I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3588

To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish health 

empowerment zone programs in communities that disproportionately experience disparities in health status and health care, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 21, 2003

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN (for herself, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. CUMMINGS, Ms. 

JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. WATT, Ms. WATSON, Ms. LEE, Mr. 

HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. MAJETTE, Ms. 

KILPATRICK, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. MEEK of Florida, Ms. WATERS, Ms. 

EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. WYNN, Ms. CORRINE BROWN

of Florida, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. CARSON of Indiana, and 

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia) introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL

To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to 

establish health empowerment zone programs in communities that disproportionately experience disparities in 

health status and health care, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Health Empowerment 

5 Zone Act of 2003’’. 
2

•HR 3588 IH 

1 SEC. 2. HEALTH EMPOWERMENT ZONES. 

2 (a) HEALTH EMPOWERMENT ZONE PROGRAMS.—

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

4 Human Services, acting through the Administrator 

5 of the Health Resources and Services Administration 

6 and the Director of the Office of Minority Health, 

7 and in cooperation with the Director of the Office of 

8 Community Services and the Director of the Na9 tional Center for Minority Health and Health Dis10 parities—

11 (A) shall designate health empowerment 

12 zones in accordance with paragraph (2); and 

13 (B) shall make grants in accordance with 

14 paragraph (3). 

15 (2) DESIGNATION OF HEALTH EMPOWERMENT

16 ZONES.—The Secretary may designate a community 

17 as a health empowerment zone if—

18 (A) a community partnership seeking a 

19 grant under this section requests that the com20 munity be designated as a health empowerment 

21 zone; and 

22 (B) the community partnership dem23 onstrates, to the Secretary’s satisfaction, that 

24 the community is a community of color that ex25 periences disproportionate disparities in health 

26 status and health care. 
3

•HR 3588 IH 

1 (3) GRANTS.—The Secretary shall make grants 

2 to community partnerships of private and public en3 tities to establish health empowerment zone pro4 grams. 

5 (4) USE OF FUNDS.—Grants under this section 

6 shall be used for the establishment of a health em7 powerment zone program to assist individuals, busi8 nesses, schools, minority health associations, non9 profit organizations, community-based organizations, 

10 hospitals, health care clinics, and foundations in a 

11 health empowerment zone that are seeking—

12 (A) to effectively access Federal programs 

13 to improve the health or environment of 1 or 

14 more minority individuals in the community and 

15 eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in health 

16 status and health care; and 

17 (B) to coordinate the efforts of govern18 mental and private entities regarding the elimi19 nation of racial and ethnic disparities in health 

20 status and health care. 

21 (5) ESTABLISHMENT IN TERRITORY OR POSSES22 SION.—The Secretary shall make at least 1 grant 

23 under this section to a community partnership for a 

24 health empowerment zone program in a health em-
4

•HR 3588 IH 

1 powerment zone that is located in a territory or pos2 session of the United States. 

3 (6) APPLICATION.—To seek the designation of 

4 a community as a health empowerment zone and to 

5 obtain a grant under this section, a community part6 nership shall submit to the Secretary an application 

7 in such form and in such manner as the Secretary 

8 may require. An application under this paragraph 

9 shall—

10 (A) demonstrate that the community to be 

11 served is a community of color that experiences 

12 disproportionate disparities in health status and 

13 health care; 

14 (B) set forth a strategic plan for the pro15 posed health empowerment zone program, by—

16 (i) describing the coordinated health, 

17 economic, human, community, and physical 

18 development plan and related activities 

19 proposed for the community involved; 

20 (ii) describing the inclusion of the 

21 community involved as a full partner in the 

22 process of developing, implementing, moni23 toring, and evaluating the strategic plan 

24 and the extent to which local institutions 
5

•HR 3588 IH 

1 and organizations have contributed to the 

2 planning process; 

3 (iii) identifying the projected amount 

4 of Federal, State, local, and private re5 sources that will be available in the area 

6 and the private and public community 

7 partnerships to be used (including any par8 ticipation by or cooperation with univer9 sities, colleges, foundations, nonprofit orga10 nizations, medical centers, hospitals, health 

11 clinics, school districts, or other private 

12 and public entities); 

13 (iv) identifying the funding requested 

14 under any Federal program in support of 

15 the proposed health, economic, human, 

16 community, and physical development, and 

17 related activities; 

18 (v) identifying baselines, methods, 

19 health outcomes, and benchmarks for 

20 measuring the success of carrying out the 

21 strategic plan; 

22 (vi) demonstrating the ability to effec23 tively reach and service the targeted under24 served minority community populations in 
6

•HR 3588 IH 

1 a culturally appropriate and linguistically 

2 responsive manner; 

3 (vii) demonstrating a capacity and in4 frastructure to provide long-term commu5 nity response that is culturally appropriate 

6 and linguistically responsive to a commu7 nity of color that experiences dispropor8 tionate disparities in health status and 

9 health care; and 

10 (viii) identifying the individuals who 

11 have agreed to serve as members of a 

12 health empowerment zone coordinating 

13 committee for the community involved; and 

14 (C) include such other information as the 

15 Secretary may require. 

16 (7) PREFERENCE.—In awarding grants under 

17 this subsection, the Secretary shall give preference 

18 to proposals from indigenous community entities 

19 that have an expertise in providing culturally appro20 priate and linguistically responsive services to com21 munities of color that experience disproportionate 

22 disparities in health status and health care. 

23 (b) FEDERAL ASSISTANCE FOR HEALTH EMPOWER24 MENT ZONE GRANT PROGRAMS.—The Secretary of 

25 Health and Human Services, the Administrator of the 
7

•HR 3588 IH 

1 Small Business Administration, the Secretary of Agri2 culture, the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of 

3 Labor, and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop4 ment shall each—

5 (1) where appropriate, provide entity-specific 

6 technical assistance and evidence-based strategies to 

7 communities of color that experience dispropor8 tionate disparities in health status and health care 

9 to further the purposes of a health empowerment 

10 zone program described in subsection (a)(5); 

11 (2) identify all programs administered by the 

12 Department of Health and Human Services, the 

13 Small Business Administration, the Department of 

14 Agriculture, the Department of Education, the De15 partment of Labor, and the Department of Housing 

16 and Urban Development, respectively, that may be 

17 used to further the purposes of a health empower18 ment zone program described in subsection (a)(5); 

19 and 

20 (3) in administering any program identified 

21 under paragraph (2), give priority to any individual 

22 or entity located in a community served by a health 

23 empowerment zone program under subsection (a) if 

24 such priority would further the purposes of the 
8

•HR 3588 IH 

1 health empowerment zone program described in sub2 section (a)(5). 

3 (c) HEALTH EMPOWERMENT ZONE COORDINATING

4 COMMITTEE.—

5 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—For each health em6 powerment zone program established with a grant 

7 under subsection (a), the Secretary, acting through 

8 the Director of the Office of Minority Health and 

9 the Administrator of the Health Resources and Serv10 ices Administration, shall establish a health em11 powerment zone coordinating committee. 

12 (2) DUTIES.—Each coordinating committee es13 tablished, in coordination with the Director of the 

14 Office of Minority Health and the Administrator of 

15 the Health Resources and Services Administration, 

16 shall provide technical assistance and evidence-based 

17 strategies to the grant recipient involved, including 

18 providing guidance on research, strategies, health 

19 outcomes, program goals, management, implementa20 tion, monitoring, assessment, and evaluation proc21 esses. 

22 (3) MEMBERSHIP.—

23 (A) APPOINTMENT.—The Director of the 

24 Office of Minority Health and the Adminis25 trator of the Health Resources and Services Ad-
9

•HR 3588 IH 

1 ministration, in consultation with the respective 

2 grant recipient, shall appoint the members of 

3 each coordinating committee. 

4 (B) COMPOSITION.—The Director of the 

5 Office of Minority Health and the Adminis6 trator of the Health Resources and Services Ad7 ministration shall ensure that each coordinating 

8 committee—

9 (i) has not more than 20 members; 

10 (ii) includes individuals from commu11 nities of color that experience dispropor12 tionate disparities in health status and 

13 health care; 

14 (iii) includes community leaders and 

15 leaders of community-based organizations; 

16 (iv) includes representatives of aca17 demia and lay and professional organiza18 tions and associations including those hav19 ing expertise in medicine, technical, social 

20 and behavioral science, health policy, advo21 cacy, cultural and linguistic competency, 

22 research management, and organization; 

23 and 

24 (v) represents a reasonable cross-sec25 tion of knowledge, views, and application 
10

•HR 3588 IH 

1 of expertise on societal, ethical, behavioral, 

2 educational, policy, legal, cultural, lin3 guistic, and workforce issues related to 

4 eliminating disparities in health and health 

5 care. 

6 (C) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Director of 

7 the Office of Minority Health and the Adminis8 trator of the Health Resources and Services Ad9 ministration shall ensure that the members of 

10 each coordinating committee meet the following: 

11 (i) No member is employed by the 

12 Federal Government. 

13 (ii) Each member has appropriate ex14 perience, including experience in the areas 

15 of community development, cultural and 

16 linguistic competency, reducing and elimi17 nating racial and ethnic disparities in 

18 health and health care, or minority health. 

19 (iii) A majority of the members reside 

20 in the health empowerment zone involved. 

21 (D) SELECTION.—In selecting individuals 

22 to serve on a coordinating committee, the Di23 rector of the Office of Minority Health and the 

24 Administrator of the Health Resources and 

25 Services Administration shall give due consider-
11

•HR 3588 IH 

1 ation to the recommendations of the Congress, 

2 industry leaders, the scientific community (in3 cluding the Institute of Medicine), academia, 

4 community based nonprofit organizations, mi5 nority health and related organizations, the 

6 education community, State and local govern7 ments, and other appropriate organizations. 

8 (E) CHAIRPERSON.—The Director of the 

9 Office of Minority Health and the Adminis10 trator of the Health Resources and Services Ad11 ministration, in consultation with the members 

12 of the coordinating committee involved, shall 

13 designate a chairperson of the coordinating 

14 committee, who shall serve for a term of 3 

15 years and who may be reappointed at the expi16 ration of each such term. 

17 (F) TERMS.—Each member of a coordi18 nating committee shall be appointed for a term 

19 of 1 to 3 years in overlapping staggered terms, 

20 as determined by the Director of the Office of 

21 Minority Health and the Administrator of the 

22 Health Resources and Services Administration 

23 at the time of appointment, and may be re24 appointed at the expiration of each such term. 
12

•HR 3588 IH 

1 (G) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on a coordi2 nating committee shall be filled in the same 

3 manner in which the original appointment was 

4 made. 

5 (H) COMPENSATION.—The members of a 

6 coordinating committee shall serve without pay. 

7 (I) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of 

8 a coordinating committee shall receive travel ex9 penses, including per diem in lieu of subsist10 ence, in accordance with applicable provisions 

11 under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, 

12 United States Code. 

13 (4) STAFF; EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—

14 (A) STAFF.—The chairperson of a coordi15 nating committee may appoint and fix the pay 

16 of additional personnel as the chairperson con17 siders appropriate. 

18 (B) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The 

19 chairperson of a coordinating committee may 

20 procure temporary and intermittent services 

21 under section 3109(b) of title 5, United States 

22 Code. 

23 (5) MEETINGS.—A coordinating committee 

24 shall meet 3 to 5 times each year, at the call of the 

25 coordinating committee’s chairperson and in con-
13

•HR 3588 IH 

1 sultation with the Director of the Office of Minority 

2 Health and the Administrator of the Health Re3 sources and Services Administration. 

4 (6) REPORT.—Each coordinating committee 

5 shall transmit to the Congress an annual report 

6 that, with respect to the health empowerment zone 

7 program involved, includes the following: 

8 (A) A review of the program’s effectiveness 

9 in achieving stated goals and outcomes, and 

10 overcoming challenges. 

11 (B) A review of the program’s manage12 ment and coordination of the entities involved. 

13 (C) A review of the activities in the pro14 gram’s portfolio and components. 

15 (D) An identification of policy issues raised 

16 by the program. 

17 (E) An assessment of program’s results in18 cluding that of capacity, infrastructure, number 

19 of underserved minority communities reached 

20 and retained in the effort in a defined time 

21 frame. 

22 (F) Recommendations for new program 

23 goals, research areas, enhanced approaches, 

24 community partnerships, coordination and man25 agement mechanisms, and projects to be estab-
14

•HR 3588 IH 

1 lished to achieve the program’s stated goals, to 

2 improve outcomes, assessments, monitoring, 

3 and evaluation. 

4 (G) A review of the degree of minority en5 tities participation in the program, and an iden6 tification of a strategy to increase such partici7 pation. 

8 (H) Any other reviews or recommendations 

9 determined to be appropriate by the coordi10 nating committee. 

11 (d) REPORT.—The Director of the Office of Minority 

12 Health and the Administrator of the Health Resources 

13 and Services Administration shall submit a joint annual 

14 report to the appropriate committees of the Congress on 

15 the results of the implementation of programs under this 

16 section. 

17 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

18 (1) COORDINATING COMMITTEE.—The term 

19 ‘‘coordinating committee’’ means a health empower20 ment zone coordinating committee established under 

21 this section. 

22 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

23 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

24 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

25 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
15

•HR 3588 IH 

1 $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, and such sums as may 

2 be necessary for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2010.

Æ