II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4459 

To amend the CARES Act to modify the membership requirements of the 

Congressional Oversight Commission. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 5, 2020 

Mr. VAN HOLLEN (for himself, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. MENENDEZ, and Mr. BOOKER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend the CARES Act to modify the membership 

requirements of the Congressional Oversight Commission. 

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 ‘‘CARES Congressional 

5 Oversight Commission Diversity Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The COVID–19 pandemic is having signifi9 cantly disparate health and economic impacts on 

10 various populations. 


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•S 4459 IS

1 (2) According to the Centers for Disease Con2 trol and Prevention, long-standing systemic health 

3 and social inequities have put some members of ra4 cial and ethnic minority groups at increased risk of 

5 getting COVID–19, regardless of age. 

6 (3) Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaska 

7 Native individuals have an infection rate approxi8 mately 5 times that of non-Hispanic White individ9 uals. 

10 (4) Non-Hispanic Black individuals have an in11 fection rate of approximately 5 times that of non12 Hispanic White individuals. 

13 (5) Hispanic and Latino individuals have an in14 fection rate of approximately 4 times that of non15 Hispanic White individuals. 

16 (6) According the Household Pulse Survey, 6 in 

17 10 Hispanic individuals were in households that lost 

18 some employment income over the 3-month period 

19 between March and June of 2020. During that same 

20 time period, more than 50 percent of Black, multira21 cial, and individuals of other races were in house22 holds with employment income loss. 

23 (7) The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis 

24 surveyed leadership representing Tribal govern25 ments, Tribal enterprises, and other Tribal organizaVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:21 Aug 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4459.IS S4459

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1 tions. In that survey, over 30 percent of Tribal en2 terprises reported they had to lay off or furlough 80 

3 to 100 percent of their workforce at the time of the 

4 survey. 

5 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT COMMISSION. 

6 Section 4020(c)(1) of the CARES Act (15 U.S.C. 

7 9055(c)(1)) is amended— 

8 (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), 

9 by striking ‘‘5’’ and inserting ‘‘9’’; 

10 (2) in subparagraphs (A) through (D), strike 

11 ‘‘1’’ each place the term appears and insert ‘‘2’’; and 

12 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(F) At least 1 of the 2 members ap14 pointed under each of subparagraphs (A) 

15 through (D) shall be from a group that has 

16 been disproportionately negatively impacted by 

17 the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID–19) pan18 demic of 2020 and the economic recession re19 sulting from the pandemic.’’. 

Æ 


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