[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7077 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7077
To establish or expand programs to improve health equity regarding
COVID-19 and reduce or eliminate inequities in the prevalence and
health outcomes of COVID-19.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 1, 2020
Ms. Kelly of Illinois introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish or expand programs to improve health equity regarding
COVID-19 and reduce or eliminate inequities in the prevalence and
health outcomes of COVID-19.
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 ``Community Solutions for COVID-19
Act''.
SEC. 2. ADDRESSING COVID-19 HEALTH INEQUITIES AND IMPROVING HEALTH
EQUITY.
(a) In General.--Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (referred to in
this section as the ``Secretary''), acting through the Director of the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall award grants to
eligible entities to establish or expand programs to improve health
equity regarding COVID-19 and reduce or eliminate inequities, including
racial and ethnic inequities, in the incidence, prevalence, and health
outcomes of COVID-19.
(b) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a grant under
subsection (a), an entity shall--
(1) be a nongovernmental entity or consortium of entities
that works to improve health and health equity in populations
or communities disproportionately affected by adverse health
outcomes, including--
(A) racial and ethnic minority communities;
(B) Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, and urban
Indian organizations;
(C) people with disabilities;
(D) English language learners;
(E) older adults;
(F) low-income communities;
(G) justice-involved communities;
(H) immigrant communities; and
(I) communities on the basis of their sexual
orientation or gender identity;
(2) have demonstrated experience in successfully working in
and partnering with such communities, and have an established
record of accomplishment in improving health outcomes or
preventing, reducing or eliminating health inequities,
including racial and ethnic inequities, in those communities;
(3) communicate with State, local, and Tribal health
departments to coordinate grant activities, as appropriate; and
(4) submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in
such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary
may require.
(c) Use of Funds.--An entity shall use amounts received under grant
under this section to establish, improve upon, or expand programs to
improve health equity regarding COVID-19 and reduce or eliminate
inequities, including racial and ethnic inequities, in the incidence,
prevalence, and health outcomes of COVID-19. Such uses may include--
(1) acquiring and distributing medical supplies, such as
personal protective equipment, to communities that are at an
increased risk of COVID-19;
(2) helping people enroll in a health insurance plan that
meets minimum essential coverage;
(3) increasing the availability of COVID-19 testing and any
future COVID-19 treatments or vaccines in communities that are
at an increased risk of COVID-19;
(4) aiding communities and individuals in following
guidelines and best practices in regards to COVID-19, including
physical distancing guidelines;
(5) helping communities and COVID-19 survivors recover and
cope with the long-term health impacts of COVID-19;
(6) addressing social determinants of health, such as
transportation, nutrition, housing, discrimination, health care
access, including mental health care and substance use disorder
prevention, treatment, and recovery, health literacy,
employment status, and working conditions, education, income,
and stress, that impact COVID-19 incidence, prevalence, and
health outcomes, and facilitating or providing access to needed
services;
(7) the provision of anti-racism and implicit and explicit
bias training for health care providers and other relevant
professionals;
(8) creating and disseminating culturally informed,
linguistically appropriate, accessible, and medically accurate
outreach and education regarding COVID-19;
(9) acquiring, retaining, and training a diverse workforce;
and
(10) improving the accessibility to health care, including
accessibility to health care providers, mental health care, and
COVID-19 testing for people with disabilities.
(d) Administration.--
(1) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the
Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities that are a
community-based organization or have an established history of
successfully working in and partnering with the community or
with populations which the entity intends to provide services
under the grant. The Secretary shall also utilize available
demographic data to give priority to eligible entities working
with populations or communities disproportionately affected by
COVID-19.
(2) Geographical diversity.--The Secretary shall seek to
ensure geographical diversity among grant recipients.
(3) Reduction of burdens.--In administering the grant
program under this section, the Secretary shall make every
effort to minimize unnecessary administrative burdens on
eligible entities receiving such grants.
(4) Technical assistance.--The Secretary shall provide
technical assistance to eligible entities on best practices for
applying grants under this section.
(e) Duration.--A grant awarded under this section shall be for a
period of 3 years.
(f) Reporting.--
(1) By grantee.--Not later than 180 days after the end of a
grant period under this section, the grantee shall submit to
the Secretary a report on the activities conducted under the
grant, including--
(A) a description of the impact of grant
activities, including on--
(i) outreach and education related to
COVID-19; and
(ii) improving public health activities
related to COVID-19, including physical
distancing;
(B) the number of individuals reached by the
activities under the grant and, to the extent known,
the disaggregated demographic data of such individuals,
such as by race, ethnicity, sex (including sexual
orientation and gender identity), income, disability
status, or primary language; and
(C) any other information the Secretary determines
is necessary.
(2) By secretary.--Not later than 1 year after the end of
the grant program under this section, the Secretary shall
submit to Congress a report on the grant program, including a
summary of the information gathered under paragraph (1).
(g) Supplement, Not Supplant.--Grants awarded under this Act shall
be used to supplement and not supplant any other Federal funds made
available to carry out the activities described in this Act.
(h) Funding.--Out of funds in the Treasury not otherwise
appropriated, there are appropriated to carry out this section,
$500,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2022.
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