II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4315 

To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants 

to eligible entities to conduct testing and contact tracing for COVID– 

19, and related activities such as supported isolation, through mobile 

health units and, as necessary, at individuals’ residences, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 23, 2020 

Mr. KING (for himself and Ms. MURKOWSKI) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

to award grants to eligible entities to conduct testing 

and contact tracing for COVID–19, and related activities 

such as supported isolation, through mobile health units 

and, as necessary, at individuals’ residences, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘COVID–19 Testing, 

3 Reaching, And Contacting Everyone Act’’ or the ‘‘TRACE 

4 Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. COVID–19 TESTING AND CONTACT TRACING USING 

6 MOBILE HEALTH UNITS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

8 (1) GRANTS.—The Secretary, acting through 

9 the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 

10 Prevention, may award grants to eligible entities to 

11 conduct testing for COVID–19, to trace and monitor 

12 the contacts of infected individuals, and to support 

13 the quarantine and isolation of such contacts, and 

14 by providing such services— 

15 (A) through mobile health units; 

16 (B) through community-based organiza17 tions; or 

18 (C) with respect to quarantine and isola19 tion of contacts, at individuals’ residences or 

20 another facility that a State, territorial, Tribal, 

21 or local health authority has provided for such 

22 purposes. 

23 (2) USE OF EXISTING MECHANISMS AND PRO24 GRAMS.—The Secretary may use existing mecha25 nisms and programs to administer and distribute 

26 grants under paragraph (1). 


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1 (b) PERMISSIBLE USES OF FUNDS.—A recipient of 

2 a grant under this section may use the grant funds to— 

3 (1) hire, train, and equip personnel to provide 

4 services described in subsection (a)(1); 

5 (2) cover other expenses related to carrying out 

6 the activities described in subsection (a)(1), which 

7 may include covering appropriate and related ex8 penses incurred by individuals receiving services de9 scribed in subsection (a)(1); or 

10 (3) purchase personal protective equipment, 

11 testing supplies and equipment, and other supplies 

12 for persons carrying out the activities or receiving 

13 services described in subsection (a)(1). 

14 (c) APPLICANTS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 

16 grant under this section, an eligible entity shall sub17 mit an application to the Secretary, at such time, in 

18 such manner, and containing such information as 

19 the Secretary may require, including the entity’s 

20 proposal for using evidence-based models for testing, 

21 tracing, and supported isolation. 

22 (2) PRIORITY.—In selecting grant recipients 

23 under this section, the Secretary shall give priority 

24 to applicants that meet one or more of the following 


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1 criteria, in proportion to the number of the following 

2 criteria met: 

3 (A) Proposing to conduct activities funded 

4 under this section in hot spots and medically 

5 underserved communities. 

6 (B) For purposes of carrying out activities 

7 funded under this section, proposing to hire 

8 residents of the area or community where the 

9 activities will primarily occur, with priority 

10 among applicants described in this subpara11 graph given in proportion to the percentage of 

12 individuals to be hired from such area or com13 munity. 

14 (C) With respect to contact tracing activi15 ties, demonstrating experience or expertise in 

16 training, conducting, participating in, or admin17 istering public health contact tracing programs. 

18 (D) Committing to distributing at least 30 

19 percent of grant funds received under this sec20 tion to county and other local governmental en21 tities within the State that do not receive funds 

22 directly from the Department of Health and 

23 Human Services for the programs supported by 

24 an award under this section. 


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1 (d) DISTRIBUTION.—In selecting grant recipients 

2 under this section, the Secretary shall ensure that grants 

3 are distributed across urban and rural areas. 

4 (e) FEDERAL PRIVACY REQUIREMENTS.—Nothing in 

5 this section shall be construed to supersede any Federal 

6 privacy or confidentiality requirement, including the regu7 lations promulgated under section 264(c) of the Health 

8 Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 

9 (Public Law 104–191; 110 Stat. 2033) and section 543 

10 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290dd–2). 

11 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 (1) The term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means an entity 

13 that— 

14 (A) is— 

15 (i) a federally qualified health center 

16 (as defined in section 1861(aa) of the So17 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(aa))); 

18 (ii) a school-based health clinic; 

19 (iii) a disproportionate share hospital 

20 (as defined under the applicable State plan 

21 under title XIX of the Social Security Act 

22 (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) pursuant to sec23 tion 1923(a)(1)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

24 1396r–4)); 

25 (iv) an academic medical center; 


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1 (v) a nonprofit organization (including 

2 any such faith-based organization); 

3 (vi) an institution of higher education 

4 (as defined in section 101 of the Higher 

5 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)); 

6 (vii) a high school (as defined in sec7 tion 8101 of the Elementary and Sec8 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

9 7801)); or 

10 (viii) an Indian Tribe or a Tribal Or11 ganization as defined in section 4 of the 

12 Indian Self-Determination and Education 

13 Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304); and 

14 (B) is working in coordination with a 

15 State, territorial, Tribal, county, or municipal 

16 health department. 

17 (2) The term ‘‘emergency period’’ has the 

18 meaning given to that term in section 1135(g)(1)(B) 

19 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b– 

20 5(g)(1)(B)). 

21 (3) The term ‘‘hot spot’’ means a geographic 

22 area where the prevalence or incidence of SARS– 

23 CoV–2 (the virus that causes COVID–19) or of 

24 COVID–19 exceeds the national or State average. 


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1 (4) The term ‘‘medically underserved commu2 nity’’ has the meaning given to that term in section 

3 799B of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

4 295p). 

5 (5) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

6 of Health and Human Services. 

7 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

8 out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated 

9 such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 

10 2020 and 2021, and for any subsequent fiscal year during 

11 which the emergency period continues. 

Æ 


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