I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8441 

To establish certain protections and benefits for front line workers, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2020 

Mrs. TORRES of California (for herself, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. VARGAS, 

Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. SOTO, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. ROYBALALLARD, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. CISNEROS, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. VELA, Mrs. 

NAPOLITANO, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Ms. NORTON, and Mr. CARSON

of Indiana) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on 

the Judiciary, and Ways and Means, 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 establish certain protections and benefits for front line 

workers, 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 ‘‘Frontline Heroes Act’’. 


SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 8441 IH

1 SEC. 2. DATA ON INFECTIONS AND MORTALITIES OF EM2 PLOYEES AND CONTRACTORS AT HEALTH3 CARE FACILITIES. 

4 (a) DATA COLLECTION.—The Secretary of Health 

5 and Human Services (in this section referred to as the 

6 ‘‘Secretary’’) acting through the Director of the Centers 

7 for Disease Control and Prevention shall— 

8 (1) collect data on COVID–19 infections and 

9 the related mortalities or mortality rate of employees 

10 and contractors at nursing homes, long-term care fa11 cilities, hospitals, and other healthcare facilities na12 tionwide; and 

13 (2) compile such data, redacted to exclude any 

14 personally identifiable information, into a database 

15 disaggregated by geographic region. 

16 (b) REQUIRED REPORTING TO SECRETARY.—During 

17 the COVID–19 emergency period, the Secretary— 

18 (1) may require a nursing home, long-term care 

19 facility, hospital, or other healthcare facility to re20 port the data described in subsection (a)(1) in the 

21 possession of the respective facility as a condition on 

22 the receipt by such facility of any Federal funds, 

23 and shall require such reporting as a condition on 

24 the receipt by such facility of any funds made avail25 able under— 


SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 8441 IH

1 (A) the Coronavirus Preparedness and Re2 sponse Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020 

3 (Public Law 116–123); 

4 (B) the Families First Coronavirus Re5 sponse Act (Public Law 116–127); 

6 (C) the CARES Act (Public Law 116– 

7 136); and 

8 (D) the Paycheck Protection Program and 

9 Health Care Enhancement Act (Public Law 

10 116–139); and 

11 (E) any other Federal statute enacted in 

12 response to the COVID–19 pandemic; and 

13 (2) may require such reporting to be made in 

14 such form, in such manner, and by such time as the 

15 Secretary determines. 

16 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 90 days 

17 after the date of enactment of this Act, Secretary shall 

18 submit a report on the status of data collection under this 

19 section and any initial findings and conclusions resulting 

20 from such collection to the appropriate congressional com21 mittees, including— 

22 (1) the Committee on Appropriations and the 

23 Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House 

24 of Representatives; and 


SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 8441 IH

1 (2) the Committee on Appropriations and the 

2 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen3 sions of the Senate. 

4 (d) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term 

5 ‘‘COVID–19 emergency period’’ has the meaning given to 

6 the term ‘‘emergency period’’ in section 1135(g)(1)(B) of 

7 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b–5(g)(1)(B)). 

8 SEC. 3. CDC STUDY ON LONG-TERM IMPACT OF COVID–19. 

9 Not later than 200 days after the date of the enact10 ment of this Act, the Director of the Centers for Disease 

11 Control and Prevention shall submit to the appropriate 

12 Committees of Congress, including the Committees de13 scribed under section 2(c), a report containing the results 

14 of a study on the long-term health impacts of COVID– 

15 19, including the potential to cause a disability (as defined 

16 in section 3(1) of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 

17 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102(1))). 

18 SEC. 4. COVID–19 FRONTLINE HEALTHCARE HEROES SUR19 VIVOR AND DISABILITY BENEFITS PROGRAM. 

20 (a) FILING CLAIM.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Attorney Gen22 eral of the Civil Division of the Department of Jus23 tice shall establish and implement the COVID-19 

24 Frontline Healthcare Heroes Survivor and Disability 

25 Benefits Compensation Program, under which a 


SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 8441 IH

1 claimant may file a claim for compensation for death 

2 or disability related to COVID-19 with the Assistant 

3 Attorney General by mail or on an online portal cre4 ated by the Assistant Attorney General. 

5 (2) WEBSITE.—The Assistant Attorney General 

6 of the Civil Division of the Department of Justice 

7 shall publish on the Department of Justice website 

8 instructions for submitting a claim for compensation 

9 under this section. 

10 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—The following claimants shall be 

11 eligible to receive compensation under this section: 

12 (1) A claimant who was a frontline healthcare 

13 worker at the time that the claimant received a 

14 COVID-19 diagnosis or in the 45-day period before 

15 such diagnosis. 

16 (2) In the case that the frontline healthcare 

17 worker is deceased, a survivor of a frontline 

18 healthcare worker described in paragraph (1) in the 

19 following order of precedence: 

20 (A) The surviving spouse of the frontline 

21 healthcare worker described in paragraph (1) if 

22 the spouse was married to the claimant for at 

23 least 1 year before the frontline healthcare 

24 worker’s death. 


SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 8441 IH

1 (B) If there is no person meeting the re2 quirements of subparagraph (A), the children of 

3 the frontline healthcare worker described in 

4 paragraph (1), in equal shares. 

5 (C) If there is no person meeting the re6 quirements of subparagraph (A) or (B), the 

7 parents of the frontline healthcare worker de8 scribed in paragraph (1), in equal shares. 

9 (D) If there is no person meeting the re10 quirements of subparagraph (A), (B), or (C), 

11 the grandchildren of the frontline healthcare 

12 worker described in paragraph (1), in equal 

13 shares. 

14 (E) If there is no person meeting the re15 quirements of subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or 

16 (D), the grandparents of the frontline 

17 healthcare worker described in paragraph (1), 

18 in equal shares. 

19 (F) If there is no person meeting the re20 quirements of subparagraph (A), (B), (C), (D), 

21 or (E), the person designated on a life insur22 ance policy of the frontline healthcare worker 

23 described in paragraph (1). 

24 (c) NECESSARY DOCUMENTATION.—A claim filed 

25 under this section shall include— 


SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 8441 IH

1 (1) evidence of employment as a frontline 

2 healthcare worker during the time that COVID-19 

3 was diagnosed or during the 45-day period before 

4 such diagnosis; 

5 (2) a medical statement of a COVID-19 diag6 nosis, whether confirmed by a test or a presumptive 

7 diagnosis by a qualified medical professional, and 

8 confirmation that death or disability was from 

9 COVID-19 or connected to complications due to 

10 SARS–CoV–2; and 

11 (3) in the case of a claim for a death benefit, 

12 the death certificate of a frontline worker, or in the 

13 case of a claim for a disability benefit, evidence of 

14 total and permanent disability as a result of 

15 COVID-19 or connected to complications due to 

16 SARS–CoV–2. 

17 (d) REVIEW CLAIM.—Not later than 90 days after 

18 a claim is submitted under subsection (a), such claim shall 

19 be reviewed to determine whether the claimant is eligible 

20 to receive compensation under this section. 

21 (e) AMOUNTS.—A claimant who is eligible to receive 

22 compensation under this section shall receive a one-time 

23 lump sum payment of $365,670 not later than 90 days 

24 after the claimant is determined to be eligible to receive 

25 compensation under this section. Any compensation reVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:33 Nov 13, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8441.IH H8441

SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 8441 IH

1 ceived under this section shall not preclude the claimant 

2 from receiving any collateral source compensation to which 

3 the claimant is entitled. 

4 (f) APPEALS.— 

5 (1) APPEALS OFFICER.—The Assistant Attor6 ney General of the Civil Division of the Department 

7 of Justice shall appoint appeals officers to review 

8 appeals made pursuant to paragraph (2). 

9 (2) APPEALING DENIAL.—In the case that a 

10 claim under this section is denied, a claimant may 

11 file an appeal of such denial with an appeals officer 

12 not later than 60 days after such denial. 

13 (3) REVIEW.—In reviewing an appeal, an ap14 peals officer may— 

15 (A) grant compensation under this section; 

16 (B) deny compensation under this section; 

17 or 

18 (C) send the claim to the Assistant Attor19 ney General of the Civil Division of the Depart20 ment of Justice for further review, including for 

21 the purpose of collecting additional evidence. 

22 (g) NO FEDERAL TAX OR COLA.—Any payment 

23 made to a claimant under this section shall not be subject 

24 to any Federal tax or cost of living adjustment. 


SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 8441 IH

1 (h) FINAL AGENCY ACTION.—A decision by an ap2 peals officer shall be considered a final agency action for 

3 purposes of judicial review. 

4 (i) PAYMENT OF MEDICAL EDUCATION LOANS NOT

5 DISCHARGED UPON DEATH.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—A claimant who is eligible to 

7 receive compensation under subsection (b)(2) shall 

8 also be eligible to have the Assistant Attorney Gen9 eral of the Civil Division of the Department of Jus10 tice pay off any private medical education loan of 

11 the frontline healthcare worker that was not dis12 charged upon the death of the worker. 

13 (2) FILING OF CLAIM.—A claimant may apply 

14 for the payment of a medical education loan under 

15 this subsection by including such request in a claim 

16 filed under subsection (a), along with such docu17 mentation as the Attorney General may require. 

18 (3) PAYMENT SEPARATE FROM COMPENSATION

19 AMOUNT.—The amount of any payment made under 

20 paragraph (1) shall be in addition to the amount de21 scribed under subsection (e). 

22 (4) DEFINITION OF PRIVATE MEDICAL EDU23 CATION LOAN.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘private 

24 medical education loan’’ means a private education 

25 loan (as defined under section 140(a) of the Truth 


SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 8441 IH

1 in Lending Act) issued with respect to a medical 

2 education. 

3 (j) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 180 days after the 

4 date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall 

5 issue rules to implement this section, including rules on 

6 the process for determining disability status. 

7 (k) EFFECTIVE PERIOD.—This section shall take ef8 fect on the date that is 180 days after the date of enact9 ment of this Act and shall cease to be effective 5 years 

10 after such date. 

11 (l) DEFINITION.—In this section: 

12 (1) ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE

13 CIVIL DIVISION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF JUS14 TICE.—The term ‘‘Assistant Attorney General of the 

15 Civil Division of the Department of Justice’’ means 

16 the Attorney General, acting through the Assistant 

17 Attorney General of the Civil Division of the Depart18 ment of Justice. 

19 (2) COLLATERAL SOURCE COMPENSATION.— 

20 The term ‘‘collateral source’’ means all collateral 

21 sources, including life insurance, pension funds, or 

22 any other death or disability benefit program or pay23 ment for which the individual is eligible. 

24 (3) DISABILITY.—The term ‘‘disability’’ means, 

25 with respect to an individual, that such individual 


SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 8441 IH

1 has a condition, the direct and proximate con2 sequences of which permanently prevent the indi3 vidual from performing any gainful work. 

4 (4) FRONTLINE HEALTHCARE WORKER.—The 

5 term ‘‘frontline healthcare worker’’ means— 

6 (A) all employees of healthcare facilities, 

7 nursing homes, and long-term care facilities 

8 and emergency care providers, including para9 medics and medical personnel who transport pa10 tients to the hospital; and 

11 (B) the contractors who are physically 

12 present at such facilities. 

Æ 


SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS