I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 212 

To require Federal agencies to submit plans for responding to the COVID– 

19 pandemic, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 5, 2021 

Mr. SCHNEIDER (for himself and Mr. KATKO) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and in 

addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently 

determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To require Federal agencies to submit plans for responding 

to the COVID–19 pandemic, 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 ‘‘COVID Preparedness, 

5 Response, and Effective Planning for Advanced Require6 ments by the Executive Branch Act of 2021’’ or the 

7 ‘‘COVID PREPARE Act of 2021’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. COVID–19 RESPONSE PLAN. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 

3 date of the enactment of this Act, the head of each agency 

4 shall submit to Congress an initial report detailing an ac5 tion plan, informed by research and best practices learned 

6 from the onset of COVID–19, previous pandemics, and 

7 health emergencies, for addressing the needs and miti8 gating and eliminating the risks and challenges associated 

9 with the COVID–19 pandemic and the deployment of 

10 COVID–19 vaccines, that includes— 

11 (1) agency priorities for preparing for and re12 sponding to the COVID–19 pandemic, including con13 tinuity of operations and fulfilling the mission of the 

14 agency and agency priorities related to the deploy15 ment of COVID–19 vaccines; 

16 (2) measurable goals specific to priorities and a 

17 time line for addressing each priority; 

18 (3) anticipated challenges to addressing prior19 ities and how the agency will address such chal20 lenges; 

21 (4) how the agency will consult with Congress, 

22 the public, State and municipal governments, and 

23 relevant stakeholders while working remotely; 

24 (5) how the agency plans to issue relevant guid25 ance to entities under the jurisdiction of the agency; 

26 and 


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1 (6) any resources the agency needs from Con2 gress. 

3 (b) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS.—Not later than 60 days 

4 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and quarterly 

5 thereafter until the President ends the declared emer6 gency, the head of each agency shall submit to Congress 

7 a report that provides an update of the details submitted 

8 in the plan under subsection (a), including— 

9 (1) the status of each priority; 

10 (2) an explanation for any goal that has not 

11 been met within the specified time frame; and 

12 (3) any changes or updates to the plan. 

13 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

14 (1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the 

15 meaning given that term in section 551 of title 5, 

16 United States Code. 

17 (2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

18 the several States, the District of Columbia, each 

19 commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United 

20 States, and each federally recognized Indian Tribe. 

21 SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 

22 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 

23 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 

24 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 

25 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 


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1 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 

2 by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, pro3 vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 

4 vote on passage. 

Æ 


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