Federal Correctional Facilities COVID–19 Response Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8470 To establish procedures related to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID– 19) in correctional facilities. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 1, 2020 Ms. BARRAGA´N introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris- diction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish procedures related to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID–19) in correctional facilities. 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 ‘‘Federal Correctional 4 Facilities COVID–19 Response Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) CORRECTIONAL FACILITY.—The term ‘‘cor- 8 rectional facility’’ includes— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8470.IH H8470 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8470 IH (A) Federal prisons, including all prison, 1 correctional, and detention facilities run by the 2 Bureau of Prisons; and 3 (B) privately owned or privately operated 4 prison, correctional, and detention facilities con- 5 tracted by Federal entities, including the Bu- 6 reau of Prisons, to house Federal incarcerated 7 persons. 8 (2) CORRECTIONAL FACILITY EMPLOYEE.—The 9 term ‘‘correctional facility employee’’ means any in- 10 dividual employed at a correctional facility housing 11 Federal incarcerated persons, including— 12 (A) a Federal employee; 13 (B) an employee of a privately owned or 14 privately operated prison, correctional, or deten- 15 tion facility contracted by a Federal entity to 16 house Federal incarcerated persons; and 17 (C) an employee of a private company con- 18 tracted to provide goods and services at a cor- 19 rectional facility. 20 (3) COVID–19 DIAGNOSTIC TEST.—The term 21 ‘‘COVID–19 diagnostic test’’ means a test— 22 (A) that is an in vitro diagnostic product 23 (as defined in section 809.3 of title 21, Code of 24 Federal Regulations, or any successor thereto) 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8470.IH H8470 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8470 IH for the detection of SARS–CoV–2 or the diag- 1 nosis of the virus that causes COVID–19; and 2 (B) the administration of which— 3 (i) is approved, cleared, or authorized 4 under section 510(k), 513, 515, or 564 of 5 the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act 6 (21 U.S.C. 360(k), 360c, 360e, 360bbb–3); 7 (ii) the developer has requested, or in- 8 tends to request, emergency use authoriza- 9 tion under section 564 of the Federal 10 Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 11 360bbb–3), unless and until the emergency 12 use authorization request under such sec- 13 tion 564 has been denied or the developer 14 of such test does not submit a request 15 under such section within a reasonable 16 timeframe; 17 (iii) is developed in and authorized by 18 a State that has notified the Secretary of 19 Health and Human Services of its inten- 20 tion to review tests intended to diagnose 21 COVID–19; or 22 (iv) is another test that the Secretary 23 determines appropriate in guidance. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8470.IH H8470 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8470 IH (4) COVID–19 PANDEMIC.—The term ‘‘COVID– 1 19 pandemic’’ means the period beginning on the 2 date of enactment of this Act and ending on the 3 date that is 1 year after the date on which the pub- 4 lic health emergency declaration under section 319 5 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) 6 with respect to COVID–19 terminates. 7 (5) HIGH-RISK INCARCERATED PERSON.—The 8 term ‘‘high-risk incarcerated person’’ means an indi- 9 vidual who meets the definition of ‘‘incarcerated per- 10 son’’ under this section who— 11 (A) is 50 years old or older; 12 (B) has chronic kidney disease; 13 (C) has chronic obstructive pulmonary dis- 14 ease; 15 (D) is immunocompromised; 16 (E) has obesity; 17 (F) has a heart condition, such as coro- 18 nary artery disease or cardiomyopathy; 19 (G) has sickle cell disease; 20 (H) has type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus; 21 (I) has moderate to severe asthma; 22 (J) has cerebrovascular disease; 23 (K) has cystic fibrosis; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8470.IH H8470 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8470 IH (L) has hypertension or high blood pres- 1 sure; 2 (M) has a neurological condition such as 3 dementia or Parkinson’s Disease; 4 (N) has liver disease; 5 (O) is pregnant; 6 (P) has pulmonary fibrosis; 7 (Q) has thalassemia; 8 (R) is a smoker; 9 (S) has a disability; or 10 (T) meets any other characteristic identi- 11 fied by the Centers for Disease Control and 12 Prevention as putting individuals at increased 13 risk of developing severe illness from COVID– 14 19. 15 (6) INCARCERATED PERSON.—The term ‘‘incar- 16 cerated person’’ means an individual involuntarily 17 confined or detained in a correctional facility. 18 (7) SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF COVID–19.—The 19 term ‘‘signs and symptoms of COVID–19’’ means 20 fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or dif- 21 ficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, 22 headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, 23 congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, diar- 24 rhea, and any other medical condition or reaction 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8470.IH H8470 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8470 IH identified by the Centers for Disease Control and 1 Prevention as being a physical reaction to the con- 2 traction of the severe acute respiratory syndrome 3 coronavirus 2 (SARS–CoV–2). 4 SEC. 3. MANDATED COVID–19 TESTING AT CORRECTIONAL 5 FACILITIES. 6 (a) TESTING OF INCARCERATED PERSONS.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each correctional facility 8 shall— 9 (A) not later than 15 days after the date 10 of enactment of this Act— 11 (i) provide each incarcerated person in 12 the facility with the option to take a 13 COVID–19 diagnostic test, regardless of 14 whether the incarcerated person exhibits 15 symptoms of COVID–19, at no cost to the 16 incarcerated person; 17 (ii) provide each incarcerated person 18 with the results of the diagnostic test, re- 19 gardless of the results, including an inter- 20 pretation of what the test results mean in 21 the incarcerated person’s preferred lan- 22 guage; 23 (iii) provide each incarcerated person 24 who tests positive for COVID–19 with nec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8470.IH H8470 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8470 IH essary medical care (as outlined in the Na- 1 tional Institutes of Health COVID–19 2 Treatment Guidelines), including COVID– 3 19 tests to monitor recovery if indicated by 4 the Centers for Disease Control and Pre- 5 vention, and housing in a medical isolation 6 unit under the care of medical profes- 7 sionals, at no cost to the incarcerated per- 8 son; 9 (iv) place each asymptomatic incarcer- 10 ated person who is exposed to a positive 11 case in quarantine until testing is com- 12 pleted consistent with Centers for Disease 13 Control and Prevention guidance; and 14 (v) place each symptomatic incarcer- 15 ated person into medical isolation while 16 awaiting test results; and 17 (B) during the period beginning not later 18 than 45 days after the date of enactment of 19 this Act and ending on the last day of the 20 COVID–19 pandemic— 21 (i) conduct weekly COVID–19 diag- 22 nostic testing of incarcerated persons in 23 the facility in accordance with the guide- 24 lines developed under section 6, regardless 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8470.IH H8470 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8470 IH of whether such incarcerated persons ex- 1 hibit symptoms of COVID–19, at no cost 2 to incarcerated persons; 3 (ii) conduct COVID–19 diagnostic 4 testing for any incarcerated person with 5 COVID–19 symptoms, or for any incarcer- 6 ated person who is a close contact of a 7 known COVID–19 case, in accordance with 8 the guidelines developed under section 6; 9 (iii) provide each incarcerated person 10 with the results of the diagnostic tests, re- 11 gardless of the results, including an inter- 12 pretation of what the test results mean in 13 the incarcerated person’s preferred lan- 14 guage; 15 (iv) provide each incarcerated person 16 who tests positive for COVID–19 with nec- 17 essary medical care (as outlined in the Na- 18 tional Institutes of Health COVID–19 19 Treatment Guidelines), including COVID– 20 19 tests to monitor recovery if indicated by 21 the Centers for Disease Control and Pre- 22 vention, and housing in a medical isolation 23 unit under the care of medical profes- 24 sionals, at no cost to the incarcerated per- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8470.IH H8470 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8470 IH son, in accordance with the guidelines de- 1 veloped under section 6; 2 (v) quarantine each incarcerated per- 3 son exposed to a positive COVID–19 case 4 in accordance with the guidelines developed 5 under section 6; and 6 (vi) establish a procedure through 7 which incarcerated people can opt out of 8 COVID–19 testing, in accordance with the 9 guidelines developed under section 6. 10 (2) NEW ENTRANTS.—During the period begin- 11 ning not later than 45 days after the date of enact- 12 ment of this Act and ending on the last day of the 13 COVID–19 pandemic, each correctional facility 14 shall— 15 (A) provide each incarcerated person newly 16 admitted or transferred to the facility with an 17 optional COVID–19 diagnostic test within 24 18 hours of entering the facility, regardless of 19 whether the incarcerated person exhibits symp- 20 toms of COVID–19, at no cost to the incarcer- 21 ated person; and 22 (B) immediately quarantine each incarcer- 23 ated person newly admitted or transferred to 24 the facility within 24 hours of entering the fa- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8470.IH H8470 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8470 IH cility, consistent with Centers for Disease Con- 1 trol and Prevention guidance, until the incar- 2 cerated person has been confirmed to be nega- 3 tive for COVID–19, in accordance with the 4 guidelines developed under section 6. 5 (b) TESTING OF CORRECTIONAL FACILITY EMPLOY- 6 EES.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each correctional facility 8 shall— 9 (A) not later than 15 days after the date 10 of enactment of this Act— 11 (i) provide each correctional facility 12 employee with a required COVID–19 diag- 13 nostic test, regardless of whether the em- 14 ployee exhibits symptoms of COVID–19, at 15 no cost to the employee; and 16 (ii) provide each correctional facility 17 employee who tests positive for COVID–19 18 with unlimited paid administrative leave 19 for the purpose of recovering from 20 COVID–19, and no cost COVID–19 diag- 21 nostic testing for the purpose of moni- 22 toring recovery if indicated by the Centers 23 for Disease Control and Prevention, until 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8470.IH H8470 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8470 IH the employee tests negative for COVID–19; 1 and 2 (B) during the period beginning not later 3 than 45 days after the date of enactment of 4 this Act and ending on the last day of the 5 COVID–19 pandemic— 6 (i) conduct required weekly COVID– 7 19 diagnostic testing of each correctional 8 facility employee in the facility, in accord- 9 ance with the guidelines developed under 10 section 6, regardless of whether the em- 11 ployee exhibits symptoms of COVID–19, at 12 no cost to the employee; 13 (ii) provide each correctional facility 14 employee who tests positive for COVID–19 15 with unlimited paid leave for the purpose 16 of recovering from COVID–19, and no cost 17 COVID–19 diagnostic testing for the pur- 18 pose of monitoring recovery if indicated by 19 the Centers for Disease Control and Pre- 20 vention, until the employee tests negative 21 for COVID–19; and 22 (iii) provide each correctional facility 23 employee who is exposed to a positive 24 COVID–19 case with guaranteed paid 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8470.IH H8470 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 8470 IH leave to quarantine, consistent with Cen- 1 ters for Disease Control and Prevention 2 guidance, or until the employee has been 3 confirmed to be negative for COVID–19. 4 (c) PRIVACY.—Any data collected, stored, received, or 5 published under this section shall— 6 (1) be so collected, stored, received, or pub- 7 lished in a manner that protects the privacy of indi- 8 viduals whose information is included in the data; 9 (2) be deidentified or anonymized in a manner 10 that protects the identity of all individuals whose in- 11 formation is included in the data; 12 (3) comply with privacy protections provided 13 under the regulations promulgated under section 14 264(c) of the Health Insurance Portability and Ac- 15 countability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 1320d–2 note); 16 and 17 (4) be limited in use for the purpose of public 18 health and be protected from all other internal use 19 by any entity that collects, stores, or receives the 20 data, including use of the data in determinations of 21 eligibility (or continued eligibility) in health plans, 22 and from any other inappropriate uses. 23 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 24 authorized to be appropriated to relevant medical and pub- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8470.IH H8470 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 8470 IH lic officials such sums as are necessary to procure and ad- 1 minister the COVID–19 diagnostic tests and provide the 2 medical care required in this section. 3 SEC. 4. COVID–19 DATA COLLECTION AT CORRECTIONAL 4 FACILITIES. 5 (a) DATA COLLECTION.—During the period begin- 6 ning not later than 45 days after the date of enactment 7 of this Act and ending on the last day of the COVID– 8 19 pandemic, each correctional facility shall submit weekly 9 reports to the Department of Justice and [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]