Anti-Racism in Public Health Act of 2023

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1317 To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for public health research and investment into understanding and eliminating structural racism and police violence. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 26, 2023 Ms. WARREN (for herself, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. SMITH, Ms. HIRONO, and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for public health research and investment into understanding and eliminating structural racism and police violence. 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 ‘‘Anti-Racism in Public 4 Health Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1317.IS S1317 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 1317 IS (1) ANTIRACISM.—The term ‘‘antiracism’’ is a 1 collection of antiracist policies that lead to racial eq- 2 uity, and are substantiated by antiracist ideas. 3 (2) ANTIRACIST.—The term ‘‘antiracist’’ is any 4 measure that produces or sustains racial equity be- 5 tween racial groups. 6 SEC. 3. PUBLIC HEALTH RESEARCH AND INVESTMENT IN 7 DISMANTLING STRUCTURAL RACISM. 8 Part B of title III of the Public Health Service Act 9 (42 U.S.C. 243 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 10 the following: 11 ‘‘SEC. 320C. NATIONAL CENTER ON ANTIRACISM AND 12 HEALTH. 13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 14 ‘‘(1) NATIONAL CENTER.—There is established 15 within the Centers for Disease Control and Preven- 16 tion a center to be known as the ‘National Center 17 on Antiracism and Health’ (referred to in this sec- 18 tion as the ‘Center’). The Director of the Centers for 19 Disease Control and Prevention shall appoint a di- 20 rector to head the Center who has experience living 21 in and working with racial and ethnic minority com- 22 munities. The Center shall promote public health 23 by— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1317.IS S1317 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 1317 IS ‘‘(A) declaring racism a public health crisis 1 and naming racism as an historical and present 2 threat to the physical and mental health and 3 well-being of the United States and world; 4 ‘‘(B) aiming to develop new knowledge in 5 the science and practice of antiracism, including 6 by identifying the mechanisms by which racism 7 operates in the provision of health care and in 8 systems that impact health and well-being; 9 ‘‘(C) transferring that knowledge into 10 practice, including by developing interventions 11 that dismantle the mechanisms of racism and 12 replace such mechanisms with equitable struc- 13 tures, policies, practices, norms, and values so 14 that a healthy society can be realized; and 15 ‘‘(D) contributing to a national and global 16 conversation regarding the impacts of racism on 17 the health and well-being of the United States 18 and world. 19 ‘‘(2) GENERAL DUTIES.—The Secretary, acting 20 through the Center, shall undertake activities to 21 carry out the mission of the Center as described in 22 paragraph (1), such as the following: 23 ‘‘(A) Conduct research into, collect, ana- 24 lyze and make publicly available data on, and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1317.IS S1317 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 1317 IS provide leadership and coordination for the 1 science and practice of antiracism, the public 2 health impacts of structural racism, and the ef- 3 fectiveness of intervention strategies to address 4 these impacts. Topics of research and data col- 5 lection under this subparagraph may include 6 identifying and understanding— 7 ‘‘(i) policies and practices that have a 8 disparate impact on the health and well- 9 being of communities of color; 10 ‘‘(ii) the public health impacts of im- 11 plicit racial bias, White supremacy, weath- 12 ering, xenophobia, discrimination, and 13 prejudice; 14 ‘‘(iii) the social determinants of health 15 resulting from structural racism, including 16 poverty, housing, employment, political 17 participation, and environmental factors; 18 and 19 ‘‘(iv) the intersection of racism and 20 other systems of oppression, including as 21 related to age, sexual orientation, gender 22 identity, and disability status. 23 ‘‘(B) Award noncompetitive grants and co- 24 operative agreements to eligible public and non- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1317.IS S1317 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 1317 IS profit private entities, including State, local, 1 territorial, and Tribal health agencies and orga- 2 nizations, for the research and collection, anal- 3 ysis, and reporting of data on the topics de- 4 scribed in subparagraph (A). 5 ‘‘(C) Establish, through grants or coopera- 6 tive agreements, at least 3 regional centers of 7 excellence, located in racial and ethnic minority 8 communities, in antiracism for the purpose of 9 developing new knowledge in the science and 10 practice of antiracism in health by researching, 11 understanding, and identifying the mechanisms 12 by which racism operates in the health space, 13 racial and ethnic inequities in health care ac- 14 cess and outcomes, the history of successful 15 antiracist movements in health, and other 16 antiracist public health work. 17 ‘‘(D) Establish a clearinghouse within the 18 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for 19 the collection and storage of data generated 20 under the programs implemented under this 21 section for which there is not an otherwise ex- 22 isting surveillance system at the Centers for 23 Disease Control and Prevention. Such data 24 shall— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1317.IS S1317 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 1317 IS ‘‘(i) be comprehensive and 1 disaggregated, to the extent practicable, by 2 including racial, ethnic, primary language, 3 sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, 4 age, socioeconomic status, and disability 5 disparities; 6 ‘‘(ii) be made publicly available; 7 ‘‘(iii) protect the privacy of individuals 8 whose information is included in such data; 9 and 10 ‘‘(iv) comply with privacy protections 11 under the regulations promulgated under 12 section 264(c) of the Health Insurance 13 Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. 14 ‘‘(E) Provide information and education to 15 the public on the public health impacts of struc- 16 tural racism and on antiracist public health 17 interventions. 18 ‘‘(F) Consult with other Centers and Na- 19 tional Institutes within the Centers for Disease 20 Control and Prevention, including the Office of 21 Minority Health and Health Equity and the 22 Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial 23 Support, to ensure that scientific and pro- 24 grammatic activities initiated by the agency 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1317.IS S1317 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 1317 IS consider structural racism in their designs, 1 conceptualizations, and executions, which shall 2 include— 3 ‘‘(i) putting measures of racism in 4 population-based surveys; 5 ‘‘(ii) establishing a Federal Advisory 6 Committee on racism and health for the 7 Centers for Disease Control and Preven- 8 tion; 9 ‘‘(iii) developing training programs, 10 curricula, and seminars for the purposes of 11 training public health professionals and re- 12 searchers around issues of race, racism, 13 and antiracism; 14 ‘‘(iv) providing standards and best 15 practices for programming and grant re- 16 cipient compliance with Federal data col- 17 lection standards, including section 4302 18 of the Patient Protection and Affordable 19 Care Act; and 20 ‘‘(v) establishing leadership and stake- 21 holder councils with experts and leaders in 22 racism and public health disparities. 23 ‘‘(G) Coordinate with the Indian Health 24 Service and with the Centers for Disease Con- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1317.IS S1317 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 1317 IS trol and Prevention’s Tribal Advisory Com- 1 mittee to ensure meaningful Tribal consulta- 2 tion, the gathering of information from Tribal 3 authorities, and respect for Tribal data sov- 4 ereignty. 5 ‘‘(H) Engage in government to government 6 consultation with Indian Tribes and Tribal or- 7 ganizations. 8 ‘‘(I) At least every 2 years, produce and 9 publicly post on the Centers for Disease Control 10 and Prevention’s website a report on antiracist 11 activities completed by the Center, which may 12 include newly identified antiracist public health 13 practices. 14 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 15 is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec- 16 essary to carry out this section.’’. 17 SEC. 4. PUBLIC HEALTH RESEARCH AND INVESTMENT IN 18 POLICE VIOLENCE. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 20 Human Services shall establish within the National Center 21 for Injury Prevention and Control of the Centers for Dis- 22 ease Control and Prevention (referred to in this section 23 as the ‘‘Center’’) a law enforcement violence prevention 24 program. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1317.IS S1317 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 1317 IS (b) GENERAL DUTIES.—In implementing the pro- 1 gram under subsection (a), the Center shall conduct re- 2 search into, and provide leadership and coordination for— 3 (1) the understanding and promotion of knowl- 4 edge about the public health impacts of uses of force 5 by law enforcement, including police brutality and 6 violence; 7 (2) developing public health interventions and 8 perspectives for eliminating deaths, injury, trauma, 9 and negative mental health effects from police pres- 10 ence and interactions, including police brutality and 11 violence; and 12 (3) ensuring comprehensive data collection, 13 analysis, and reporting regarding police violence and 14 misconduct in consultation with the Department of 15 Justice and independent researchers. 16 (c) FUNCTIONS.—Under the program under sub- 17 section (a), the Center shall— 18 (1) summarize and enhance the knowledge of 19 the distribution, status, and characteristics of law 20 enforcement-related death, trauma, and injury; 21 (2) conduct research and prepare, with the as- 22 sistance of State public health departments— 23 (A) statistics on law enforcement-related 24 death, injury, and brutality; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1317.IS S1317 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 1317 IS (B) studies of the factors, including legal, 1 socioeconomic, discrimination, and other factors 2 that correlate with or influence police brutality; 3 (C) public information about uses of force 4 by law enforcement, including police brutality 5 and violence, for the practical use of the public 6 health community, including publications that 7 synthesize information relevant to the national 8 goal of understanding police violence and meth- 9 ods for its control; 10 (D) information to identify socioeconomic 11 groups, communities, and geographic areas in 12 need of study, and a strategic plan for research 13 necessary to comprehend the extent and nature 14 of police uses of force by law enforcement, in- 15 cluding police brutality and violence, and deter- 16 mine what options exist to reduce or eradicate 17 death and injury that result; and 18 (E) best practices in police violence preven- 19 tion in other countries; 20 (3) award grants, contracts, and cooperative 21 agreements to provide for the conduct of epidemio- 22 logic research on uses of force by law enforcement, 23 including police brutality and violence, by Federal, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1317.IS S1317 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •S 1317 IS State, local, and private agencies, institutions, orga- 1 nizations, and individuals; 2 (4) award grants, contracts, and cooperative 3 agreements to community groups, independent re- 4 search organizations, academic institutions, and 5 other entities to support, execute, or conduct re- 6 search on interventions to reduce or eliminate uses 7 of force by law enforcement, including police bru- 8 tality and violence; 9 (5) coordinate with the Department of Justice, 10 and other Federal, State, and local agencies on the 11 standardization of data collection, storage, and re- 12 trieval necessary to collect, evaluate, analyze, and 13 disseminate information about the extent and nature 14 of uses of force by law enforcement, including police 15 brutality and violence, as well as options for the 16 eradication of such practices; 17 (6) submit an annual report to Congress on re- 18 search findings with recommendations to improve 19 data collection and standardization and to disrupt 20 processes in policing that preserve and reinforce rac- 21 ism and racial disparities in public health; 22 (7) conduct primary research and explore uses 23 of force by law enforcement, including police bru- 24 tality and violence, and options for its control; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1317.IS S1317 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •S 1317 IS (8) study alternatives to law enforcement re- 1 sponse as a method of reducing police violence. 2 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 3 authorized to be appropriated, such sums as may be nec- 4 essary to carry out this section. 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1317.IS S1317 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB