[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6822 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6822
To amend the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to establish a
national public health service program to respond to public health
emergencies, including the COVID-19 pandemic, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 12, 2020
Ms. Houlahan (for herself, Mr. Bera, Mr. Foster, Mr. Waltz, Ms.
Schrier, Ms. Sewell of Alabama, Mr. Larson of Connecticut, Mr. Moulton,
Mr. Cisneros, Ms. Spanberger, Mr. Soto, Mr. Carson of Indiana, Mr.
Kilmer, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Ms. Norton, Mr. Crow, Mr. Cox of California,
Mr. Suozzi, Ms. Wild, Ms. Slotkin, Mr. Panetta, Ms. Adams, Mrs.
Kirkpatrick, and Mr. Deutch) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Education and Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to establish a
national public health service program to respond to public health
emergencies, including the COVID-19 pandemic, 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 ``National Public Health Corps Act of
2020''.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE PROGRAM.
(a) National Public Health Service Program.--Subtitle E of the
National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12611 et seq.) is
amended--
(1) in section 151 (42 U.S.C. 12611)--
(A) in paragraph (4), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(B) in paragraph (5), by striking the period and
inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(6) public health.'';
(2) in section 152 (42 U.S.C. 12612)--
(A) in paragraph (b)--
(i) by striking ``two''; and
(ii) by adding at the end the following
paragraph:
``(3) A national public health service program.''; and
(B) in paragraph (c), by striking ``Both'' and
inserting ``The'';
(3) by adding after section 154 (42 U.S.C. 12614) the
following new section:
``SEC. 154A. NATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE PROGRAM.
``(a) In General.--
``(1) Establishment.--Not later than 30 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Director, in consultation
with the Secretary, shall establish the national public health
service program as a component of the National Civilian
Community Corps Program as authorized by section 152(a).
``(2) Purpose.--Under the national public health service
program established under paragraph (1), the Director shall, in
accordance with section 155(c), ensure the preparation and
assignment of participants under such program to units which
shall serve service sites in response to public health
emergencies, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
``(3) Notification.--Not later than 30 days after the
establishment of the national public health service program,
the Director shall notify the following about applying to
participate in the national public health service program:
``(A) Volunteers under the Peace Corps Act (22
U.S.C. 2501 et seq.)--
``(i) as of the date of the enactment of
the National Public Health Service Program Act
of 2020; and
``(ii) that successfully completed the
requirements of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C.
2501 et seq.).
``(B) Volunteers under title I serving during the
emergency period (as defined in paragraph (1)(B) of
section 1135(g) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
1320b-5(g))) who were unsuccessful in completing the
requirements of such programs due to COVID-19.
``(C) Volunteers under title I of the Domestic
Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4951 et seq.)
serving during the emergency period (as defined in
paragraph (1)(B) of section 1135(g) of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b-5(g))) who were
unsuccessful in completing the requirements of such
programs due to COVID-19.
``(D) Any individuals from organizations the
Director determines appropriate.
``(b) Eligible Participants.--The Director shall establish criteria
to determine eligibility for the national public health service program
established under subsection (a).
``(c) Submissions by Service Sites.--Each service site shall submit
to the Director a request that includes--
``(1) the preference of such service site with respect to--
``(A) the number of participants under the national
public health service program assigned to serve such
service site;
``(B) the method of service for such participants;
and
``(C) the duration of service for such
participants;
``(2) information pertaining to the work such participants
would be engaging in at such service site;
``(3) an agreement that such service site--
``(A) may receive training from the Secretary with
respect to the appropriate use of contact tracing
tools, including the Text Illness Monitoring system;
and
``(B) shall provide personal protective equipment
to such participants if the work such participants are
assigned to do at such service site requires the use of
such personal protective equipment; and
``(4) any other information that the Director, in
coordination with the Secretary, determines necessary.
``(d) Assignment of National Public Health Service Program
Participants.--
``(1) Public health emergencies.--If a public health
emergency is declared by the Secretary of Health and Human
Services under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act (42
U.S.C. 247d), the campus director may task participants under
the national public health service program to assist in
response.
``(2) Assignment.--Under paragraph (1), the Director, in
coordination with the campus director, may--
``(A) assign interested participants under the
national public health service program to service sites
to assist with contact tracing, testing, and providing
support for the administration of vaccinations for
COVID-19;
``(B) make travel arrangements for the assigned
national public health service program participants to
service sites; and
``(C) provide funds to the service sites to which
national public health service program participants are
assigned, to enable such sites to coordinate and
provide housing, living stipends, and insurance for
those assigned members.
``(e) COVID-19 Projects.--With respect to participants under the
national public health service program who serve during the emergency
period (as defined in paragraph (1)(B) of section 1135(g) of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b-5(g))), the campus director shall
encourage such participants to perform tasks, in-person or virtually,
to address issues arising during such emergency period which include--
``(1) contact tracing;
``(2) supporting the administration of testing for COVID-
19;
``(3) supporting the administration of vaccinations; and
``(4) any other activities recommended by the Secretary to
address issues arising relating to COVID-19.
``(f) Secretary Defined.--In this section, the term `Secretary'
means the Secretary of Health and Human Services acting through--
``(1) the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention; and
``(2) the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and
Response.'';
(4) in section 155 (42 U.S.C. 12615)--
(A) in subsection (b)--
(i) in paragraph (1), by striking ``in the
national service'' and all that follows through
``Program'' and inserting ``in a program under
section 152(b)'';
(ii) in paragraph (2)--
(I) by striking ``The Director''
and inserting ``(A) In general.--The
Director''; and
(II) by adding at the end the
following new subparagraph:
``(B) Preferred participants for national public
health service program.--In selecting individuals for
the national public health service program, the
Director shall prioritize applicants that, due to the
emergency period (as defined in paragraph (1)(B) of
section 1135(g) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
1320b-5(g)))--
``(i) were selected to participate in a
program under title I and title I of the
Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (42
U.S.C. 4951 et seq.) but were unsuccessful in
completing the requirements of such programs;
and
``(ii) experienced unemployment.''; and
(iii) in paragraph (3)--
(I) by striking ``To be selected''
and inserting ``(A) In general.--To be
selected''; and
(II) by adding at the end the
following new subparagraph:
``(B) National public health service program
specific requirements.--With respect to an individual
applying for participation in the national public
health service program--
``(i) each individual shall include in the
application under subparagraph (A)--
``(I) information about the work
experience of the applicant and
sufficient information to enable the
Director to determine whether selection
of the applicant for such program is
appropriate; and
``(II) the preference of the
applicant with respect to--
``(aa) length of service;
and
``(bb) method of service
(in-person, virtually, or a
combination of virtual and in-
person); and
``(ii) the Director may waive the
application under subparagraph (A) and select,
in accordance with paragraph (2), an individual
under section 154A(a)(3).''; and
(B) in subsection (e)--
(i) by striking ``The Director shall
ensure'' and inserting ``(1) In general.--The
Director shall ensure''; and
(ii) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Units for national public health service program.--
With respect to a unit of participants under the national
public health service program, the Director, in consultation
with the campus director, may assign such unit to assist more
than one service site depending on the number of participants
requested by such service site under section 154A(c).'';
(5) in section 156 (42 U.S.C. 12616)--
(A) in subsection (a)--
(i) by striking ``Each member'' and
inserting ``(1) In general.--Each member''; and
(ii) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Waiver for national public health service program
participants.--With respect to a participant under the national
public health service program, the Director may waive or modify
the requirements of paragraph (1) for such participant during
an emergency period declared by the Secretary of Health and
Human Services under section 319 of the Public Health Service
Act (42 U.S.C. 247d).''; and
(B) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the
following new paragraph:
``(3) National public health service program.--Members of
the Corps participating in the national public health service
program--
``(A) shall receive the training required by State
or Federal Government to perform tasks assigned to such
member; and
``(B) may receive training from or approved by the
Secretary of Health and Human Services with respect to
the appropriate use of contact tracing tools, including
the Text Illness Monitoring system.'';
(6) in section 157 (42 U.S.C. 12617)--
(A) in subsection (a)(1), by adding ``public
health,'' after ``conservation,'';
(B) in subsection (b)(1)--
(i) in paragraph (A), by adding ``the
Secretary of Health and Human Services, the
Director of the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, the Assistant Secretary for
Preparedness and Response,'' after
``Transportation,''; and
(ii) in paragraph (B), by adding ``service
sites'' after ``entities''; and
(C) in subsection (c), by adding the following new
paragraph:
``(3) Supporting covid-19 response.--The campus director of
participants under the national public health service program
shall be encouraged to select projects that support the
response to COVID-19 which may include contact tracing.''; and
(7) in section 165 (42 U.S.C. 12626) by adding at the end
the following:
``(11) Contact tracing.--The term `contact tracing' means
the technological and interpersonal process of identifying
persons who may have come into contact with an infected person
and subsequently collecting further information about these
contacts to implement mitigation measures and reduce infections
in the population.
``(12) COVID-19.--The term `COVID-19' means the 2019 novel
coronavirus or the SARS-CoV-2.
``(13) Indian tribe.--The term `Indian Tribe' means any
Indian Tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or
community (including any Native village, Regional Corporation,
or Village Corporation (as those terms are defined in section 3
of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602)))
that is recognized as eligible for the special programs and
services provided by the United States to Indians because of
their status as Indians.
``(14) Medical reserve corps.--The term `Medical Reserve
Corps' means the program established under section 2813 of the
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300hh-15).
``(15) Service site.--The term `service site' means any of
the following:
``(A) An agency with the primary responsibility for
public health within the State government, local
government, Indian Tribe, territory, or possession of
the United States; and
``(B) A Medicare Reserve Corps unit.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for the National and
Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12501 et seq.) is amended by
adding after the item relating to section 154 the following:
``Sec. 154A. National public health service program.''.
SEC. 3. AUTHORITIES RELATING TO COVID-19.
Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act,
the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for National and
Community Service shall submit a report to the Committee on Education
and Labor of the House of Representatives, the Committee on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Energy
and Commerce of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, and the Committee on
Appropriations of the Senate containing recommendations on any
additional authorities the Chief Executive Officer believes are
necessary to respond to issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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