[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 56 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 H. R. 56

   To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish 
health empowerment zone programs in communities that disproportionately 
experience disparities in health status and health care, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 4, 2005

Mrs. Christensen (for herself, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Mr. Cummings, Ms. 
    Carson, Mr. Scott of Virginia, Mr. Payne, Mr. Wynn, Mr. Meek of 
 Florida, Ms. Watson, Mr. Clyburn, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, 
     Ms. Corrine Brown of Florida, and Ms. Kilpatrick of Michigan) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                          Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish 
health empowerment zone programs in communities that disproportionately 
experience disparities in health status and health care, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Health Empowerment Zone Act of 
2005''.

SEC. 2. HEALTH EMPOWERMENT ZONES.

    (a) Health Empowerment Zone Programs.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Health and Human 
        Services, acting through the Administrator of the Health 
        Resources and Services Administration and the Director of the 
        Office of Minority Health, and in cooperation with the Director 
        of the Office of Community Services and the Director of the 
        National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities--
                    (A) shall designate health empowerment zones in 
                accordance with paragraph (2); and
                    (B) shall make grants in accordance with paragraph 
                (3).
            (2) Designation of health empowerment zones.--The Secretary 
        may designate a community as a health empowerment zone if--
                    (A) a community partnership seeking a grant under 
                this section requests that the community be designated 
                as a health empowerment zone; and
                    (B) the community partnership demonstrates, to the 
                Secretary's satisfaction, that the community is a 
                community of color that experiences disproportionate 
                disparities in health status and health care.
            (3) Grants.--The Secretary shall make grants to community 
        partnerships of private and public entities to establish health 
        empowerment zone programs.
            (4) Use of funds.--Grants under this section shall be used 
        for the establishment of a health empowerment zone program to 
        assist individuals, businesses, schools, minority health 
        associations, nonprofit organizations, community-based 
        organizations, hospitals, health care clinics, and foundations 
        in a health empowerment zone that are seeking--
                    (A) to effectively access Federal programs to 
                improve the health or environment of 1 or more minority 
                individuals in the community and eliminate racial and 
                ethnic disparities in health status and health care; 
                and
                    (B) to coordinate the efforts of governmental and 
                private entities regarding the elimination of racial 
                and ethnic disparities in health status and health 
                care.
            (5) Establishment in territory or possession.--The 
        Secretary shall make at least 1 grant under this section to a 
        community partnership for a health empowerment zone program in 
        a health empowerment zone that is located in a territory or 
        possession of the United States.
            (6) Application.--To seek the designation of a community as 
        a health empowerment zone and to obtain a grant under this 
        section, a community partnership shall submit to the Secretary 
        an application in such form and in such manner as the Secretary 
        may require. An application under this paragraph shall--
                    (A) demonstrate that the community to be served is 
                a community of color that experiences disproportionate 
                disparities in health status and health care;
                    (B) set forth a strategic plan for the proposed 
                health empowerment zone program, by--
                            (i) describing the coordinated health, 
                        economic, human, community, and physical 
                        development plan and related activities 
                        proposed for the community involved;
                            (ii) describing the inclusion of the 
                        community involved as a full partner in the 
                        process of developing, implementing, 
                        monitoring, and evaluating the strategic plan 
                        and the extent to which local institutions and 
                        organizations have contributed to the planning 
                        process;
                            (iii) identifying the projected amount of 
                        Federal, State, local, and private resources 
                        that will be available in the area and the 
                        private and public community partnerships to be 
                        used (including any participation by or 
                        cooperation with universities, colleges, 
                        foundations, nonprofit organizations, medical 
                        centers, hospitals, health clinics, school 
                        districts, or other private and public 
                        entities);
                            (iv) identifying the funding requested 
                        under any Federal program in support of the 
                        proposed health, economic, human, community, 
                        and physical development, and related 
                        activities;
                            (v) identifying baselines, methods, health 
                        outcomes, and benchmarks for measuring the 
                        success of carrying out the strategic plan;
                            (vi) demonstrating the ability to 
                        effectively reach and service the targeted 
                        underserved minority community populations in a 
                        culturally appropriate and linguistically 
                        responsive manner;
                            (vii) demonstrating a capacity and 
                        infrastructure to provide long-term community 
                        response that is culturally appropriate and 
                        linguistically responsive to a community of 
                        color that experiences disproportionate 
                        disparities in health status and health care; 
                        and
                            (viii) identifying the individuals who have 
                        agreed to serve as members of a health 
                        empowerment zone coordinating committee for the 
                        community involved; and
                    (C) include such other information as the Secretary 
                may require.
            (7) Preference.--In awarding grants under this subsection, 
        the Secretary shall give preference to proposals from 
        indigenous community entities that have an expertise in 
        providing culturally appropriate and linguistically responsive 
        services to communities of color that experience 
        disproportionate disparities in health status and health care.
    (b) Federal Assistance for Health Empowerment Zone Grant 
Programs.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services, the 
Administrator of the Small Business Administration, the Secretary of 
Agriculture, the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Labor, and 
the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall each--
            (1) where appropriate, provide entity-specific technical 
        assistance and evidence-based strategies to communities of 
        color that experience disproportionate disparities in health 
        status and health care to further the purposes of a health 
        empowerment zone program described in subsection (a)(5);
            (2) identify all programs administered by the Department of 
        Health and Human Services, the Small Business Administration, 
        the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Education, the 
        Department of Labor, and the Department of Housing and Urban 
        Development, respectively, that may be used to further the 
        purposes of a health empowerment zone program described in 
        subsection (a)(5); and
            (3) in administering any program identified under paragraph 
        (2), give priority to any individual or entity located in a 
        community served by a health empowerment zone program under 
        subsection (a) if such priority would further the purposes of 
        the health empowerment zone program described in subsection 
        (a)(5).
    (c) Health Empowerment Zone Coordinating Committee.--
            (1) Establishment.--For each health empowerment zone 
        program established with a grant under subsection (a), the 
        Secretary, acting through the Director of the Office of 
        Minority Health and the Administrator of the Health Resources 
        and Services Administration, shall establish a health 
        empowerment zone coordinating committee.
            (2) Duties.--Each coordinating committee established, in 
        coordination with the Director of the Office of Minority Health 
        and the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services 
        Administration, shall provide technical assistance and 
        evidence-based strategies to the grant recipient involved, 
        including providing guidance on research, strategies, health 
        outcomes, program goals, management, implementation, 
        monitoring, assessment, and evaluation processes.
            (3) Membership.--
                    (A) Appointment.--The Director of the Office of 
                Minority Health and the Administrator of the Health 
                Resources and Services Administration, in consultation 
                with the respective grant recipient, shall appoint the 
                members of each coordinating committee.
                    (B) Composition.--The Director of the Office of 
                Minority Health and the Administrator of the Health 
                Resources and Services Administration shall ensure that 
                each coordinating committee--
                            (i) has not more than 20 members;
                            (ii) includes individuals from communities 
                        of color that experience disproportionate 
                        disparities in health status and health care;
                            (iii) includes community leaders and 
                        leaders of community-based organizations;
                            (iv) includes representatives of academia 
                        and lay and professional organizations and 
                        associations including those having expertise 
                        in medicine, technical, social and behavioral 
                        science, health policy, advocacy, cultural and 
                        linguistic competency, research management, and 
                        organization; and
                            (v) represents a reasonable cross-section 
                        of knowledge, views, and application of 
                        expertise on societal, ethical, behavioral, 
                        educational, policy, legal, cultural, 
                        linguistic, and workforce issues related to 
                        eliminating disparities in health and health 
                        care.
                    (C) Qualifications.--The Director of the Office of 
                Minority Health and the Administrator of the Health 
                Resources and Services Administration shall ensure that 
                the members of each coordinating committee meet the 
                following:
                            (i) No member is employed by the Federal 
                        Government.
                            (ii) Each member has appropriate 
                        experience, including experience in the areas 
                        of community development, cultural and 
                        linguistic competency, reducing and eliminating 
                        racial and ethnic disparities in health and 
                        health care, or minority health.
                            (iii) A majority of the members reside in 
                        the health empowerment zone involved.
                    (D) Selection.--In selecting individuals to serve 
                on a coordinating committee, the Director of the Office 
                of Minority Health and the Administrator of the Health 
                Resources and Services Administration shall give due 
                consideration to the recommendations of the Congress, 
                industry leaders, the scientific community (including 
                the Institute of Medicine), academia, community based 
                nonprofit organizations, minority health and related 
                organizations, the education community, State and local 
                governments, and other appropriate organizations.
                    (E) Chairperson.--The Director of the Office of 
                Minority Health and the Administrator of the Health 
                Resources and Services Administration, in consultation 
                with the members of the coordinating committee 
                involved, shall designate a chairperson of the 
                coordinating committee, who shall serve for a term of 3 
                years and who may be reappointed at the expiration of 
                each such term.
                    (F) Terms.--Each member of a coordinating committee 
                shall be appointed for a term of 1 to 3 years in 
                overlapping staggered terms, as determined by the 
                Director of the Office of Minority Health and the 
                Administrator of the Health Resources and Services 
                Administration at the time of appointment, and may be 
                reappointed at the expiration of each such term.
                    (G) Vacancies.--A vacancy on a coordinating 
                committee shall be filled in the same manner in which 
                the original appointment was made.
                    (H) Compensation.--The members of a coordinating 
                committee shall serve without pay.
                    (I) Travel expenses.--Each member of a coordinating 
                committee shall receive travel expenses, including per 
                diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with 
                applicable provisions under subchapter I of chapter 57 
                of title 5, United States Code.
            (4) Staff; experts and consultants.--
                    (A) Staff.--The chairperson of a coordinating 
                committee may appoint and fix the pay of additional 
                personnel as the chairperson considers appropriate.
                    (B) Experts and consultants.--The chairperson of a 
                coordinating committee may procure temporary and 
                intermittent services under section 3109(b) of title 5, 
                United States Code.
            (5) Meetings.--A coordinating committee shall meet 3 to 5 
        times each year, at the call of the coordinating committee's 
        chairperson and in consultation with the Director of the Office 
        of Minority Health and the Administrator of the Health 
        Resources and Services Administration.
            (6) Report.--Each coordinating committee shall transmit to 
        the Congress an annual report that, with respect to the health 
        empowerment zone program involved, includes the following:
                    (A) A review of the program's effectiveness in 
                achieving stated goals and outcomes, and overcoming 
                challenges.
                    (B) A review of the program's management and 
                coordination of the entities involved.
                    (C) A review of the activities in the program's 
                portfolio and components.
                    (D) An identification of policy issues raised by 
                the program.
                    (E) An assessment of program's results including 
                that of capacity, infrastructure, number of underserved 
                minority communities reached and retained in the effort 
                in a defined time frame.
                    (F) Recommendations for new program goals, research 
                areas, enhanced approaches, community partnerships, 
                coordination and management mechanisms, and projects to 
                be established to achieve the program's stated goals, 
                to improve outcomes, assessments, monitoring, and 
                evaluation.
                    (G) A review of the degree of minority entities 
                participation in the program, and an identification of 
                a strategy to increase such participation.
                    (H) Any other reviews or recommendations determined 
                to be appropriate by the coordinating committee.
    (d) Report.--The Director of the Office of Minority Health and the 
Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration shall 
submit a joint annual report to the appropriate committees of the 
Congress on the results of the implementation of programs under this 
section.
    (e) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Coordinating committee.--The term ``coordinating 
        committee'' means a health empowerment zone coordinating 
        committee established under this section.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Health and Human Services.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $100,000,000 for fiscal year 
2006, and such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2007 
through 2012.
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