RECOVERY Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4537 To provide for economic recovery, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 8, 2020 Mr. CRUZ introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To provide for economic recovery, 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, ETC. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Reinvigorating the Economy, Creating Opportunity for 5 every Vocation, Employer, Retiree & Youth Act’’ or the 6 ‘‘RECOVERY Act’’. 7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 8 this Act is as follows: 9 Sec. 1. Short title, etc. TITLE I—SAFELY RETURNING PEOPLE TO WORK: EMPLOYMENT AND THE WORKPLACE Subtitle A—Workplace Safety VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:48 Sep 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S4537.IS S4537 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4537 IS Sec. 101. Establishment of tax credit for employee testing for COVID–19. Sec. 102. Right to test. Sec. 103. Safe and healthy workplace tax credit. Sec. 104. Improvements to the pandemic emergency unemployment compensa- tion program. Sec. 105. Income exclusion for certain amounts received in 2020. Sec. 106. Inclusion of equipment, systems, and technologies to combat the spread of pathogens in the definition of airport development of a public-use airport. Subtitle B—Coronavirus Liability Relief Sec. 111. Short title. Sec. 112. Findings and purposes. Sec. 113. Definitions. PART I—LIABILITY RELIEF SUBPART A—LIABILITY LIMITATIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS AND ENTITIES ENGAGED IN BUSINESSES, SERVICES, ACTIVITIES, OR ACCOMMODATIONS Sec. 121. Application of subpart. Sec. 122. Liability; safe harbor. SUBPART B—LIABILITY LIMITATIONS FOR HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS Sec. 131. Application of subpart. Sec. 132. Liability for health care professionals and health care facilities during coronavirus public health emergency. SUBPART C—SUBSTANTIVE AND PROCEDURAL PROVISIONS FOR CORONAVIRUS- RELATED ACTIONS GENERALLY Sec. 141. Jurisdiction. Sec. 142. Limitations on suits. Sec. 143. Procedures for suit in district courts of the United States. Sec. 144. Demand letters; cause of action. SUBPART D—RELATION TO LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT LAWS Sec. 151. Limitation on violations under specific laws. Sec. 152. Liability for conducting testing at workplace. Sec. 153. Joint employment and independent contracting. Sec. 154. Exclusion of certain notification requirements as a result of the COVID–19 public health emergency. PART II—PRODUCTS Sec. 161. Applicability of the targeted liability protections for pandemic and epidemic products and security countermeasures with respect to COVID–19. PART III—GENERAL PROVISIONS Sec. 171. Severability. TITLE II—THE NEXT GREAT AMERICAN ECONOMIC RECOVERY: JOB CREATION VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Sep 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S4537.IS S4537 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4537 IS Sec. 201. Expensing of certain property. Sec. 202. Temporary suspension of payroll taxes. Sec. 203. Onshoring Rare Earths Act. Sec. 204. Eligibility of 501(c)(6) organizations for loans under the paycheck protection program. Sec. 205. LIFT UP Act. Sec. 206. REINS Act. Sec. 207. Bank Regulatory Relief. Sec. 208. Congressional review for coronavirus regulations. Sec. 209. BEAT CHINA Act. Sec. 210. Funding for SPR Petroleum Account. Sec. 211. Expansion of research credit for qualified small businesses. Sec. 212. Extension of aviation excise tax holiday. TITLE III—ESTABLISHING LONG-TERM RETIREMENT SECURITY Sec. 301. Allowance of delay in making 2020 retirement contributions. Sec. 302. Conversion of certain 2020 distributions to qualified loans for pur- poses of CARES Act. Sec. 303. Indexing of certain assets for purposes of determining gain or loss. Sec. 304. Retirement freedom. TITLE IV—FOR OUR CHILDREN: SAFELY RETURNING KIDS TO SCHOOL Sec. 401. Education Freedom Scholarships and Opportunity. Sec. 402. Helping parents educate children during the coronavirus pandemic. Sec. 403. Safe School Student Protective Equipment Tax Credit. TITLE V—DRIVING COVID CURES & TREATMENT INNOVATION Sec. 501. Results for coronavirus patients. Sec. 502. Equal access to care. Sec. 503. Pandemic health care access. Sec. 504. Bilateral cooperative agreement. Sec. 505. Price transparency requirements. Sec. 506. Affordable health care options. Sec. 507. Increasing access to tax-free care. Sec. 508. Access to direct medical care. TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS Sec. 601. Preventing discrimination against religious individuals and institu- tions. Sec. 602. RECLAIM Act. Sec. 603. Above-the-line deduction for charitable contributions for individuals not itemizing deductions. Sec. 604. Sunset of CARES Act spending. Sec. 605. Sunset of programs and facilities of the Federal Reserve. VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Sep 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S4537.IS S4537 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4537 IS TITLE I—SAFELY RETURNING 1 PEOPLE TO WORK: EMPLOY- 2 MENT AND THE WORKPLACE 3 Subtitle A—Workplace Safety 4 SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF TAX CREDIT FOR EMPLOYEE 5 TESTING FOR COVID–19. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 38 of the 7 Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the COVID–19 employee 8 testing credit shall be treated as a credit listed at the end 9 of subsection (b) of such section. For purposes of this sub- 10 section, the COVID–19 employee testing credit is an 11 amount equal to the product of— 12 (1) the number of qualified COVID–19 tests 13 administered to any employee of the taxpayer after 14 the date of enactment of this Act and before Janu- 15 ary 1, 2021; and 16 (2) $150. 17 (b) LIMITATION.—For purposes of paragraph (1) of 18 subsection (a), the credit allowed under such subsection 19 shall not include any tests which are in excess of one quali- 20 fied COVID–19 test for each employee for every 2 cal- 21 endar weeks during calendar year 2020. 22 (c) QUALIFIED COVID–19 TEST.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this section, 24 the term ‘‘qualified COVID–19 test’’ means— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:48 Sep 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4537.IS S4537 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4537 IS (A) any diagnostic test for the detection of 1 the virus SARS–CoV–2 or coronavirus disease 2 2019 (COVID–19); or 3 (B) any serology test for the detection of 4 antibodies to such virus, 5 which has been cleared or approved by the Food and 6 Drug Administration or by the public health depart- 7 ment of a State (or such other State entity as des- 8 ignated by the governor of the State) for such pur- 9 pose and which is not provided to an employee after 10 the date on which such employee has tested positive 11 for the virus described in subparagraph (A) or the 12 antibodies described in subparagraph (B). 13 (2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sec- 14 tion— 15 (A) COVID–19.—References to COVID– 16 19 include a reference to any other coronavirus 17 with pandemic potential. 18 (B) EMPLOYEE, EMPLOYER.—The terms 19 ‘‘employee’’ and ‘‘employer’’ have the respective 20 meanings given such terms in section 101 of 21 the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 22 U.S.C. 12111). 23 (3) CLARIFICATION.—A qualified COVID–19 24 test shall be considered to be a medical examination 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:48 Sep 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4537.IS S4537 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4537 IS that is job-related and consistent with business ne- 1 cessity, for purposes of section 102(d) of the Ameri- 2 cans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 3 12112(d)). It shall not be unlawful under section 4 102(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 12112(d)) for an em- 5 ployer to require such a test of an employee. 6 (d) ALLOWANCE OF DEDUCTION.—Nothing in this 7 section or the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall pro- 8 hibit any deduction which is otherwise allowable with re- 9 spect to any expense incurred by the taxpayer for the ac- 10 quisition or purchase of any COVID–19 test which is 11 taken into account under subsection (a). 12 SEC. 102. RIGHT TO TEST. 13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding chapter V of the 14 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 351 15 et seq.) and section 353 of the Public Health Service Act 16 (42 U.S.C. 263a), during any public health emergency de- 17 clared by the Secretary of Health and Human Services 18 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) under sec- 19 tion 319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 20 247d) or by a State in accordance with the law of the 21 State, the public health department of such State (or such 22 other State entity as designated by the governor of the 23 State) may clear or approve diagnostic tests or diagnostic 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:48 Sep 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4537.IS S4537 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4537 IS devices, for use in that State during the applicable public 1 health emergency only. 2 (b) APPLICATION.—An approval or clearance pursu- 3 ant to subsection (a) may— 4 (1) allow for the preparation, compounding, as- 5 sembly, propagation, manufacture, development, 6 sale, distribution, or use of a specified diagnostic 7 test or diagnostic device to address the health diag- 8 nostic needs of the State during the public health 9 emergency; 10 (2) apply to a diagnostic test or diagnostic de- 11 vice needed to address the health diagnostic needs of 12 the State during the public health emergency, as de- 13 termined by the State, including, but not limited to, 14 a test or device that uses reagents or swabbing (in- 15 cluding self-swab); 16 (3) apply to the testing of patients if the State 17 certifies that the test can be validated, as deter- 18 mined by the State; and 19 (4) apply to laboratory-developed tests per- 20 formed by laboratories and hospitals certified under 21 section 353 of the Public Health Service Act (42 22 U.S.C. 263a), and to such tests performed by clin- 23 ical laboratory companies. 24 (c) SUSPENSION ENFORCEMENT BY FDA.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:48 Sep 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4537.IS S4537 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4537 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para- 1 graph (1), with respect to a diagnostic test or diag- 2 nostic device approved or cleared by a State pursu- 3 ant to subsection (a), the Secretary may not, for the 4 duration of the applicable public health emergency 5 engage in any enforcement action— 6 (A) with respect to the test or device, to 7 the extent that such test or device is distributed 8 and used within the State granting the approval 9 or clearance in accordance with the require- 10 ments of the State; 11 (B) against a State or State entity that 12 clears or approves the test or device in accord- 13 ance with this section; or 14 (C) against any State, entity of a State, 15 health care provider, health care facility, labora- 16 tory, educational institution, manufacturer, or 17 distributor that prepares, propagates, com- 18 pounds, assembles, or processes a diagnostic 19 test or diagnostic device by chemical, physical, 20 biological, or other procedure for such test or 21 device or develops, manufactures, distributes, 22 sells, administers, or evaluates such test— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:48 Sep 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4537.IS S4537 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4537 IS (i) within the applicable State in ac- 1 cordance with the requirements of the 2 State; or 3 (ii) for the applicable State or individ- 4 uals or entities that are located within the 5 applicable State. 6 (2) EXCEPTION.—The provisions of paragraph 7 (1) shall not apply with respect to a State if the gov- 8 ernor of the State requests that enforcement con- 9 tinue in the State during the public health emer- 10 gency. 11 (d) ACTION BY FDA AFTER PUBLIC HEALTH EMER- 12 GENCY.—Not later than 180 days after the end of any 13 public health emergency under which a State exercises its 14 authority under subsection (a) with respect to a diagnostic 15 test or diagnostic device, if the Food and Drug Adminis- 16 tration has not cleared or approved such test or device 17 under chapter V of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic 18 Act, the Secretary shall review and make a final deter- 19 mination, within such 180-day period, with respect to such 20 test or device for clearance or approval. 21 (e) DIAGNOSTIC TESTS AND DIAGNOSTIC DE- 22 VICES.—In this section, the terms ‘‘diagnostic test’’ and 23 ‘‘diagnostic device’’ include in vitro diagnostic products, 24 laboratory developed tests, viral tests, serological and anti- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:48 Sep 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4537.IS S4537 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4537 IS body tests, and any other test used to identify, analyze, 1 or investigate a disease. 2 SEC. 103. SAFE AND HEALTHY WORKPLACE TAX CREDIT. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an employer, there 4 shall be allowed as a credit against applicable employment 5 taxes for each calendar quarter an amount equal to 50 6 percent of the sum of— 7 (1) the qualified employee protection expenses, 8 (2) the qualified workplace reconfiguration ex- 9 penses, and 10 (3) the qualified workplace technology expenses, 11 paid or incurred by the employer during such calendar 12 quarter. 13 (b) LIMITATIONS AND REFUNDABILITY.— 14 (1) OVERALL DOLLAR LIMITATION ON CRED- 15 IT.— 16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The amount of the 17 credit allowed under subsection (a) with respect 18 to any employer for any calendar quarter shall 19 not exceed the excess (if any) of— 20 (i) the applicable dollar limit with re- 21 spect to such employer for such calendar 22 quarter, over 23 (ii) the aggregate credits allowed 24 under subsection (a) with respect to such 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:48 Sep 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4537.IS S4537 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4537 IS employer for all preceding calendar quar- 1 ters. 2 (B) APPLICABLE DOLLAR LIMIT.—The 3 term ‘‘applicable dollar limit’’ means, with re- 4 spect to any employer for any calendar quarter, 5 the sum of— 6 (i) $1,000, multiplied by the average 7 number of employees employed by such 8 employer during such calendar quarter not 9 in excess of 500, plus 10 (ii) $750, multiplied by such average 11 number of employees in excess of 500 but 12 not in excess of 1,000, plus 13 (iii) $500, multiplied by such average 14 [Text truncated for display. 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