II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4526 

To ensure that COVID–19-related Federal programs and assistance provide 

for the translation of informational materials relating to awareness, 

screening, testing, and treatment for COVID–19 into priority languages. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 12, 2020 

Ms. HIRONO (for herself, Mr. CASEY, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. BROWN, Ms. ROSEN, 

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. BOOKER, Ms. BALDWIN, and 

Mr. BLUMENTHAL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice 

and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To ensure that COVID–19-related Federal programs and 

assistance provide for the translation of informational 

materials relating to awareness, screening, testing, and 

treatment for COVID–19 into priority languages. 

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 ‘‘Coronavirus Language 

5 Access Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 4526 IS

1 (1) COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATION.—The 

2 term ‘‘community-based organization’’ means an en3 tity that has established relationships with the com4 munities served by the entity, including especially 

5 hard-to-reach populations, racial and ethnic minority 

6 communities, individuals with limited English pro7 ficiency, and individuals with disabilities. 

8 (2) CORONAVIRUS PUBLIC HEALTH EMER9 GENCY.—The term ‘‘coronavirus public health emer10 gency’’ means the public health emergency declared 

11 by the Secretary pursuant to section 319 of the Pub12 lic Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) with respect 

13 to COVID–19. 

14 (3) CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE LAW.—The term 

15 ‘‘coronavirus response law’’ means— 

16 (A) the Coronavirus Preparedness and Re17 sponse Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020 

18 (Public Law 116–123); 

19 (B) the Families First Coronavirus Re20 sponse Act (Public Law 116–127); 

21 (C) the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Eco22 nomic Security Act (Public Law 116–136); 

23 (D) the Paycheck Protection Program and 

24 Health Care Enhancement Act (Public Law 

25 116–139); 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 4526 IS

1 (E) the Paycheck Protection Program 

2 Flexibility Act (Public Law 116–142); and 

3 (F) any subsequent Act enacted as a re4 sponse to a coronavirus public health emer5 gency. 

6 (4) COVID–19.—The term ‘‘COVID–19’’ 

7 means the novel coronavirus or SARS–CoV–2. 

8 (5) PRIORITY LANGUAGES.—The term ‘‘priority 

9 languages’’ means— 

10 (A) in the case of Federal agencies, at a 

11 minimum, the languages as identified by the 

12 Federal Emergency Management Agency Lan13 guage Access Plan, dated October 1, 2016, as 

14 the languages most frequently encountered, in15 cluding Spanish, Arabic, Cambodian, Chinese, 

16 Haitian Creole, French, Hindi, Italian, Japa17 nese, Korean, Laotian, Russian, Tagalog, Urdu, 

18 Vietnamese, Greek, Polish, Thai, and Por19 tuguese; or 

20 (B) in the case of State agencies or grant 

21 recipients operating in a State, at a minimum, 

22 the 15 languages spoken with greatest fre23 quency by individuals with limited English pro24 ficiency in that State. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 4526 IS

1 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

3 (7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

4 the several States and the District of Columbia. 

5 TITLE I—LANGUAGE ACCESS 

6 SEC. 101. LANGUAGE ACCESS. 

7 (a) REQUIREMENT OF PRIORITY LANGUAGE

8 USAGE.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any Federal agency that has 

10 received funding under a coronavirus response law 

11 shall ensure that all programs and opportunities 

12 made available to the general public relating to 

13 COVID–19 or the coronavirus public health emer14 gency provide translated materials, including audio 

15 and video products, describing the programs and op16 portunities in priority languages (as defined in sec17 tion 2(5)(A)). 

18 (2) APPLICATION OF REQUIREMENT.—This 

19 subsection shall apply to each division, contractor, 

20 and subcontractor of a Federal agency that is likely 

21 to have contact with the public. 

22 (3) AVAILABILITY.—Translation services re23 quired under this subsection shall be made available 

24 not later than 7 business days after the date on 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 4526 IS

1 which any such material is made available in 

2 English. 

3 (b) ORAL LANGUAGE ASSISTANCE SERVICES.—Any 

4 Federal agency that has received funding under a 

5 coronavirus response law shall provide oral language as6 sistance services and notice of the availability of services 

7 relating to COVID–19 or the coronavirus public health 

8 emergency to limited English proficient individuals in a 

9 language they can understand. 

10 (c) REPORT.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than January 1, 

12 2021, the head of each Federal agency receiving 

13 funding under a coronavirus response law shall sub14 mit to the Committees described in paragraph (2), 

15 a report describing such agency’s compliance with 

16 the requirements of this section. 

17 (2) COMMITTEES.—The Committees described 

18 in this section are the following: 

19 (A) The Committee on Homeland Security 

20 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate. 

21 (B) The Committee on Health, Education, 

22 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate. 

23 (C) The Special Committee on Aging of 

24 the Senate. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 4526 IS

1 (D) The Committee on Finance of the Sen2 ate. 

3 (E) The Committee on Appropriations of 

4 the Senate. 

5 (F) The Committee on the Judiciary of the 

6 Senate. 

7 (G) The Committee on Homeland Security 

8 of the House of Representatives. 

9 (H) The Committee on Energy and Com10 merce of the House of Representatives. 

11 (I) The Committee on Financial Services 

12 of the House of Representatives. 

13 (J) The Committee on Ways and Means of 

14 the House of Representatives. 

15 (K) The Committee on Appropriations of 

16 the House of Representatives. 

17 (L) The Committee on the Judiciary of the 

18 House of Representatives. 

19 SEC. 102. GRANTS AND SERVICES FACILITATING ACCES20 SIBLE PUBLIC OUTREACH FOR PUBLIC 

21 HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES. 

22 (a) GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 

24 through the Director of the Centers for Disease 

25 Control and Prevention (referred to in this section 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 4526 IS

1 as the ‘‘Director’’), shall award grants to, or enter 

2 into cooperative agreements with, community-based 

3 organizations and State, Tribal, local, and territorial 

4 health departments for the following purposes: 

5 (A) To support culturally and linguistically 

6 appropriate preparedness, response, and recov7 ery activities targeted to individuals who speak 

8 English less than very well in priority languages 

9 (as defined in section 2(5)(B)). 

10 (B) The development of educational pro11 grams and materials to promote screening, test12 ing, treatment, and public health practices in 

13 non-English languages. 

14 (C) The provision of interpretation services 

15 to individuals receiving COVID–19 testing, 

16 treatment, or vaccination services. 

17 (D) The provision of subgrants to local 

18 health departments or community-based organi19 zations for the purposes described in this para20 graph. 

21 (2) PRIORITY.—The Director shall prioritize 

22 grants and cooperative agreements under this sub23 section to entities in areas with higher rates of indi24 viduals with limited English proficiency and to enti25 ties with demonstrated experience serving those indiVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Sep 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4526.IS S4526

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 4526 IS

1 viduals or who propose to provide subgrants to such 

2 entities. 

3 (b) TRANSLATION.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall provide 

5 for the translation of materials on awareness of, and 

6 screening, testing, and treatment for COVID–19 

7 into priority languages for Federal, State, Tribal, 

8 local, and territorial agencies. 

9 (2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—Not later than 7 

10 business days after the date on which the materials 

11 described in paragraph (1) are made available to the 

12 public in English, the Director shall ensure that the 

13 translations required under such paragraph are 

14 made available to the public. 

15 (c) HOTLINE.—The Director shall establish an infor16 mational hotline, to be staffed by trained interpreters, to 

17 provide information to the public concerning COVID–19. 

18 (d) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—With respect to 

19 individuals with limited English proficiency, the Director 

20 shall facilitate interagency coordination among agencies 

21 activated through the National Response Framework 

22 based on the language access standards established under 

23 the language access plans of the Federal Emergency Man24 agement Agency and the Department of Health and 

25 Human Services. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 4526 IS

1 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

3 appropriated to carry out this section $200,000,000 

4 for fiscal year 2020, to remain available until ex5 pended. 

6 (2) GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREE7 MENTS.—Of the amount appropriated under para8 graph (1), not less than $150,000,000 shall be made 

9 available to carry out subsection (a). 

10 TITLE II—APPROPRIATIONS 

11 SEC. 201. LANGUAGE ACCESS FOR OLDER INDIVIDUALS 

12 WITH LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY. 

13 The following sums are hereby appropriated, out of 

14 any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 

15 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, and for 

16 other purposes, namely: 

17 DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN 

18 SERVICES 

19 ADMINISTRATION FOR COMMUNITY LIVING

20 AGING AND DISABILITY SERVICES PROGRAMS

21 For an additional amount for ‘‘Aging and Disability 

22 Services Programs’’, for carrying out the Older Americans 

23 Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.) (‘‘OAA’’), 

24 $20,000,000, to remain available through September 30, 

25 2021, which shall be for making payments under title III 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 4526 IS

1 of the OAA (42 U.S.C. 3021 et seq.) to States with State 

2 plans approved under section 307 of the OAA (42 U.S.C. 

3 3027), to be distributed to the States as described in sec4 tion 304(a) of the OAA (42 U.S.C. 3024(a)) to provide 

5 services to support older individuals with limited English 

6 proficiency in addressing concerns as a result of COVID– 

7 19: Provided, That in carrying out the requirements in 

8 the proviso under this heading, area agencies on aging 

9 shall partner or contract with community-based organiza10 tions that provide translation and interpretation services 

11 for older individuals with limited English proficiency: Pro12 vided further, That in seeking organizations with which 

13 to enter into such partnerships or contracts, area agencies 

14 on aging shall make an effort to include organizations that 

15 assist older individuals speaking the most spoken non16 English language in the planning and service area served 

17 by the area agency on aging and older individuals speaking 

18 the least spoken non-English language in such area: Pro19 vided further, That the services provided under the proviso 

20 under this heading shall include services to provide older 

21 individuals with limited English proficiency with (1) the 

22 most up-to-date information on public health concerns and 

23 suggested precautions related to COVID–19 and related 

24 issues, (2) one-on-one assistance to help older individuals 

25 with limited English proficiency understand eligibility reVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Sep 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4526.IS S4526

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 4526 IS

1 quirements for available Federal, State, and local benefits 

2 and services, to translate applications and provide oral in3 terpretations necessary to receive such benefits and serv4 ices and provide oral interpretations necessary to receive 

5 such benefits and services, and to provide other supportive 

6 services for such individuals to access such benefits and 

7 services, and (3) related public awareness campaigns, re8 lated to COVID–19 and related issues, in non-English lan9 guages: Provided further, That each State agency receiving 

10 funding described in the proviso under this heading shall 

11 report to the Assistant Secretary for Aging on the number 

12 of individuals receiving the services supported by such 

13 funding, number of services provided by type, and the lan14 guages spoken by the individuals receiving such services: 

15 Provided further, That the amount appropriated under 

16 this heading is designated by Congress as being for an 

17 emergency requirement pursuant to section 

18 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency 

19 Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(A)(i)). 

20 SEC. 202. INFORMATION AND TRANSLATION THROUGH 

21 STATEWIDE INDEPENDENT COUNCILS. 

22 The following sums are hereby appropriated, out of 

23 any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 

24 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, and for 

25 other purposes, namely: 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 4526 IS

1 DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN 

2 SERVICES 

3 ADMINISTRATION FOR COMMUNITY LIVING

4 AGING AND DISABILITY SERVICES PROGRAMS

5 (STATEWIDE INDEPENDENT LIVING COUNCILS)

6 For an additional amount for ‘‘Aging and Disability 

7 Services Programs’’, for carrying out title VII of the Reha8 bilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 796 et seq.), 

9 $10,000,000, to remain available through September 30, 

10 2021, which shall be for making payments under that title 

11 VII to States with State plans approved under section 704 

12 of that Act (29 U.S.C. 796c), to be distributed as de13 scribed in section 711 of that Act (29 U.S.C. 796e), to 

14 the States for Statewide Independent Living Councils to 

15 enable the Councils to support limited English proficient 

16 individuals with disabilities and individuals who are deaf 

17 or hard of hearing (which 2 types of individuals are re18 ferred to under this heading as ‘‘covered individuals’’) in 

19 addressing concerns as a result of COVID–19 through 

20 services to provide covered individuals with (1) the most 

21 up-to-date information on public health concerns and pre22 cautions related to COVID–19 and related issues; (2) one23 on-one assistance to understand eligibility requirements 

24 for available Federal, State, and local benefits and serv25 ices, to translate applications and provide oral interpretaVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Sep 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4526.IS S4526

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 4526 IS

1 tion necessary for such individuals to receive such benefits 

2 and services, and to provide other supports for such indi3 viduals to access such benefits and services; and (3) re4 lated public awareness campaigns in languages other than 

5 English and in American Sign Language (which languages 

6 and Language are referred to under this heading as ‘‘addi7 tional languages’’): Provided, that the Councils shall pro8 vide support with funds appropriated under this heading 

9 in partnership with, or through contracts with, agencies 

10 carrying out State disability services programs or commu11 nity-based organizations that provide translation and in12 terpretation services for covered individuals: Provided fur13 ther, That in seeking agencies or organizations for such 

14 partnerships or contracts in a geographic area, a Council 

15 shall make efforts to include entities that assist covered 

16 individuals that speak the most commonly spoken addi17 tional languages, and entities that assist covered individ18 uals that speak the least commonly spoken additional lan19 guages, in that geographical area: Provided further, That 

20 the Councils shall report to the Administration about the 

21 number of individuals served, the number of services pro22 vided by type, and the additional languages through which 

23 services are provided, with funds appropriated under this 

24 heading: Provided further, That the amount appropriated 

25 under this heading is designated by Congress as being for 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 4526 IS

1 an emergency requirement pursuant to section 

2 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency 

3 Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(A)(i)). 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS