Act enacted as a re- 3 sponse to a coronavirus public health emer- 4 gency. 5 (4) COVID–19.—The term ‘‘COVID–19’’ 6 means the novel coronavirus or SARS–CoV–2. 7 (5) PRIORITY LANGUAGES.—The term ‘‘priority 8 languages’’ means— 9 (A) in the case of Federal agencies, at a 10 minimum, the languages as identified by the 11 Federal Emergency Management Agency Lan- 12 guage Access Plan, dated October 1, 2016, as 13 the languages most frequently encountered, in- 14 cluding Spanish, Arabic, Cambodian, Chinese, 15 Haitian Creole, French, Hindi, Italian, Japa- 16 nese, Korean, Laotian, Russian, Tagalog, Urdu, 17 Vietnamese, Greek, Polish, Thai, and Por- 18 tuguese; or 19 (B) in the case of State agencies or grant 20 recipients operating in a State, at a minimum, 21 the 15 languages spoken with greatest fre- 22 quency by individuals with limited English pro- 23 ficiency in that State. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Sep 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4526.IS S4526 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4526 IS (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 1 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 2 (7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 3 the several States and the District of Columbia. 4 TITLE I—LANGUAGE ACCESS 5 SEC. 101. LANGUAGE ACCESS. 6 (a) REQUIREMENT OF PRIORITY LANGUAGE 7 USAGE.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any Federal agency that has 9 received funding under a coronavirus response law 10 shall ensure that all programs and opportunities 11 made available to the general public relating to 12 COVID–19 or the coronavirus public health emer- 13 gency provide translated materials, including audio 14 and video products, describing the programs and op- 15 portunities in priority languages (as defined in sec- 16 tion 2(5)(A)). 17 (2) APPLICATION OF REQUIREMENT.—This 18 subsection shall apply to each division, contractor, 19 and subcontractor of a Federal agency that is likely 20 to have contact with the public. 21 (3) AVAILABILITY.—Translation services re- 22 quired under this subsection shall be made available 23 not later than 7 business days after the date on 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Sep 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4526.IS S4526 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4526 IS which any such material is made available in 1 English. 2 (b) ORAL LANGUAGE ASSISTANCE SERVICES.—Any 3 Federal agency that has received funding under a 4 coronavirus response law shall provide oral language as- 5 sistance services and notice of the availability of services 6 relating to COVID–19 or the coronavirus public health 7 emergency to limited English proficient individuals in a 8 language they can understand. 9 (c) REPORT.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than January 1, 11 2021, the head of each Federal agency receiving 12 funding under a coronavirus response law shall sub- 13 mit to the Committees described in paragraph (2), 14 a report describing such agency’s compliance with 15 the requirements of this section. 16 (2) COMMITTEES.—The Committees described 17 in this section are the following: 18 (A) The Committee on Homeland Security 19 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate. 20 (B) The Committee on Health, Education, 21 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate. 22 (C) The Special Committee on Aging of 23 the Senate. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Sep 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4526.IS S4526 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4526 IS (D) The Committee on Finance of the Sen- 1 ate. 2 (E) The Committee on Appropriations of 3 the Senate. 4 (F) The Committee on the Judiciary of the 5 Senate. 6 (G) The Committee on Homeland Security 7 of the House of Representatives. 8 (H) The Committee on Energy and Com- 9 merce of the House of Representatives. 10 (I) The Committee on Financial Services 11 of the House of Representatives. 12 (J) The Committee on Ways and Means of 13 the House of Representatives. 14 (K) The Committee on Appropriations of 15 the House of Representatives. 16 (L) The Committee on the Judiciary of the 17 House of Representatives. 18 SEC. 102. GRANTS AND SERVICES FACILITATING ACCES- 19 SIBLE PUBLIC OUTREACH FOR PUBLIC 20 HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES. 21 (a) GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 23 through the Director of the Centers for Disease 24 Control and Prevention (referred to in this section 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Sep 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4526.IS S4526 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4526 IS as the ‘‘Director’’), shall award grants to, or enter 1 into cooperative agreements with, community-based 2 organizations and State, Tribal, local, and territorial 3 health departments for the following purposes: 4 (A) To support culturally and linguistically 5 appropriate preparedness, response, and recov- 6 ery activities targeted to individuals who speak 7 English less than very well in priority languages 8 (as defined in section 2(5)(B)). 9 (B) The development of educational pro- 10 grams and materials to promote screening, test- 11 ing, treatment, and public health practices in 12 non-English languages. 13 (C) The provision of interpretation services 14 to individuals receiving COVID–19 testing, 15 treatment, or vaccination services. 16 (D) The provision of subgrants to local 17 health departments or community-based organi- 18 zations for the purposes described in this para- 19 graph. 20 (2) PRIORITY.—The Director shall prioritize 21 grants and cooperative agreements under this sub- 22 section to entities in areas with higher rates of indi- 23 viduals with limited English proficiency and to enti- 24 ties with demonstrated experience serving those indi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Sep 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4526.IS S4526 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4526 IS viduals or who propose to provide subgrants to such 1 entities. 2 (b) TRANSLATION.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall provide 4 for the translation of materials on awareness of, and 5 screening, testing, and treatment for COVID–19 6 into priority languages for Federal, State, Tribal, 7 local, and territorial agencies. 8 (2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—Not later than 7 9 business days after the date on which the materials 10 described in paragraph (1) are made available to the 11 public in English, the Director shall ensure that the 12 translations required under such paragraph are 13 made available to the public. 14 (c) HOTLINE.—The Director shall establish an infor- 15 mational hotline, to be staffed by trained interpreters, to 16 provide information to the public concerning COVID–19. 17 (d) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—With respect to 18 individuals with limited English proficiency, the Director 19 shall facilitate interagency coordination among agencies 20 activated through the National Response Framework 21 based on the language access standards established under 22 the language access plans of the Federal Emergency Man- 23 agement Agency and the Department of Health and 24 Human Services. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Sep 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4526.IS S4526 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4526 IS (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 1 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 2 appropriated to carry out this section $200,000,000 3 for fiscal year 2020, to remain available until ex- 4 pended. 5 (2) GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREE- 6 MENTS.—Of the amount appropriated under para- 7 graph (1), not less than $150,000,000 shall be made 8 available to carry out subsection (a). 9 TITLE II—APPROPRIATIONS 10 SEC. 201. LANGUAGE ACCESS FOR OLDER INDIVIDUALS 11 WITH LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY. 12 The following sums are hereby appropriated, out of 13 any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 14 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, and for 15 other purposes, namely: 16 DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN 17 SERVICES 18 ADMINISTRATION FOR COMMUNITY LIVING 19 AGING AND DISABILITY SERVICES PROGRAMS 20 For an additional amount for ‘‘Aging and Disability 21 Services Programs’’, for carrying out the Older Americans 22 Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.) (‘‘OAA’’), 23 $20,000,000, to remain available through September 30, 24 2021, which shall be for making payments under title III 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Sep 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4526.IS S4526 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4526 IS of the OAA (42 U.S.C. 3021 et seq.) to States with State 1 plans approved under section 307 of the OAA (42 U.S.C. 2 3027), to be distributed to the States as described in sec- 3 tion 304(a) of the OAA (42 U.S.C. 3024(a)) to provide 4 services to support older individuals with limited English 5 proficiency in addressing concerns as a result of COVID– 6 19: Provided, That in carrying out the requirements in 7 the proviso under this heading, area agencies on aging 8 shall partner or contract with community-based organiza- 9 tions that provide translation and interpretation services 10 for older individuals with limited English proficiency: Pro- 11 vided further, That in seeking organizations with which 12 to enter into such partnerships or contracts, area agencies 13 on aging shall make an effort to include organizations that 14 assist older individuals speaking the most spoken non- 15 English language in the planning and service area served 16 by the area agency on aging and older individuals speaking 17 the least spoken non-English language in such area: Pro- 18 vided further, That the services provided under the proviso 19 under this heading shall include services to provide older 20 individuals with limited English proficiency with (1) the 21 most up-to-date information on public health concerns and 22 suggested precautions related to COVID–19 and related 23 issues, (2) one-on-one assistance to help older individuals 24 with limited English proficiency understand eligibility re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Sep 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4526.IS S4526 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4526 IS quirements for available Federal, State, and local benefits 1 and services, to translate applications and provide oral in- 2 terpretations necessary to receive such benefits and serv- 3 ices and provide oral interpretations necessary to receive 4 such benefits and services, and to provide other supportive 5 services for such individuals to access such benefits and 6 services, and (3) related public awareness campaigns, re- 7 lated to COVID–19 and related issues, in non-English lan- 8 guages: Provided further, That each State agency receiving 9 funding described in the proviso under this heading shall 10 report to the Assistant Secretary for Aging on the number 11 of individuals receiving the services supported by such 12 funding, number of services provided by type, and the lan- 13 guages spoken by the individuals receiving such services: 14 Provided further, That the amount appropriated under 15 this heading is designated by Congress as being for an 16 emergency requirement pursuant to section 17 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency 18 Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(A)(i)). 19 SEC. 202. INFORMATION AND TRANSLATION THROUGH 20 STATEWIDE INDEPENDENT COUNCILS. 21 The following sums are hereby appropriated, out of 22 any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 23 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, and for 24 other purposes, namely: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Sep 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4526.IS S4526 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 4526 IS DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN 1 SERVICES 2 ADMINISTRATION FOR COMMUNITY LIVING 3 AGING AND DISABILITY SERVICES PROGRAMS 4 (STATEWIDE INDEPENDENT LIVING COUNCILS) 5 For an additional amount for ‘‘Aging and Disability 6 Services Programs’’, for carrying out title VII of the Reha- 7 bilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 796 et seq.), 8 $10,000,000, to remain available through Septemb [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]