Encouraging Masks for All Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4948 To provide funds for addressing COVID–19 conditioned on requiring the use of face coverings in public, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES DECEMBER 2, 2020 Mr. MARKEY (for himself and Mr. BLUMENTHAL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Edu- cation, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To provide funds for addressing COVID–19 conditioned on requiring the use of face coverings in public, 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 ‘‘Encouraging Masks 4 for All Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) The widespread use of face coverings by the 8 public is essential to help slow the spread of the 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:20 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4948.IS S4948 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4948 IS virus that causes COVID–19 and help prevent the 1 transmission of such virus by individuals who do not 2 show symptoms. 3 (2) The Government has an interest in encour- 4 aging the use of face coverings in public and each 5 place of business to protect the health of populations 6 that are at a higher risk of developing severe illness 7 from COVID–19, including— 8 (A) the immunocompromised; 9 (B) individuals who are 65 years of age or 10 older; and 11 (C) individuals living with chronic lung dis- 12 ease, moderate to severe asthma, serious heart 13 conditions, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, se- 14 vere obesity, or liver disease. 15 (3) Overwhelming scientific evidence has shown 16 that face coverings block a high portion of res- 17 piratory droplets that spread the virus that causes 18 COVID–19. 19 (4) Evidence from an international cross-dis- 20 ciplinary review of scientific research has shown 21 that— 22 (A) using a face covering in public is most 23 effective at reducing the spread of COVID–19 24 when compliance is high; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:20 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4948.IS S4948 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4948 IS (B) transmission in a community is sub- 1 stantially lower when individuals are required to 2 use a face covering or where the use of a face 3 covering is widespread. 4 (5) The widespread use of face coverings sub- 5 stantially reduces the number of fatalities, the cases 6 of severe illness, and continued economic losses that 7 result from transmission of the virus that causes 8 COVID–19. 9 (6) The widespread use of face coverings is nec- 10 essary (but not by itself sufficient) to slow the 11 spread of the virus that causes COVID–19 and 12 should be promoted along with regular handwashing, 13 social distancing, testing, and minimizing non- 14 essential activities outside of the household. 15 SEC. 3. USE OF FACE COVERINGS IN PUBLIC. 16 (a) CONDITIONAL FUNDING WITH RESPECT TO 17 FACE COVERINGS.— 18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 19 Human Services (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Sec- 20 retary’’), acting through the Director of the Centers 21 for Disease Control and Prevention, using amounts 22 appropriated under paragraph (3), shall award a 23 grant to each State, territory, local government, and 24 Tribal government that, during the emergency pe- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:20 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4948.IS S4948 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4948 IS riod, subject to the exceptions under paragraph (2), 1 requires the use of face coverings in public (includ- 2 ing in each place of business) in the respective juris- 3 diction, consistent with public health guidelines 4 issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Pre- 5 vention. The grants awarded under this paragraph 6 shall be in such amount as the Secretary determines 7 appropriate, and shall be used by the recipient for 8 purposes of carrying out activities related to the pre- 9 vention of the transmission of COVID–19 in the ap- 10 plicable jurisdiction. 11 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—The face covering require- 12 ment of a State, territory, local government, or Trib- 13 al government described in paragraph (1) may pro- 14 vide for exceptions with respect to— 15 (A) outdoor spaces where individuals may 16 maintain a distance of at least 6 feet from 17 other individuals who are not members of the 18 same household; 19 (B) any individual who— 20 (i) is under 2 years of age; 21 (ii) has a medical condition in which 22 wearing a face covering could obstruct the 23 ability of the individual to breathe; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:20 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4948.IS S4948 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4948 IS (iii) is unable to remove a face cov- 1 ering without assistance; or 2 (iv) is receiving a service that requires 3 temporary removal of the face covering, in- 4 cluding a service with respect to a food or 5 beverage; or 6 (C) other circumstances, as determined by 7 the Secretary, provided that any exception 8 under this subparagraph shall be approved by 9 the Director of the Centers for Disease Control 10 and Prevention and the Director of the Na- 11 tional Institute of Allergy and Infectious Dis- 12 ease. 13 (3) APPROPRIATIONS.— 14 (A) IN GENERAL.—There are hereby ap- 15 propriated to the Public Health and Social 16 Services Emergency Fund, out of amounts in 17 the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 18 $5,000,000,000, for transfer to the Secretary 19 for the purpose of awarding grants under para- 20 graph (1). 21 (B) EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.— 22 (i) IN GENERAL.—The amounts pro- 23 vided by this paragraph are designated as 24 an emergency requirement pursuant to sec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:20 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4948.IS S4948 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4948 IS tion 4(g) of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go 1 Act of 2010 (2 U.S.C. 933(g)). 2 (ii) DESIGNATION IN SENATE.—In the 3 Senate, this paragraph is designated as an 4 emergency requirement pursuant to section 5 4112(a) of H. Con. Res. 71 (115th Con- 6 gress), the concurrent resolution on the 7 budget for fiscal year 2018. 8 (b) GRANTS TO PROMOTE FACE COVERINGS.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 10 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 11 may award grants to States, territories, and Tribal 12 governments to promote access to, and use of, face 13 coverings for the purpose of minimizing the risk of 14 exposure to COVID–19, including installing face 15 covering dispensers in public. 16 (2) APPLICATION.—To be eligible for a grant 17 under this section, a State, territory, and Tribal gov- 18 ernment shall submit to the Secretary an application 19 at such time, in such form, and containing such in- 20 formation as the Secretary determines appropriate, 21 including a certification that the State will meet the 22 requirements under paragraph (3). 23 (3) USE OF FUNDS.—A State, territory, and 24 Tribal government that receives a grant under this 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:20 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4948.IS S4948 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4948 IS section shall use grant funds to promote access to 1 face coverings for the purpose of minimizing the risk 2 of exposure to COVID–19 in accordance with— 3 (A) guidelines determined necessary by the 4 Secretary; and 5 (B) guidelines provided by the Centers for 6 Disease Control and Prevention with respect to 7 the use of face coverings. 8 (4) APPROPRIATIONS.—There is authorized to 9 be appropriated to carry out this section 10 $75,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2021 11 through 2022. 12 (c) DEFINITIONS.— 13 (1) EMERGENCY PERIOD.—The term ‘‘emer- 14 gency period’’ has the meaning given such term in 15 section 1135(g)(1)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 16 U.S.C. 1320b–5(g)(1)(B)). 17 (2) FACE COVERING.—The term ‘‘face cov- 18 ering’’ means any material that covers the nose and 19 mouth of an individual. 20 SEC. 4. FACE COVERINGS REQUIRED IN FEDERAL FACILI- 21 TIES. 22 (a) FACE COVERINGS REQUIRED.—Each Federal 23 agency shall take action to ensure that an individual is 24 required to wear a face covering if such individual is— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:20 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4948.IS S4948 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4948 IS (1) inside a Federal facility under the jurisdic- 1 tion of such agency; and 2 (2) within 6 feet of another individual. 3 (b) ENFORCEMENT.—A Federal agency may remove 4 or deny service to an individual who fails to wear a face 5 covering in accordance with subsection (a). 6 (c) PROVISION OF FACE COVERINGS.—Each Federal 7 agency shall make face coverings available at each en- 8 trance to a Federal facility at which such agency main- 9 tains a presence. 10 (d) FUNDING.—A Federal agency shall use funds 11 otherwise appropriated to such agency to carry out this 12 section. 13 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi- 14 nitions apply: 15 (1) CAPITOL BUILDINGS.—The term ‘‘Capitol 16 Buildings’’ has the meaning given such term in sec- 17 tion 5101 of title 40, United States Code. 18 (2) FACE COVERING.—The term ‘‘face cov- 19 ering’’ means any material that covers the nose and 20 mouth of an individual. 21 (3) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal 22 agency’’ has the meaning given such term in section 23 102 of title 40, United States Code, except that with 24 respect to Capitol Buildings the Office of the Archi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:20 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4948.IS S4948 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4948 IS tect of the Capitol shall be treated as the relevant 1 Federal agency. 2 (4) FEDERAL FACILITY.—The term ‘‘Federal 3 facility’’ means— 4 (A) a building or any part thereof owned 5 or leased by the Federal Government for use by 6 a Federal agency; and 7 (B) the Capitol Buildings or any part 8 thereof. 9 (f) TERMINATION.—The requirements of this section 10 shall cease to have effect on the date on which the Director 11 of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Dis- 12 eases determines, and publishes in the Federal Register 13 a notification of such determination, that the requirement 14 to wear a face covering is no longer necessary to prevent 15 transmission of SARS–CoV–2. 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:20 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S4948.IS S4948 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS