II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2768 

To protect hospital personnel from violence, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 12, 2023 

Mr. MANCHIN (for himself and Mr. RUBIO) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To protect hospital personnel from violence, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safety From Violence 

5 for Healthcare Employees Act’’ or the ‘‘SAVE Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PREVENTION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST HOSPITAL 

7 PERSONNEL. 

8 (a) PROHIBITION ON INTERFERENCE WITH HOS9 PITAL PERSONNEL IN THE PERFORMANCE OF DUTIES.— 

10 Chapter 7 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 

11 adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘§ 120. Interference with performance of duties of 

2 hospital personnel 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Whoever knowingly assaults an 

4 individual employed by a hospital engaged in interstate 

5 commerce, or an entity contracting with a hospital or 

6 other medical facility engaged in interstate commerce, 

7 during the course of the performance of the duties of such 

8 individual, and, as a result, interferes with the perform9 ance of the duties of such individual or limits the ability 

10 of such individual to perform such duties, shall be fined 

11 under this title, imprisoned for not more than 10 years, 

12 or both. 

13 ‘‘(b) ENHANCED PENALTIES.— 

14 ‘‘(1) ACTS INVOLVING DANGEROUS WEAPONS

15 OR ACTS THAT RESULT IN BODILY INJURY.—Who16 ever, in the commission of any act described in sub17 section (a), uses a deadly or dangerous weapon or 

18 inflicts serious bodily injury, shall be fined under 

19 this title, imprisoned for not more than 20 years, or 

20 both. 

21 ‘‘(2) ACTS COMMITTED DURING EMERGENCY

22 DECLARATIONS.—Whoever commits any act de23 scribed in subsection (a) during the period of a dec24 laration of a public emergency for the area in which 

25 the act is committed shall be fined under this title, 

26 imprisoned for not more than 20 years, or both. 


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1 ‘‘(c) DEFENSE.—It shall be a defense to a prosecu2 tion under this section that— 

3 ‘‘(1) the defendant is a person with a physical, 

4 mental, or intellectual disability; and 

5 ‘‘(2) the conduct of the defendant was a clear 

6 and direct manifestation of such disability. 

7 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 ‘‘(1) HOSPITAL.—The term ‘hospital’ means 

9 any of the following medical facilities: 

10 ‘‘(A) A hospital (as defined in section 

11 1861(e) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

12 1395x(e))). 

13 ‘‘(B) A long-term care hospital (as defined 

14 in section 1861(ccc) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

15 1395x(ccc))). 

16 ‘‘(C) A rehabilitation facility (as described 

17 in section 1886(j)(1)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

18 1395ww(j)(1)(A))). 

19 ‘‘(D) A children’s hospital (as described in 

20 section 1886(d)(1)(B)(iii) of such Act (42 

21 U.S.C. 1395ww(d)(1)(B)(iii))). 

22 ‘‘(E) A cancer hospital (as described in 

23 section 1886(d)(1)(B)(v) of such Act (42 

24 U.S.C. 1395ww(d)(1)(B)(v))). 


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1 ‘‘(F) A critical access hospital (as defined 

2 in section 1861(mm)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

3 1395x(mm)(1))). 

4 ‘‘(G) A rural emergency hospital (as de5 fined in section 1861(kkk)(2) of such Act (42 

6 U.S.C. 1395x(kkk)(2))). 

7 ‘‘(2) DECLARATION OF A PUBLIC EMER8 GENCY.—The term ‘declaration of a public emer9 gency’ means an emergency or major disaster de10 clared by the President pursuant to the Robert T. 

11 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

12 Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.).’’. 

13 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

14 for chapter 7 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

15 by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘120. Interference with performance of duties of hospital personnel.’’. 

16 SEC. 3. GAO STUDY. 

17 The Comptroller General of the United States shall 

18 conduct a study on— 

19 (1) how this Act, and the amendments made by 

20 this Act, has affected workplace violence in 

21 healthcare settings; and 

22 (2) whether Federal, State, and local prosecu23 tions for workplace violence in healthcare settings 


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1 have increased or decreased because of the ability to 

2 prosecute these incidents as Federal crimes. 

Æ 


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