[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7317 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7317

To authorize a public service announcement campaign on the efficacy of 
cloth face coverings in reducing the spread of COVID-19, to authorize a 
 program to provide cloth face coverings to any American who requests 
              one free of charge, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 24, 2020

 Mr. Schiff (for himself, Ms. Norton, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mrs. Dingell, 
 Ms. Jackson Lee, Mr. Casten of Illinois, Ms. Tlaib, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. 
 Carson of Indiana, Mr. Hastings, Mr. Sires, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Gallego, 
 Ms. Lee of California, Ms. Sewell of Alabama, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, 
 Mr. Raskin, Mr. Scott of Virginia, Mr. Khanna, Mr. Ruppersberger, Mr. 
    Moulton, Mr. Cardenas, Mr. Cooper, Mr. Soto, Mr. Price of North 
 Carolina, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Vela, Ms. Haaland, Mr. Payne, Ms. Wild, and 
 Ms. Scanlon) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize a public service announcement campaign on the efficacy of 
cloth face coverings in reducing the spread of COVID-19, to authorize a 
 program to provide cloth face coverings to any American who requests 
              one free of charge, 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 ``Masks Work Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The SARS-CoV-2 virus has killed over 110,000 Americans 
        and infected at least 2,000,000 others.
            (2) The measures taken to contain the virus, including 
        social distancing and stay at home orders, have resulted in a 
        significant economic disruption, causing tens of millions of 
        Americans to lose jobs and income.
            (3) Scientific experts, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, 
        Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious 
        Diseases, have warned of the danger of a second wave of 
        infections striking the United States in fall and winter.
            (4) Scientific experts within the United States Government 
        and elsewhere have strongly advised Americans to wear cloth 
        face coverings as a means to slow the spread of COVID-19 and 
        have stated that wearing cloth face coverings may reduce the 
        spread of respiratory droplets that may carry the disease.
            (5) There is a growing body of scientific research 
        indicating that high levels of cloth face covering adoption by 
        a population can reduce transmission of the virus, and may 
        prevent asymptomatic or presymptomatic carriers from 
        unknowingly infecting others.
            (6) One scientific model estimated that if 80 percent of 
        the population adopted proper face covering use, transmission 
        would be \1/12\ what it would be in a population without 
        wearing cloth face coverings. Another newly released study 
        conducted with animals found that face coverings reduced 
        transmission of COVID-19 by 75 percent.
            (7) Nations in Southeast Asia with high levels of cloth 
        face covering wearing have been more effective than others in 
        reducing the spread of COVID-19, and have experienced 
        comparably fewer infections and deaths as a result.
            (8) A recent study from the University of Iowa's College of 
        Public Health suggests that the 15 States and the District of 
        Columbia, having mandated wearing face coverings in public 
        between April 8, 2020, and May 15, 2020, averted as many as 
        230,000 to 450,000 COVID-19 cases.
            (9) Many Americans have heeded the calls of public health 
        experts to wear cloth face coverings and have made major 
        sacrifices in other aspects of their life in order to control 
        the spread of the virus.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that --
            (1) following the consensus advice of public health experts 
        to wear face coverings can meaningfully reduce transmission 
        rates for COVID-19, resulting in fewer deaths, fewer Americans 
        made seriously ill, and lower economic disruption;
            (2) Americans should wear appropriate face coverings in 
        situations where social distancing is difficult or impossible, 
        particularly in indoors environments, both to protect 
        themselves and to protect older Americans or others with health 
        conditions that increase the risks of serious illness due to 
        COVID-19; and
            (3) leaders across the political spectrum should model 
        medically recommended behaviors by wearing face coverings 
        appropriately and encouraging those around them to do the same.

SEC. 4. PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT CAMPAIGN.

    (a) In General.--The Director of the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention (in this section referred to as the ``Director'') shall 
carry out a public service announcement campaign campaign on 
television, radio, the internet, and digital platforms, and in print 
publications, informing Americans on--
            (1) the efficacy of cloth face coverings; and
            (2) why cloth face coverings are recommended by scientific 
        and medical experts to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
    (b) Audience.--In carrying out the campaign under subsection (a), 
the Director shall ensure that public service announcements reach as 
many Americans as possible with scientifically accurate messages about 
cloth face coverings.
    (c) Language.--The Director shall ensure that public service 
announcements under this section are provided in at least 19 languages 
in addition to English, including the following:
            (1) Spanish.
            (2) Arabic.
            (3) Cambodian.
            (4) Chinese.
            (5) Haitian Creole.
            (6) French.
            (7) Hindi.
            (8) Italian.
            (9) Japanese.
            (10) Korean.
            (11) Laotian.
            (12) Russian.
            (13) Tagalog.
            (14) Urdu.
            (15) Vietnamese.
            (16) Greek.
            (17) Polish.
            (18) Thai.
            (19) Portuguese.
    (d) Grants and Contracts.--In carrying out the campaign under 
subsection (a), the Director may, subject to the availability of 
appropriations, award grants to, and enter into contracts with, public 
and private entities (including nonprofit organizations).
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section, 
there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary 
for fiscal years 2020 and 2021, to remain available until expended.

SEC. 5. CLOTH FACE COVERINGS FOR ALL.

    (a) In General.--Subject to the availability of appropriations, the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this section referred to as 
the ``Secretary'') shall carry out a program to provide cloth face 
coverings to any American who requests one free of charge by United 
States mail.
    (b) Requests.--In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall 
establish procedures allowing Americans to request up to three cloth 
face coverings per person in their household through the internet, by 
mail, or by phone (including text messaging).
    (c) Consultation.--The Secretary shall consult with the Director of 
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Director of the 
National Institutes of Health, and the heads of other agencies as 
appropriate regarding the design and selection of cloth face coverings 
to be provided under this section.
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section, 
there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary 
for fiscal years 2020 and 2021, to remain available until expended.

SEC. 6. NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH RESEARCH ON CLOTH FACE COVERING 
              EFFICACY.

    (a) In General.--The Director of the National Institutes of Health 
(in this section referred to as the ``Director'') shall conduct or 
support research on the efficacy of cloth face coverings, face shields, 
ventilators, and other facial coverings to reduce the spread of COVID-
19.
    (b) Use of Funds.--Research under this section may include--
            (1) research on the effect of wearing cloth face coverings 
        on the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19;
            (2) research on the situations for which cloth face 
        coverings are scientifically indicated;
            (3) research on the most effective materials or designs of 
        cloth face coverings; and
            (4) other topics as the Director determines appropriate.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section, 
there is authorized to be appropriated $25,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2020 through 2022, to remain available until expended.
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