[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1600 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1600
To protect hospital personnel from violence, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 5, 2025
Mrs. Hyde-Smith (for herself and Mr. King) 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 ``Save Healthcare Workers Act''.
SEC. 2. PREVENTION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST HOSPITAL PERSONNEL.
(a) Prohibition on Assault of 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. Assault 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, on the grounds of a hospital while the individual
is engaged in or on account of duties at the hospital 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 firearm or dangerous weapon
or inflicts serious bodily injury, shall, in addition to the
penalties provided for in that subsection, 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) Affirmative Defense.--
``(1) In general.--It shall be an affirmative defense to a
prosecution under this section that--
``(A) the defendant is a person with a physical,
mental, or intellectual disability;
``(B) the conduct of the defendant was a clear and
direct manifestation of such disability; and
``(C) the defendant, as a result of such
disability, was unable to appreciate the nature and
quality or wrongfulness of such conduct.
``(2) Burden of proof.--The defendant has the burden of
proving the defense under this subsection by a preponderance of
the evidence.
``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Dangerous weapon.--The term `dangerous weapon' means
a weapon, device, instrument, material, or substance, animate
or inanimate, that is used for, or is readily capable of,
causing death or serious bodily injury.
``(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.).
``(3) Disability.--The term `disability' means a disability
described in section 3(1)(A) of the Americans with Disabilities
Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102(1)(A)).
``(4) Grounds of a hospital.--The term `grounds of a
hospital' means the hospital buildings and the land used for
the purposes of the hospital, including all buildings, roads,
paths, and open spaces.
``(5) 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))).
``(6) Serious bodily injury.--The term `serious bodily
injury' has the meaning given the term in section as the
meaning given the term in section 1365(h).''.
(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. Assault 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, Tribal, and local prosecutions
for workplace violence in healthcare settings have increased or
decreased because of the ability to prosecute these incidents
as Federal crimes.
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