[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2768 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2768

  To protect hospital personnel from violence, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 12, 2023

Mr. Manchin (for himself and Mr. Rubio) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To protect hospital personnel from violence, 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 ``Safety From Violence for Healthcare 
Employees Act'' or the ``SAVE Act''.

SEC. 2. PREVENTION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST HOSPITAL PERSONNEL.

    (a) Prohibition on Interference With Hospital Personnel in the 
Performance of Duties.--Chapter 7 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 120. Interference with performance of duties of hospital 
              personnel
    ``(a) In General.--Whoever knowingly assaults an individual 
employed by a hospital engaged in interstate commerce, or an entity 
contracting with a hospital or other medical facility engaged in 
interstate commerce, during the course of the performance of the duties 
of such individual, and, as a result, interferes with the performance 
of the duties of such individual or limits the ability of such 
individual to perform such duties, shall be fined under this title, 
imprisoned for not more than 10 years, or both.
    ``(b) Enhanced Penalties.--
            ``(1) Acts involving dangerous weapons or acts that result 
        in bodily injury.--Whoever, in the commission of any act 
        described in subsection (a), uses a deadly or dangerous weapon 
        or inflicts serious bodily injury, shall be fined under this 
        title, imprisoned for not more than 20 years, or both.
            ``(2) Acts committed during emergency declarations.--
        Whoever commits any act described in subsection (a) during the 
        period of a declaration of a public emergency for the area in 
        which the act is committed shall be fined under this title, 
        imprisoned for not more than 20 years, or both.
    ``(c) Defense.--It shall be a defense to a prosecution under this 
section that--
            ``(1) the defendant is a person with a physical, mental, or 
        intellectual disability; and
            ``(2) the conduct of the defendant was a clear and direct 
        manifestation of such disability.
    ``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Hospital.--The term `hospital' means any of the 
        following medical facilities:
                    ``(A) A hospital (as defined in section 1861(e) of 
                the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(e))).
                    ``(B) A long-term care hospital (as defined in 
                section 1861(ccc) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(ccc))).
                    ``(C) A rehabilitation facility (as described in 
                section 1886(j)(1)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
                1395ww(j)(1)(A))).
                    ``(D) A children's hospital (as described in 
                section 1886(d)(1)(B)(iii) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
                1395ww(d)(1)(B)(iii))).
                    ``(E) A cancer hospital (as described in section 
                1886(d)(1)(B)(v) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
                1395ww(d)(1)(B)(v))).
                    ``(F) A critical access hospital (as defined in 
                section 1861(mm)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
                1395x(mm)(1))).
                    ``(G) A rural emergency hospital (as defined in 
                section 1861(kkk)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
                1395x(kkk)(2))).
            ``(2) Declaration of a public emergency.--The term 
        `declaration of a public emergency' means an emergency or major 
        disaster declared by the President pursuant to the Robert T. 
        Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 
        U.S.C. 5121 et seq.).''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 7 of 
title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``120. Interference with performance of duties of hospital 
                            personnel.''.

SEC. 3. GAO STUDY.

    The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study 
on--
            (1) how this Act, and the amendments made by this Act, has 
        affected workplace violence in healthcare settings; and
            (2) whether Federal, State, and local prosecutions for 
        workplace violence in healthcare settings have increased or 
        decreased because of the ability to prosecute these incidents 
        as Federal crimes.
                                 <all>