September 21, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 163 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session

[Pages H4607-H4608]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      IMPROVING EMERGENCY DISEASE RESPONSE VIA HOUSING ACT OF 2020

  Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 6294) to require data sharing regarding protecting the 
homeless from coronavirus, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 6294

       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 ``Improving Emergency Disease 
     Response via Housing Act of 2020''.

     SEC. 2. DATA SHARING BETWEEN HUD AND HHS.

       (a) In General.--For the purpose of increasing the ability 
     of the Secretary of Health and Human Services to target 
     outreach to populations vulnerable to contracting 
     coronavirus, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 
     shall share with the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
     information regarding the location of projects for supportive 
     housing for the elderly assisted under section 202 of the 
     Housing

[[Page H4608]]

     Act of 1959 (12 U.S.C. 1701q) and the location of Continuums 
     of Care with high concentration of unsheltered homelessness.
       (b) Removal of Personally Identifiable Information.--In 
     sharing the information required under subsection (a), the 
     Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall ensure that 
     appropriate administrative and physical safeguards are in 
     place to remove all personally identifiable information.
       (c) Consultation.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban 
     Development shall consult with the Secretary of Health and 
     Human Services promptly after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act to provide for the sharing of the information 
     required under subsection (a).
       (d) Limitation.--Information shared pursuant to this Act 
     shall not be shared beyond the Department of Health and Human 
     Services or used for purposes beyond those intended in the 
     Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Sherman) and the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. 
Timmons) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6294, the Improving Emergency 
Disease Response via Housing Act, which will help the Federal 
Government better identify and serve populations particularly at risk 
from COVID-19.
  This bill will require the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, HUD, to share with the Department of Health and Human 
Services the locations of HUD senior housing properties and local 
continuums of care with high concentrations of people experiencing 
unsheltered homelessness. The bill also includes important protections 
to ensure people's privacy and to prevent the misuse of this 
information.
  Early in this pandemic, we learned the devastating impact COVID-19 
has on seniors. Seniors often have underlying health conditions, which 
make them particularly vulnerable to the virus. Making matters worse, 
many seniors live in large multifamily buildings, including HUD-
subsidized properties, where the risk of contagion is particularly 
high.
  This constellation of factors--close living quarters, advanced age, 
higher prevalence of underlying health conditions--puts this population 
at substantial risk for contracting and at a higher risk for dying from 
COVID-19.
  According to The New York Times, as of last month, 40 percent of 
COVID-19-related deaths have occurred in senior communities, not just 
to those who have reached senior age but that subset of seniors who 
live in these senior communities.
  People experiencing homelessness are also particularly vulnerable to 
COVID-19 because they are disproportionately likely to have underlying 
conditions and because they often do not have the means to follow CDC 
guidelines around handwashing, social distancing, mask-wearing, et 
cetera.
  People experiencing homelessness who contract COVID-19 are twice as 
likely to be hospitalized, two to four times as likely to require 
critical care, and two to three times as likely to die as others in the 
general public.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Tipton for introducing this bill to help 
us better protect some of this country's most vulnerable people, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1700

  Mr. TIMMONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6294.
  Back in the early days of COVID-19, the Republicans on the Committee 
on Financial Services anticipated some of the biggest threats the virus 
posed and moved to protect those who were most vulnerable. 
Representative Tipton introduced H.R. 6294 so that the Department of 
Health and Human Services and the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development would be better able to coordinate and target treatment to 
folks like the elderly and the disabled. We knew that these were going 
to be the highest risk, most vulnerable populations affected by the 
pandemic and wanted to make sure States had all the tools they needed 
to protect these citizens.
  Sadly, in some places, we saw the disastrous effect of what happened 
when local officials failed to act quickly to make sure our seniors 
were kept safe from the preventable spread of the pandemic. To ensure 
that we do not repeat such mistakes, H.R. 6294 would allow for data-
sharing between HHS and HUD regarding the location of section 202 
affordable housing properties while keeping residents' personal 
information protected.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend Representative Tipton for his leadership in 
this area, and I will miss working with him. This is a commonsense bill 
to cut through red tape and allow for greater assistance to vulnerable 
populations.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support it, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, I, again, thank my colleague, Mr. Tipton, for 
introducing this bill to help us better protect seniors and people 
experiencing homelessness from COVID-19.
  We have lost too many people to this terrible virus. While it is 
important that we ensure the safety of those who are particularly 
vulnerable to the coronavirus, I hope that we can all work together 
this month to provide a comprehensive response to this public crisis, 
modeled after the HEROES Act, which this House passed in May of this 
year.
  Our constituents want us to act on major legislation, but in the 
meantime, it is good to pass this bill to help those who are 
particularly impacted by COVID.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this 
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 6294, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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