II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3848 

To create a Coronavirus Containment Corps. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 1, 2020 

Ms. WARREN (for herself, Mr. MERKLEY, Ms. SMITH, and Mr. MARKEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To create a Coronavirus Containment Corps. 

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; DEFINITIONS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Coronavirus Containment Corps Act’’. 

6 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

7 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT8 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com9 mittees’’ means— 

10 (A) the Committee on Energy and Com11 merce of the House of Representatives; 


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1 (B) the Committee on Education and 

2 Labor of the House of Representatives; and 

3 (C) the Committee on Health, Education, 

4 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate. 

5 (2) COVID–19 PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.— 

6 The term ‘‘COVID–19 public health emergency’’ 

7 means— 

8 (A) the public health emergency declared 

9 by the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

10 pursuant to section 319 of the Public Health 

11 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) on January 31, 

12 2020, as a result of confirmed cases of 2019 

13 Novel Coronavirus (2019–nCoV) and any suc14 cessor to such declaration; or 

15 (B) the national emergency declared by the 

16 President under the National Emergencies Act 

17 (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) on March 13, 2020, 

18 as a result of confirmed cases of 2019 Novel 

19 Coronavirus (2019–nCoV). 

20 (3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

21 shall have the meaning given such term in the In22 dian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

23 Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.). 


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1 (4) SECRETARY.—Except as otherwise provided 

2 in this Act, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec3 retary of Health and Human Services. 

4 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ includes any of 

5 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, 

6 the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the 

7 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

8 (6) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘Tribal 

9 organization’’ shall have the meaning given such 

10 term in the Indian Self-Determination and Edu11 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.). 

12 SEC. 2. NATIONWIDE CONTACT TRACING STRATEGY. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 21 days after the 

14 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, acting 

15 through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control 

16 and Prevention, shall— 

17 (1) provide to the appropriate congressional 

18 committees a strategy to expand COVID–19 contact 

19 tracing; and 

20 (2) include in such strategy recommendations 

21 to augment the capacity of State, Tribal, and local 

22 public health departments to train and place individ23 uals into a Coronavirus Containment Corps to— 

24 (A) investigate cases of COVID–19; 


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1 (B) identify the contacts of individuals 

2 confirmed or presumed to have been infected by 

3 coronavirus; 

4 (C) trace such contacts; and 

5 (D) provide supports to ensure that such 

6 contacts can take the precautions necessary to 

7 safely quarantine to stop the spread of COVID– 

8 19. 

9 (b) CONSULTATION.—In developing the strategy 

10 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult with— 

11 (1) State public health officials; 

12 (2) Tribal public health officials, Indian Tribes, 

13 and Tribal organizations; 

14 (3) local public health officials; 

15 (4) the Director of the Indian Health Service; 

16 and 

17 (5) experts with knowledge of or field experi18 ence concerning racial and ethnic disparities in pub19 lic health and historically marginalized communities. 

20 (c) REQUIREMENTS.—The strategy under subsection 

21 (a) shall identify— 

22 (1) the minimum number of persons needed to 

23 investigate cases of COVID–19 and identify the con24 tacts of individuals confirmed or presumed to have 


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1 been infected by SARS–CoV–19 for each State and 

2 Indian Tribe; 

3 (2) the minimum number of contact tracers 

4 needed for each State and Indian Tribe; 

5 (3) the minimum number of specialists needed 

6 to connect contacts described in paragraph (1) to so7 cial supports to ensure those contacts can take the 

8 precautions necessary to safely quarantine to stop 

9 the spread of COVID–19 for each State and Indian 

10 Tribe; 

11 (4) the recommended qualifications necessary 

12 for case investigators, contact tracers, and social 

13 support specialists to perform such duties success14 fully; 

15 (5) strategies to enable State, Tribal, and local 

16 public health departments to hire, train, and deploy 

17 case investigators, contact tracers, and social sup18 port specialists; 

19 (6) strategies to rapidly develop guidance and 

20 training materials (including training on social de21 terminants of health, cultural competency, commu22 nications skills, and implicit and explicit bias train23 ing) necessary to support public health departments 

24 in preparing individuals to serve as case investiga25 tors, contact tracers, and social support specialists; 


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1 (7) plans to use mobile or app-based contact 

2 tracing technology, including— 

3 (A) plans to prevent the misuse of data 

4 and to ensure the automatic deletion of data 

5 after the conclusion of the COVID–19 public 

6 health emergency; and 

7 (B) plans to prohibit data sharing with 

8 and within the Federal Government, with the 

9 exceptions of the Centers for Disease Control 

10 and Prevention and the Indian Health Service; 

11 (8) strategies to record and publicly report 

12 deidentified data, while protecting— 

13 (A) the privacy of individuals and informa14 tion regarding their personal health; and 

15 (B) Tribal data sovereignty; 

16 (9) protocols to limit the risks posed to indi17 vidual privacy and data security, including through 

18 data minimization, anonymizing and redacting, and 

19 limitations on sharing and storing personally identi20 fiable information; 

21 (10) strategies to monitor and evaluate best 

22 practices in contact tracing, with input from State, 

23 Tribal, and local public health departments; and 


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1 (11) strategies to coordinate with State and 

2 Tribal workforce agencies to recruit newly unem3 ployed individuals— 

4 (A) prioritizing individuals from within the 

5 communities in which they will work; and 

6 (B) reflecting the diversity of that commu7 nity. 

8 (d) STRATEGIES TO ENABLE HIRING, TRAINING, 

9 AND DEPLOYMENT.—Not later than 7 days after the 

10 strategy under subsection (a) is provided to the appro11 priate congressional committees, the Secretary shall pro12 vide the strategies described in subsection (c)(5) to States 

13 and Tribes. 

14 (e) COORDINATION.—The Director of the Centers for 

15 Disease Control and Prevention shall coordinate with the 

16 Director of the Indian Health Service to ensure the strat17 egy developed under this section meets the needs of Indian 

18 Tribes. 

19 SEC. 3. GRANTS TO PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENTS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap21 propriations, the Secretary, acting through the Director 

22 of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall 

23 award a grant to each State and local public health de24 partment that seeks a grant in accordance with this sec25 tion to implement the strategy under section 2(a). 


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1 (b) FORMULA.—The Secretary shall allocate amounts 

2 made available pursuant to subsection (a) in accordance 

3 with a formula to be established by the Secretary that— 

4 (1) provides a minimum level of funding to each 

5 grantee; and 

6 (2) allocates— 

7 (A) additional funding among grantees 

8 based on— 

9 (i) population; 

10 (ii) projected need for COVID–19 in 

11 vitro diagnostic tests (as defined in section 

12 809.3 of title 21, Code of Federal Regula13 tions (or successor regulations)) during the 

14 period of the grant; 

15 (iii) the percentage of COVID–19 

16 cases per 10,000 persons as of the date of 

17 submission of the application for the grant; 

18 (iv) COVID–19 case growth rate; and 

19 (v) projected number of COVID–19 

20 cases during the period of the grant; and 

21 (B) an additional increment for States that 

22 have a plan to increase the percentage of the 

23 population that will be tested. 


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1 (c) REQUIRED USES OF FUNDS.—Amounts made 

2 available to a grantee pursuant to subsection (a) shall be 

3 used for the following activities: 

4 (1) Costs, including wages and benefits, includ5 ing health care benefits, as appropriate, related to 

6 the recruiting and hiring of individuals— 

7 (A) to serve as case investigators, contact 

8 tracers, and social support specialists described 

9 in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), respectively, of 

10 section 2(c); and 

11 (B) employed by— 

12 (i) the State or local government in13 volved; or 

14 (ii) a nonprofit organization with 

15 demonstrated expertise in implementing 

16 public health programs. 

17 (2) Supplies necessary for grantees to imple18 ment the strategy under section 2, including any 

19 supplies, equipment, including personal protective 

20 equipment, or technology for individuals serving as 

21 case investigators, contact tracers, or social support 

22 specialists. 

23 (3) Administrative costs and activities necessary 

24 for grantees to implement the strategy under section 

25 2. 


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1 (4) Development of partnerships with State, 

2 Tribal, and local workforce development systems (as 

3 defined in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and 

4 Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102)) to provide train5 ing and supportive service for individuals serving as 

6 case investigators, contact tracers, or social support 

7 specialists. 

8 (5) Reporting to the Centers for Disease Con9 trol and Prevention on— 

10 (A) implementation of the strategy under 

11 section 2; and 

12 (B) indicators of performance listed in sec13 tion 5(c)(1). 

14 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

15 out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated 

16 $10,000,000,000, to remain available until expended. 

17 SEC. 4. AWARDS TO TRIBES AND TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap19 propriations, the Secretary, acting through the Director 

20 of the Indian Health Service, in coordination with the Di21 rector of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

22 and in consultation with Indian Tribes and Tribal organi23 zations, shall award funds to Indian Tribes and Tribal or24 ganizations to implement the strategy under section 2. 


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1 (b) FORMULA.—The Secretary shall allocate amounts 

2 made available pursuant to subsection (a) in accordance 

3 with a formula to be established by the Secretary in con4 sultation with Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations 

5 that— 

6 (1) provides a minimum level of funding to each 

7 federally recognized Indian Tribe; and 

8 (2) allocates additional funding on the basis of 

9 population. 

10 (c) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Amounts made available 

11 to an awardee pursuant to subsection (a) shall be used 

12 for the following activities: 

13 (1) Costs, including wages and benefits, includ14 ing health care benefits, as appropriate, related to 

15 the recruiting and hiring of individuals— 

16 (A) to serve as case investigators, contact 

17 tracers, and social support specialists, which 

18 may include community health representatives, 

19 described in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), re20 spectively, of section 2(c); and 

21 (B) employed by— 

22 (i) the Tribal government involved; or 

23 (ii) a nonprofit organization with 

24 demonstrated expertise in implementing 

25 public health programs. 


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1 (2) Supplies necessary for awardees to imple2 ment the strategy under section 2, including any 

3 supplies, equipment, including personal protective 

4 equipment, or technology for individuals serving as 

5 case investigators, contact tracers, or social support 

6 specialists. 

7 (3) Administrative costs and activities necessary 

8 for awardees to implement the strategy under sec9 tion 2. 

10 (4) Development of partnerships with State and 

11 local workforce development systems (as defined in 

12 section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor13 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102)) to provide training and 

14 supportive service for individuals serving as case in15 vestigators, contact tracers, or social support special16 ists. 

17 (5) Reporting to the Indian Health Service, 

18 which shall then report the information to the Cen19 ters for Disease Control and Prevention, on— 

20 (A) implementation of the strategy under 

21 section 2; and 

22 (B) indicators of performance listed in sec23 tion 5(c)(1). 


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1 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

2 out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated 

3 $1,000,000,000, to remain available until expended. 

4 SEC. 5. REPORTING BY THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CON5 TROL AND PREVENTION. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

7 date of enactment of this Act, and every 30 days there8 after, the Secretary, acting through the Director of the 

9 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall report 

10 to the appropriate congressional committees on the imple11 mentation of the strategy under section 2. 

12 (b) REPORTING INFRASTRUCTURE.—In carrying out 

13 subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 

14 (1) support a reporting infrastructure that— 

15 (A) minimizes administrative burdens on 

16 States, Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, and 

17 localities; and 

18 (B) protects the privacy of individuals’ in19 formation; and 

20 (2) consult with Indian Tribes and Tribal orga21 nizations and coordinate with the Indian Health 

22 Service to create a reporting infrastructure for In23 dian Tribes and Tribal organizations that— 

24 (A) honors and preserves Tribal data sov25 ereignty; and 


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1 (B) ensures that Indian Tribes and Tribal 

2 organizations consent before any Tribal data is 

3 reported. 

4 (c) REQUIREMENTS.—The report under subsection 

5 (a) shall— 

6 (1) for each State and Indian Tribe include— 

7 (A) the number of case investigators hired, 

8 trained, and deployed; 

9 (B) the number of contact tracers hired, 

10 trained, and deployed; 

11 (C) the number of social support special12 ists hired, trained, and deployed; 

13 (D) the number of case investigations 

14 launched; 

15 (E) the percentage of contacts reached 

16 compared to the percentage of contacts identi17 fied; 

18 (F) the percentage of contacts quarantined 

19 or isolated compared to the percentage of con20 tacts reached; 

21 (G) the percentage of contacts connected 

22 to social supports compared to the percentage 

23 of contacts needing such supports to quar24 antine; and 


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1 (H) a description of any barriers that limit 

2 the ability of contacts to quarantine or isolate 

3 or access needed social supports; 

4 (2) contextualize data reported so as to miti5 gate discrimination against historically marginalized 

6 communities; and 

7 (3) be made public on the internet website of 

8 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

9 SEC. 6. GRANTS TO STATE AND TRIBAL WORKFORCE AGEN10 CIES. 

11 (a) DEFINITIONS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro13 vided in this section, the terms used in this section 

14 shall have the meanings given such terms in section 

15 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

16 (29 U.S.C. 3102). 

17 (2) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

18 (A) APPRENTICESHIP; APPRENTICESHIP

19 PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘apprenticeship’’ or ‘‘ap20 prenticeship program’’ means an apprenticeship 

21 program registered under the Act of August 16, 

22 1937 (commonly known as the ‘‘National Ap23 prenticeship Act’’) (50 Stat. 664, chapter 663; 

24 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.), including any require25 ment, standard, or rule promulgated under such 


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1 Act, as such requirement, standard, or rule was 

2 in effect on December 30, 2019. 

3 (B) CONTACT TRACING AND RELATED PO4 SITIONS.—The term ‘‘contact tracing and re5 lated positions’’ means employment related to 

6 contact tracing, surveillance, containment, and 

7 mitigation activities. 

8 (C) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible 

9 entity’’ means— 

10 (i) a State or territory, including the 

11 District of Columbia and Puerto Rico; 

12 (ii) an Indian Tribe, Tribal organiza13 tion, Alaska Native entity, Indian-con14 trolled organization serving Indians, urban 

15 Indian organization (as defined in section 

16 4 of the Indian Health Care Improvement 

17 Act (25 U.S.C. 1603)), or a Native Hawai18 ian organization; 

19 (iii) an outlying area; or 

20 (iv) a local board, if an eligible entity 

21 under clauses (i) through (iii) has not ap22 plied with respect to the area over which 

23 the local board has jurisdiction as of the 

24 date on which the local board submits an 

25 application under subsection (c). 


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1 (D) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—Notwith2 standing section 170(b)(2) of the Workforce In3 novation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

4 3225(b)(2)), the term ‘‘eligible individual’’ 

5 means an individual seeking or securing em6 ployment in contact tracing or related positions 

7 and is served by an eligible entity or commu8 nity-based organization receiving funding under 

9 this section. 

10 (E) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

11 means the Secretary of Labor. 

12 (b) GRANTS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of 

14 appropriations under subsection (g), the Secretary 

15 shall award national dislocated worker grants under 

16 section 170(b)(1)(B) of the Workforce Innovation 

17 and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3225(b)(1)(B)) to 

18 each eligible entity that seeks a grant to assist local 

19 boards and community-based organizations in car20 rying out activities under subsections (f) and (d), re21 spectively, for the following purposes: 

22 (A) To support the recruitment, place23 ment, and training, as applicable, of eligible in24 dividuals seeking employment in contact tracing 


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1 and related positions in accordance with the 

2 strategy established under section 2. 

3 (B) To assist with the employment transi4 tion to new employment or education and train5 ing of individuals employed under this section 

6 in preparation for and upon termination of such 

7 employment. 

8 (2) TIMELINE.—The Secretary shall— 

9 (A) issue application requirements under 

10 subsection (c) not later than 10 days after the 

11 date of enactment of this section; and 

12 (B) award grants to an eligible entity 

13 under paragraph (1) not later than 10 days 

14 after the date on which the Secretary receives 

15 an application from such entity. 

16 (c) GRANT APPLICATION.—An eligible entity apply17 ing for a grant under this section shall submit an applica18 tion to the Secretary, at such time and in such form and 

19 manner as the Secretary may reasonably require, which 

20 shall include a description of— 

21 (1) how the eligible entity will support the re22 cruitment, placement, and training, as applicable, of 

23 eligible individuals seeking employment in contact 

24 tracing and related positions by partnering with— 


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1 (A) a State, local, Tribal, or territorial 

2 health department; or 

3 (B) a community-based organization 

4 partnering with such health departments; 

5 (2) how the activities described in paragraph 

6 (1) will support State efforts to address the demand 

7 for contact tracing and related positions with respect 

8 to— 

9 (A) the State plans referred to in the head10 ing ‘‘Public Health and Social Services Emer11 gency Fund’’ in title I of division B of the Pay12 check Protection Program and Health Care En13 hancement Act (Public Law 116–139); 

14 (B) the strategy established under section 

15 2; and 

16 (C) the number of eligible individuals that 

17 the State plans to recruit and train under the 

18 plans and strategies described in subparagraphs 

19 (A) and (B); 

20 (3) the specific strategies for recruiting and 

21 placement of eligible individuals from or residing 

22 within the communities in which they will work, in23 cluding— 

24 (A) plans for the recruitment of eligible in25 dividuals to serve as contact tracers and related 


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1 positions, including dislocated workers, individ2 uals with barriers to employment, veterans, new 

3 entrants in the workforce, or underemployed or 

4 furloughed workers, who are from or reside in 

5 or near the local area in which they will serve, 

6 and who, to the extent practicable— 

7 (i) have experience or a background in 

8 industry-sectors and occupations such as 

9 public health, social services, customer 

10 service, case management, or occupations 

11 that require related qualifications, skills, or 

12 competencies, such as strong interpersonal 

13 and communication skills, needed for con14 tact tracing or related positions; or 

15 (ii) seek to transition to public health 

16 and public health related occupations upon 

17 the conclusion of employment in contact 

18 tracing or related positions; and 

19 (B) how such strategies will take into ac20 count the diversity of such community, includ21 ing racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, linguistic, or 

22 geographic diversity; 

23 (4) the amount, timing, and mechanisms for 

24 distribution of funds provided to local boards or 

25 through subgrants as described in subsection (d); 


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1 (5) for eligible entities described in subpara2 graphs (A) through (C) of subsection (a)(4), a de3 scription of how the eligible entity will ensure the eq4 uitable distribution of funds with respect to— 

5 (A) geography (such as urban and rural 

6 distribution); 

7 (B) medically underserved populations (as 

8 defined in section 330(b)(3) of the Public 

9 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254b(b))); 

10 (C) health professional shortage areas (as 

11 defined under section 332(a) of the Public 

12 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254e(a))); and 

13 (D) the racial and ethnic diversity of the 

14 area; and 

15 (6) for eligible entities who are local boards, a 

16 description of how a grant to such eligible entity 

17 would serve the equitable distribution of funds as de18 scribed in paragraph (5). 

19 (d) SUBGRANT AUTHORIZATION AND APPLICATION

20 PROCESS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity may award 

22 a subgrant to a community-based organization for 

23 the purposes of partnering with a State or local 

24 board to conduct outreach and education activities 

25 to inform potentially eligible individuals about emVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:10 Jun 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3848.IS S3848

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1 ployment opportunities in contact tracing and re2 lated positions. 

3 (2) APPLICATION.—A community-based organi4 zation shall submit an application at such time and 

5 in such manner as the eligible entity may reasonably 

6 require, including— 

7 (A) a demonstration of the community8 based organization’s established expertise and 

9 effectiveness in community outreach in the local 

10 area that such organization plans to serve; 

11 (B) a demonstration of the community12 based organization’s expertise in providing em13 ployment or public health information to the 

14 local areas in which such organization plans to 

15 serve; and 

16 (C) a description of the expertise of the 

17 community-based organization in utilizing cul18 turally competent and multilingual strategies in 

19 the provision of services. 

20 (e) GRANT DISTRIBUTION.— 

21 (1) FEDERAL DISTRIBUTION.— 

22 (A) USE OF FUNDS.—The Secretary shall 

23 use funds appropriated to carry out this section 

24 as follows: 


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1 (i) Subject to clause (ii), the Secretary 

2 shall distribute funds among eligible enti3 ties in accordance with a formula to be es4 tablished by the Secretary that provides a 

5 minimum level of funding to each eligible 

6 entity that seeks a grant under this section 

7 and allocates additional funding based on a 

8 formula that shall give first priority based 

9 on the number and proportion of contact 

10 tracing and related positions that the State 

11 plans to recruit, place, and train individ12 uals as a part of the State strategy de13 scribed in subsection (c)(2)(A). 

14 (ii) Not more than 2 percent of the 

15 funding for administration of the grants 

16 and for providing technical assistance to 

17 recipients of funds under this section. 

18 (B) EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION.—If the ge19 ographic region served by 1 or more eligible en20 tities overlaps, the Secretary shall distribute 

21 funds among such entities in such a manner 

22 that ensures equitable distribution with respect 

23 to the factors under in subsection (c)(5). 


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1 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY USE OF FUNDS.—An eli2 gible entity described in subparagraphs (A) through 

3 (C) of subsection (a)(4)— 

4 (A) shall, not later than 30 days after the 

5 date on which the entity receives grant funds 

6 under this section, provide not less than 70 per7 cent of grant funds to local boards for the pur8 pose of carrying out activities in subsection (f); 

9 (B) may use up to 20 percent of such 

10 funds to make subgrants to community-based 

11 organizations in the service area to conduct out12 reach, to potential eligible individuals, as de13 scribed in subsection (d); 

14 (C) in providing funds to local boards and 

15 awarding subgrants under this subsection shall 

16 ensure the equitable distribution with respect to 

17 the factors described in subsection (c)(5); and 

18 (D) may use not more than 10 percent of 

19 the funds awarded under this section for the 

20 administrative costs of carrying out the grant 

21 and for providing technical assistance to local 

22 boards and community-based organizations. 

23 (3) LOCAL BOARD USE OF FUNDS.—A local 

24 board, or an eligible entity that is a local board, 

25 shall use— 


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1 (A) not less than 60 percent of the funds 

2 for recruitment and training for activities in ac3 cordance with the strategy established under 

4 section 2; 

5 (B) not less than 30 of the funds to sup6 port the transition of individuals hired as con7 tact tracers and related positions into an edu8 cation or training program, or unsubsidized em9 ployment upon completion of such positions; 

10 and 

11 (C) not more than 10 percent of the funds 

12 for administrative costs. 

13 (f) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—The State or local boards 

14 shall use funds awarded under this section to support the 

15 recruitment and placement of eligible individuals, training 

16 and employment transition as related to contact tracing 

17 and related positions, and for the following activities: 

18 (1) Establishing or expanding partnerships 

19 with— 

20 (A) State, local, Tribal, and territorial 

21 public health departments; 

22 (B) community-based health providers, in23 cluding community health centers and rural 

24 health clinics; 


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1 (C) labor organizations or joint labor man2 agement organizations; 

3 (D) 2-year and 4-year institutions of high4 er education (as defined in section 101 of the 

5 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

6 1001)), including institutions eligible to receive 

7 funds under section 371(a) of the Higher Edu8 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a)); and 

9 (E) community action agencies or other 

10 community-based organizations serving local 

11 areas in which there is a demand for contact 

12 tracers and related positions. 

13 (2) Providing training for contact tracing and 

14 related positions in coordination with State, local, 

15 Tribal, or territorial health departments that is con16 sistent with the State or territorial testing and con17 tact tracing strategy and ensuring that eligible indi18 viduals receive compensation while participating in 

19 such training. 

20 (3) Providing eligible individuals with— 

21 (A) adequate and safe equipment, environ22 ments, and facilities for training and super23 vision, as applicable; 

24 (B) information regarding the wages and 

25 benefits related to contact tracing and related 


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1 positions, as compared to State, local, and na2 tional averages; 

3 (C) supplies and equipment needed by the 

4 program participants to support placement of 

5 an individual in contact tracing and related po6 sitions, as applicable; 

7 (D) an individualized employment plan for 

8 each eligible individual, as applicable— 

9 (i) in coordination with the entity em10 ploying the eligible individual in a contact 

11 tracing or related position; and 

12 (ii) which shall include providing a 

13 case manager to work with each eligible in14 dividual to develop the plan, which may in15 clude— 

16 (I) identifying employment and 

17 career goals, and setting appropriate 

18 achievement objectives to attain such 

19 goals; and 

20 (II) exploring career pathways 

21 that lead to in-demand industries and 

22 sectors, including in public health and 

23 related occupations; and 

24 (E) services for the period during which 

25 the individual is employed in a contact tracing 


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1 and related position to ensure job retention, 

2 which may include— 

3 (i) supportive services throughout the 

4 term of employment; 

5 (ii) a continuation of skills training as 

6 related to employment as a contact tracer 

7 or related positions, that is conducted in 

8 collaboration with the employers of such 

9 participants; 

10 (iii) mentorship services and job re11 tention support for eligible individuals; or 

12 (iv) targeted training for managers 

13 and workers working with eligible individ14 uals (such as mentors), and human re15 source representatives. 

16 (4) Supporting the transition and placement in 

17 unsubsidized employment for eligible individuals 

18 serving in the contact tracing or related positions 

19 after such positions are no longer necessary in the 

20 State or local area, including— 

21 (A) any additional training and employ22 ment activities as described in section 170(d)(4) 

23 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 

24 Act (29 U.S.C. 3225(d)(4)); 


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1 (B) developing the appropriate combina2 tion of services to enable the eligible individual 

3 to achieve the employment and career goals 

4 identified under paragraph (3)(D)(ii)(I); and 

5 (C) services to assist eligible individuals in 

6 maintaining employment for not less than 12 

7 months after the completion of employment in 

8 contact tracing or related positions, as appro9 priate. 

10 (5) Any other activities as described in sub11 sections (a)(3) and (b) of section 134 of the Work12 force Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

13 3174). 

14 (g) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding section 

15 170(d)(3)(A) of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor16 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3225(d)(3)(A)), a person may be 

17 employed in a contact tracing or related position using 

18 funds under this section for a period not greater than 2 

19 years. 

20 (h) REPORTING BY THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days 

22 after the date of enactment of this Act, and once 

23 grant funds have been expended under this section, 

24 the Secretary shall report to the Committee on 

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1 ate and the Committee on Education and Labor of 

2 the House of Representatives, and make publicly 

3 available a report containing a description of— 

4 (A) the number of eligible individuals re5 cruited, hired, or trained as contact tracers or 

6 in related positions; 

7 (B) the number of individuals successfully 

8 transitioned to unsubsidized employment or 

9 training at the completion of employment in 

10 contact tracing or related positions using funds 

11 under this section; 

12 (C) the number of such individuals who 

13 were unemployed prior to being hired, trained, 

14 or deployed as described in paragraph (1); 

15 (D) the performance of each program sup16 ported by funds under this section with respect 

17 to the indicators of performance under section 

18 116 of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor19 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3141), as applicable; 

20 (E) the number of individuals in unsub21 sidized employment within 6 months and 1 

22 year, respectively, of the conclusion of employ23 ment in contact tracing or related positions 

24 and, of those, the number of individuals within 

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1 partment in an occupation related to public 

2 health; 

3 (F) any information on how eligible enti4 ties, local boards, or community-based organiza5 tions that received funding under this section 

6 were able to support the goals of the strategy 

7 established under section 2; and 

8 (G) best practices for improving and in9 creasing the transition of individuals employed 

10 in contact tracing or related positions to perma11 nent, full-time employment. 

12 (2) DISAGGREGATION.—All data reported under 

13 paragraph (1) shall be disaggregated by race, eth14 nicity, sex, age, and, with respect to individuals with 

15 barriers to employment, subpopulation of such indi16 viduals, except for when the number of participants 

17 in a category is insufficient to yield statistically reli18 able information or when the results would reveal 

19 personally identifiable information about an indi20 vidual participant. 

21 (i) SPECIAL RULE.—Any funds for programs under 

22 this section that are used to fund an apprenticeship or 

23 apprenticeship program shall only be used for, or provided 

24 to, an apprenticeship or apprenticeship program that 

25 meets the definition of such term under subsection (a), 


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1 including any funds awarded for the purposes of grants, 

2 contracts, or cooperative agreements, or the development, 

3 implementation, or administration, of an apprenticeship or 

4 an apprenticeship program. 

5 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

6 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

7 $500,000,000. 

8 SEC. 7. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE STUDY. 

9 (a) SCOPE OF STUDY.—The Comptroller General of 

10 the United States shall conduct a study to evaluate— 

11 (1) the strategies, components, policies, and 

12 practices used by recipients of funding under this 

13 Act to successfully assist— 

14 (A) State, Tribal, and local health depart15 ments; and 

16 (B) State, Tribal, and local workforce de17 velopment systems; and 

18 (2) any challenges associated with implementa19 tion of such strategies, components, policies, and 

20 practices. 

21 (b) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the study 

22 under subsection (a), the Comptroller General shall con23 sult with a geographically diverse (including urban, subur24 ban, and rural) representation of individuals engaged in 

25 implementation of this Act, including the following: 


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1 (1) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

2 employees. 

3 (2) Department of Labor employees. 

4 (3) State and local public health departments. 

5 (4) State and local workforce development sys6 tems. 

7 (5) Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations. 

8 (6) Case investigators, contact tracers, and so9 cial support specialists. 

10 (c) SUBMISSION.—Not later than 2 years after the 

11 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

12 shall submit the study conducted under subsection (a) to 

13 the appropriate congressional committees. 

14 SEC. 8. APPLICATION OF THE SERVICE CONTRACT ACT TO 

15 CONTRACTS AND GRANTS. 

16 Contracts and grants, which include contact tracing 

17 as part of the scope of work and that are awarded under 

18 this Act, shall require that contact tracers and related po19 sitions are paid not less than the prevailing wage and 

20 fringe rates required under chapter 67 of title 41, United 

21 States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Service Contract 

22 Act’’), for the area in which the work is performed. To 

23 the extent that a nonstandard wage determination is re24 quired to establish a prevailing wage for contact tracers 

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1 retary of Labor shall issue such determination not later 

2 than 14 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

3 based on a job description used by the Centers for Disease 

4 Control and Prevention and contractors or grantees per5 forming contact tracing for State public health agencies. 

6 SEC. 9. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

7 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to restrict or 

8 in any way infringe upon individuals’ freedom of associa9 tion. 

Æ 


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