II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4410 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for racial and ethnic 

approaches to community health. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 4, 2020 

Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina (for himself and Mr. CARDIN) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for 

racial and ethnic approaches to community health. 

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 ‘‘REACH Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. RACIAL AND ETHNIC APPROACHES TO COMMUNITY 

6 HEALTH. 

7 Title XVII of the Public Health Service Act (42 

8 U.S.C. 300u et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

9 the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1712. RACIAL AND ETHNIC APPROACHES TO COMMU2 NITY HEALTH. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 

4 with the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health, 

5 shall award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements 

6 to eligible entities for the conduct of evidence-based and 

7 evidence-informed projects to improve health, prevent and 

8 manage chronic health conditions, and reduce health dis9 parities among racial and ethnic minority populations. 

10 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to receive 

11 an award under this section, an entity shall— 

12 ‘‘(1) submit to the Secretary an application at 

13 such time, in such manner, and containing such in14 formation as the Secretary shall require; 

15 ‘‘(2) demonstrate a history of successfully work16 ing with an established community-based coalition to 

17 address health disparities among racial and ethnic 

18 minority populations; 

19 ‘‘(3) conduct or identify a community health 

20 needs assessment to inform locally tailored activities 

21 conducted under subsection (a); and 

22 ‘‘(4) demonstrate the capacity to effectively and 

23 immediately implement evidence-based and evidence24 informed strategies to address health disparities 

25 among racial and ethnic minority populations. 


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1 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—An entity shall use funds re2 ceived under subsection (a), in coordination with State, 

3 local, and Tribal health departments, community-based or4 ganizations, and other entities with experience addressing 

5 racial and ethnic health disparities, to— 

6 ‘‘(1) increase the workforce of health care and 

7 public health professionals from underrepresented 

8 populations; 

9 ‘‘(2) support the implementation, evaluation, 

10 and dissemination of locally tailored strategies to 

11 prevent and manage chronic health conditions, in12 cluding by reducing tobacco use, improving nutrition 

13 and physical activity, and addressing social and 

14 other determinants of health; and 

15 ‘‘(3) enhance capacity, as appropriate, to pre16 vent and respond to infectious disease outbreaks 

17 through outreach, education, and other relevant ac18 tivities. 

19 ‘‘(d) REPORT.—Not later than September 30, 2024, 

20 and every five years thereafter, the Secretary shall submit 

21 to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen22 sions of the Senate, and the Committee on Energy and 

23 Commerce of the House of Representatives, a report that 

24 includes information on activities funded under this sec25 tion. Such report shall include a description of— 


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1 ‘‘(1) efforts to increase the workforce of health 

2 care and public health professionals from underrep3 resented populations; 

4 ‘‘(2) the prevalence of chronic health conditions 

5 among populations served under this section, includ6 ing a description of reductions in chronic health con7 ditions among such populations; and 

8 ‘‘(3) activities conducted to enhance capacity to 

9 prevent and respond to infectious disease outbreaks 

10 among racial and ethnic minority populations. 

11 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To 

12 carry out this section, there are authorized to be appro13 priated $70,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 

14 2025.’’. 

Æ 


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