The Dr. Joseph Costa Honoring Essential Americans Risking Their Safety Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8245 To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make payments to hospitals in COVID–19 hot spots to provide hero pay to eligible workers, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 14, 2020 Mr. RUPPERSBERGER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Education and Labor, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subse- quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make payments to hospitals in COVID–19 hot spots to provide hero pay to eligible workers, 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. 3 This Act may be cited as ‘‘The Dr. Joseph Costa 4 Honoring Essential Americans Risking Their Safety Act 5 of 2020’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:33 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8245.IH H8245 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8245 IH SEC. 2. HERO PAY FOR ELIGIBLE WORKERS AT HOSPITALS 1 IN COVID–19 HOT SPOTS. 2 (a) HERO PAYMENTS.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of 4 appropriations, the Secretary of Health and Human 5 Services (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Sec- 6 retary’’) shall make a payment to each eligible hos- 7 pital to provide hero pay to each eligible worker of 8 the hospital. 9 (2) ELIGIBLE HOSPITALS.—To be eligible to 10 seek a payment under this section, a hospital shall— 11 (A) be located in an area that is or was a 12 COVID–19 hot spot identified pursuant to sub- 13 section (b); and 14 (B) submit an application at such time, in 15 such manner, and containing such information 16 and assurances as the Secretary may require. 17 (3) ELIGIBLE WORKERS.—To be eligible to re- 18 ceive hero pay pursuant to this section, a worker 19 shall— 20 (A) be a health care professional (including 21 individuals charged with assisting in health care 22 services, the nonmedical care of patients, or 23 maintaining order and cleanliness) serving as 24 the employee or agent of a hospital receiving a 25 payment under this section; and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:33 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8245.IH H8245 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8245 IH (B) provide treatment or other applicable 1 services at the hospital directly to patients with 2 COVID–19. 3 (4) PAYMENT PERIOD.—A hospital receiving a 4 payment under this section may provide hero pay to 5 a worker under this section only with respect to 6 months during which— 7 (A) the hospital is located, for any number 8 of days, in a COVID–19 hot spot identified 9 pursuant to subsection (b); and 10 (B) the worker provides treatment or other 11 applicable services, as described in paragraph 12 (3), for a minimum of 10 work days. 13 (5) PAYMENT AMOUNT.—The amount of the 14 hero pay with respect to an eligible worker shall 15 be— 16 (A) $110 for March, 2020, if the payment 17 period for such worker includes such month; 18 and 19 (B) $225 for any other applicable month. 20 (6) EXCLUSION FROM GROSS INCOME.—For 21 purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 22 gross income shall not include hero pay under this 23 section. 24 (b) IDENTIFICATION OF HOT SPOTS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:33 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8245.IH H8245 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8245 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this section, 1 the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 2 Prevention (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Direc- 3 tor’’) shall identify all COVID–19 hot spots in the 4 United States. 5 (2) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term 6 ‘‘COVID–19 hot spot’’ means an area— 7 (A) for which a State declaration of emer- 8 gency is in effect in connection with COVID– 9 19; and 10 (B) that has, as determined by the Direc- 11 tor, a high rate of hospitalization associated 12 with COVID–19. 13 SEC. 3. VOLUNTARY REGISTRY OF CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS 14 WHO WORK AT HIGH RISK DURING COVID–19 15 PANDEMIC. 16 (a) REGISTRY OF EMPLOYEES AT RISK OF COVID– 17 19.—Beginning not later than 180 days after the date of 18 the enactment of this Act, acting through the Director of 19 the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 20 shall maintain a registry of individuals who worked, dur- 21 ing the emergency period, as a physician, nurse, or non- 22 physician health care specialist in a hospital or COVID– 23 19 alternative care site. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:33 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8245.IH H8245 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8245 IH (b) CONSENT REQUIRED FOR INCLUSION.—The Di- 1 rector shall— 2 (1) include an individual in the registry under 3 this section only with the individual’s consent; and 4 (2) allow individuals in the registry, at any 5 time, to opt out of the registry under this section 6 and health monitoring under subsection (d). 7 (c) GRANTS TO STATES.—The Director may award 8 grants to States to encourage and facilitate the inclusion 9 of eligible individuals in the registry under this section. 10 (d) HEALTH MONITORING.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning not later than 12 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 13 the Director shall monitor the health of the individ- 14 uals in the registry under this section who, at some 15 point during or after the emergency period, tested 16 positive through diagnostic or serological testing for 17 a present or past infection with the virus that causes 18 COVID–19. 19 (2) DURATION.—Subject to subsection (b)(2), 20 in carrying out monitoring under paragraph (1), the 21 Director shall, with respect to each individual in the 22 registry under this section, conduct such monitoring 23 for the lifetime of the individual. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:33 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8245.IH H8245 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8245 IH (e) PRIVACY REQUIREMENTS.—The data collection 1 and analysis necessary for the registry under this section 2 and monitoring under subsection (d) shall be conducted 3 and maintained in a manner that protects the confiden- 4 tiality of individually identifiable health information con- 5 sistent with applicable statutes and regulations, including, 6 as applicable, HIPAA privacy and security law (as defined 7 in section 3009(a)(2) of the Public Health Service Act (42 8 U.S.C. 300jj–19(a)(2)) and section 552a of title 5, United 9 States Code. 10 (f) AVAILABILITY FOR RESEARCH.—Subject to sub- 11 section (e), in addition to using the registry under this 12 subsection for health monitoring under subsection (d), the 13 Director shall make the information in the registry avail- 14 able to researchers for public health research. 15 (g) PRELIMINARY REPORT.—Not later than 180 days 16 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director 17 shall submit to Congress a preliminary report on overall 18 health outcomes of individuals in the registry under sub- 19 section (a), including— 20 (1) recommendations on best practices for pro- 21 tecting workers described in subsection (a) during 22 the COVID–19 pandemic; and 23 (2) recommendations on how to compensate in- 24 dividuals in the registry under subsection (a) for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:33 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8245.IH H8245 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8245 IH health care costs, which may include costs for acute 1 and chronic conditions and mental health conditions, 2 that develop as a result of contracting the virus that 3 causes COVID–19. 4 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 5 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 6 the Director of the National Institute of Occupa- 7 tional Safety and Health. 8 (2) EMERGENCY PERIOD.—The term ‘‘emer- 9 gency period’’ has the meaning given to that term 10 in section 1135(g)(1)(B) of the Social Security Act 11 (42 U.S.C. 1320b–5(g)(1)(B)) 12 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 13 the several States and the District of Columbia. 14 SEC. 4. LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR SERVICE IN A LONG-TERM 15 CARE OR NURSING HOME FACILITY. 16 (a) IN GENERAL.—During a qualifying COVID–19 17 emergency, the Secretary of Education or the Secretary 18 of Health and Human Services, as applicable, shall repay 19 or cancel 10 percent of the outstanding balance of prin- 20 cipal and interest due on the eligible Federal loans and 21 the private education loans of a borrower for each 6-month 22 period of service completed by the borrower. 23 (b) LIMITATION.—The total amount of loans of a 24 borrower repaid or cancelled under paragraph (1) may not 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:33 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8245.IH H8245 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8245 IH exceed 50 percent of the outstanding balance of principal 1 and interest due on such loans on the first day of the first 2 6-month period of service with respect to which such loans 3 are repaid or cancelled. 4 (c) TREATMENT UNDER IRC.—The amount of a 5 loan, and interest on a loan, which is canceled or repaid 6 under this section shall not be considered income to the 7 borrower for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 8 1986. 9 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 10 (1) ELIGIBLE FEDERAL LOAN.—The term ‘‘eli- 11 gible Federal loan’’ means— 12 (A) made, insured, or guaranteed under 13 part B, part D, or part E of title IV of the 14 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1071 15 et seq., 1087a et seq., or 1087aa et seq.); 16 (B) made under subpart II of part A of 17 title VII of the Public Health Service Act (42 18 U.S.C. 292q et seq.); or 19 (C) made under part E of title VIII of the 20 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 297a et 21 seq.). 22 (2) QUALIFYING COVID–19 EMERGENCY.—The 23 term ‘‘qualifying COVID–19 emergency’’ has the 24 meaning given to the term ‘‘qualifying emergency’’ 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:33 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8245.IH H8245 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8245 IH in section 3502(a) of the CARES Act (Public Law 1 116–136). 2 (3) PERIOD OF SERVICE.—The term ‘‘period of 3 service’’, used with respect to a borrower, means a 4 period in which the borrower— 5 (A) is employed in a long-term care facil- 6 ity, nursing home facility, skilled nursing facil- 7 ity, or post-acute care facility located in a juris- 8 diction with respect to which a qualifying 9 COVID–19 emergency has been declared; and 10 (B) provides care directly to an individual 11 in such facility at least 10 days per month. 12 (4) PRIVATE EDUCATION LOAN.—The term 13 ‘‘private education loan’’ has the meaning given such 14 term under section 140(a) of the Truth in Lending 15 Act. 16 SEC. 5. GRANTS FOR PROFESSIONAL TRAINING. 17 (a) GRANT AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of Health 18 and Human Services shall pay to each eligible individual 19 who submits an application under subsection (b), a grant 20 equal to 50 percent of the cost of the tuition and fees for 21 eligible professional training, which may not exceed 22 $1,000 per individual. 23 (b) APPLICATION.—To receive a grant under this sec- 24 tion, an eligible individual shall submit an application to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:33 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8245.IH H8245 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8245 IH the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con- 1 taining such information as the Secretary may require, 2 which shall include an agreement to commit to employ- 3 ment, for not less than a 2-year period after receiving the 4 eligible professional training for which the grant is award- 5 ed, at a long-term care facility, nursing home facility, 6 skilled nursing facility, or post-acute care facility and at 7 which the individual will provide care directly to an indi- 8 vidual in such facility at least 10 days per month for such 9 2-year period. 10 (c) REPAYMENT.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—In the event that an eligible 12 individual fails or refuses to comply with the employ- 13 ment commitment under subsection (b), the sum of 14 the amounts of any grant received by such individual 15 may, upon a determination of such a failure or re- 16 fusal in such employment commitment, be subject to 17 repayment, together with interest thereon accruing 18 from the date of the grant award, in accordance 19 with terms and conditions specified by the Secretary 20 in regulations under this section. 21 (2) EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES.—The Sec- 22 retary may waive any repayment requirement under 23 paragraph (1) in the event of extenuating cir- 24 cumstances. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:33 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8245.IH H8245 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8245 IH (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 1 (1) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘eligible 2 individual’’ means an individual who is employed, 3 and provides the care, as described in section 4 4(d)(3). 5 (2) ELIGIBLE PROFESSIONAL TRAINING.—The 6 term ‘‘eligible professional training’’ means training 7 that leads to a recognized postsecondary credential 8 for a health care career in a long-term care facility, 9 nursing home facility, skilled nursing facility, or 10 post-acute care facility. 11 (3) RECOGNIZED POSTSECONDARY CREDEN- 12 TIAL.—The term ‘‘recognized postsecondary creden- 13 tial’’ has the meaning given the term in section 3 of 14 the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 15 U.S.C. 3102). 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:33 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H8245.IH H8245 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS