I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 666 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for public health research 

and investment into understanding and eliminating structural racism 

and police violence. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 1, 2021 

Ms. PRESSLEY (for herself, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, 

Mr. NADLER, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. DANNY K. 

DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Mr. 

COOPER, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. SIRES, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. 

ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. RUSH, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. NORTON, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Mr. BOWMAN, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mrs. 

BEATTY, Ms. BUSH, Ms. MENG, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. DESAULNIER, 

Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. 

OMAR, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. CARSON, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. COHEN, Ms. CHU, and Mr. 

TORRES of New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for 

public health research and investment into understanding 

and eliminating structural racism and police violence. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 666 IH

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Anti-Racism in Public 

3 Health Act of 2021’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress makes the following findings: 

6 (1) For centuries, structural racism, defined by 

7 the National Museum of African American History 

8 and Culture as an ‘‘overarching system of racial bias 

9 across institutions and society,’’ in the United States 

10 has negatively affected communities of color, espe11 cially Black, Latinx, Asian American, Pacific Is12 lander, and American Indian and Alaska Native peo13 ple, to expand and reinforce White supremacy. 

14 (2) Structural racism determines the conditions 

15 in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age 

16 and determine people’s access to quality housing, 

17 education, food, transportation, and political power, 

18 and other social determinants of health. 

19 (3) Structural racism serves as a major barrier 

20 to achieving health equity and eliminating racial and 

21 ethnic inequities in health outcomes that exist at 

22 alarming rates and are determined by a wider set of 

23 forces and systems. 

24 (4) Due to structural racism in the United 

25 States, people of color are more likely to suffer from 

26 chronic health conditions (such as heart disease, diaVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:56 Feb 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H666.IH H666

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 666 IH

1 betes, asthma, hepatitis, and hypertension) and in2 fectious diseases (such as HIV/AIDS, and COVID– 

3 19) compared to their White counterparts. 

4 (5) Due to structural racism in maternal health 

5 care in the United States, Black and American In6 dian and Alaska Native infants are more than twice 

7 as likely to die than White infants, Black women are 

8 3 to 4 times more likely to die from pregnancy-re9 lated causes than White women, and American In10 dian and Alaska Native women are 5 times more 

11 likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than 

12 White women. This trend persists even when adjust13 ing for income and education. 

14 (6) Due to structural racism in the United 

15 States, Non-Hispanic Black women have the highest 

16 rates for 22 of 25 severe morbidity indicators used 

17 by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention 

18 (CDC). 

19 (7) Due to structural racism in the United 

20 States, people of color comprise a disproportionate 

21 percentage of persons with disabilities in the United 

22 States. 

23 (8) Due to structural racism in the United 

24 States, Black men are up to three and a half times 

25 as likely to be killed by police as White men, and 1 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 666 IH

1 in every 1,000 Black men will die as a result of po2 lice violence. Policing has adverse effects on mental 

3 health in Black communities. 

4 (9) Due to the confluence of structural racism 

5 and factors such as gender, class, and sexual ori6 entation or gender identity, commonly referred to as 

7 intersectionality, Black and Latinx transgender 

8 women are more likely to die due to violence and 

9 homicide than their White counterparts. 

10 (10) Due to structural racism, inequitable ac11 cess to quality health care and longterm services and 

12 supports also disproportionately burdens commu13 nities of color; people of color and immigrants are 

14 less likely to be insured and are more likely to live 

15 in medically underserved areas. 

16 (11) Due to structural racism, older adults of 

17 color are also more likely to be admitted to nursing 

18 homes and assisted living facilities and to reside in 

19 those of poor quality, and when older adults of color 

20 do receive home and community based services, Med21 icaid spends less money on their services and they 

22 are more likely to be hospitalized than older White 

23 adults. 

24 (12) In addition, the Federal Government’s fail25 ure to honor the unique political status of American 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 666 IH

1 Indian and Alaska Native people, to respect the in2 herent sovereignty of Tribal Nations, and to uphold 

3 its trust and treaty obligations to Tribal Nations 

4 and American Indian and Alaska Native people, is 

5 an ongoing and unjust manifestation of centuries of 

6 oppression, with the consequence of adverse health 

7 outcomes for Native peoples. 

8 (13) The COVID–19 pandemic has exposed the 

9 devastating impact of structural racism on the 

10 United States ability to ensure equitable health out11 comes for people of color, and made these commu12 nities more likely to suffer from severe outcomes due 

13 to the coronavirus infection. 

14 (14) Racial and ethnic inequity in public health 

15 is a result of systematic, personally mediated, and 

16 internalized racism and racist public and private 

17 policies and practices, and dismantling structural 

18 racism is integral to addressing public health. 

19 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

20 In this Act: 

21 (1) ANTIRACISM.—The term ‘‘antiracism’’ is a 

22 collection of antiracist policies that lead to racial eq23 uity, and are substantiated by antiracist ideas. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 666 IH

1 (2) ANTIRACIST.—The term ‘‘antiracist’’ is any 

2 measure that produces or sustains racial equity be3 tween racial groups. 

4 SEC. 4. PUBLIC HEALTH RESEARCH AND INVESTMENT IN 

5 DISMANTLING STRUCTURAL RACISM. 

6 Part B of title III of the Public Health Service Act 

7 (42 U.S.C. 243 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

8 the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 320B. NATIONAL CENTER ON ANTIRACISM AND 

10 HEALTH. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

12 ‘‘(1) NATIONAL CENTER.—There is established 

13 within the Centers for Disease Control and Preven14 tion a center to be known as the ‘National Center 

15 on Antiracism and Health’ (referred to in this sec16 tion as the ‘Center’). The Director of the Centers for 

17 Disease Control and Prevention shall appoint a di18 rector to head the Center who has experience living 

19 in and working with racial and ethnic minority com20 munities. The Center shall promote public health 

21 by— 

22 ‘‘(A) declaring racism a public health crisis 

23 and naming racism as an historical and present 

24 threat to the physical and mental health and 

25 well-being of the United States and world; 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 666 IH

1 ‘‘(B) aiming to develop new knowledge in 

2 the science and practice of antiracism, including 

3 by identifying the mechanisms by which racism 

4 operates in the provision of health care and in 

5 systems that impact health and well-being; 

6 ‘‘(C) transferring that knowledge into 

7 practice, including by developing interventions 

8 that dismantle the mechanisms of racism and 

9 replace such mechanisms with equitable struc10 tures, policies, practices, norms, and values so 

11 that a healthy society can be realized; and 

12 ‘‘(D) contributing to a national and global 

13 conversation regarding the impacts of racism on 

14 the health and well-being of the United States 

15 and world. 

16 ‘‘(2) GENERAL DUTIES.—The Secretary, acting 

17 through the Center, shall undertake activities to 

18 carry out the mission of the Center as described in 

19 paragraph (1), such as the following: 

20 ‘‘(A) Conduct research into, collect, ana21 lyze and make publicly available data on, and 

22 provide leadership and coordination for the 

23 science and practice of antiracism, the public 

24 health impacts of structural racism, and the ef25 fectiveness of intervention strategies to address 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 666 IH

1 these impacts. Topics of research and data col2 lection under this subparagraph may include 

3 identifying and understanding— 

4 ‘‘(i) policies and practices that have a 

5 disparate impact on the health and well6 being of communities of color; 

7 ‘‘(ii) the public health impacts of im8 plicit racial bias, White supremacy, weath9 ering, xenophobia, discrimination, and 

10 prejudice; 

11 ‘‘(iii) the social determinants of health 

12 resulting from structural racism, including 

13 poverty, housing, employment, political 

14 participation, and environmental factors; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(iv) the intersection of racism and 

17 other systems of oppression, including as 

18 related to age, sexual orientation, gender 

19 identity, and disability status. 

20 ‘‘(B) Award noncompetitive grants and co21 operative agreements to eligible public and non22 profit private entities, including State, local, 

23 territorial, and Tribal health agencies and orga24 nizations, for the research and collection, analVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:56 Feb 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H666.IH H666

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 666 IH

1 ysis, and reporting of data on the topics de2 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

3 ‘‘(C) Establish, through grants or coopera4 tive agreements, at least 3 regional centers of 

5 excellence, located in racial and ethnic minority 

6 communities, in antiracism for the purpose of 

7 developing new knowledge in the science and 

8 practice of antiracism in health by researching, 

9 understanding, and identifying the mechanisms 

10 by which racism operates in the health space, 

11 racial and ethnic inequities in health care ac12 cess and outcomes, the history of successful 

13 antiracist movements in health, and other 

14 antiracist public health work. 

15 ‘‘(D) Establish a clearinghouse within the 

16 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for 

17 the collection and storage of data generated 

18 under the programs implemented under this 

19 section for which there is not an otherwise ex20 isting surveillance system at the Centers for 

21 Disease Control and Prevention. Such data 

22 shall— 

23 ‘‘(i) be comprehensive and disaggre24 gated, to the extent practicable, by includ25 ing racial, ethnic, primary language, sex, 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 666 IH

1 gender identity, sexual orientation, age, so2 cioeconomic status, and disability dispari3 ties; 

4 ‘‘(ii) be made publicly available; 

5 ‘‘(iii) protect the privacy of individuals 

6 whose information is included in such data; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(iv) comply with privacy protections 

9 under the regulations promulgated under 

10 section 264(c) of the Health Insurance 

11 Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. 

12 ‘‘(E) Provide information and education to 

13 the public on the public health impacts of struc14 tural racism and on antiracist public health 

15 interventions. 

16 ‘‘(F) Consult with other Centers and Na17 tional Institutes within the Centers for Disease 

18 Control and Prevention, including the Office of 

19 Minority Health and Health Equity and the 

20 Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial 

21 Support, to ensure that scientific and pro22 grammatic activities initiated by the agency 

23 consider structural racism in their designs, 

24 conceptualizations, and executions, which shall 

25 include— 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 666 IH

1 ‘‘(i) putting measures of racism in 

2 population-based surveys; 

3 ‘‘(ii) establishing a Federal Advisory 

4 Committee on racism and health for the 

5 Centers for Disease Control and Preven6 tion; 

7 ‘‘(iii) developing training programs, 

8 curricula, and seminars for the purposes of 

9 training public health professionals and re10 searchers around issues of race, racism, 

11 and antiracism; 

12 ‘‘(iv) providing standards and best 

13 practices for programming and grant re14 cipient compliance with Federal data col15 lection standards, including section 4302 

16 of the Patient Protection and Affordable 

17 Care Act; and 

18 ‘‘(v) establishing leadership and stake19 holder councils with experts and leaders in 

20 racism and public health disparities. 

21 ‘‘(G) Coordinate with the Indian Health 

22 Service and with the Centers for Disease Con23 trol and Prevention’s Tribal Advisory Com24 mittee to ensure meaningful Tribal consulta25 tion, the gathering of information from Tribal 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 666 IH

1 authorities, and respect for Tribal data sov2 ereignty. 

3 ‘‘(H) Engage in government to government 

4 consultation with Indian Tribes and Tribal or5 ganizations. 

6 ‘‘(I) At least every 2 years, produce and 

7 publicly post on the Centers for Disease Control 

8 and Prevention’s website a report on antiracist 

9 activities completed by the Center, which may 

10 include newly identified antiracist public health 

11 practices. 

12 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

13 is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec14 essary to carry out this section.’’. 

15 SEC. 5. PUBLIC HEALTH RESEARCH AND INVESTMENT IN 

16 POLICE VIOLENCE. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

18 Human Services shall establish within the National Center 

19 for Injury Prevention and Control of the Centers for Dis20 ease Control and Prevention (referred to in this section 

21 as the ‘‘Center’’) a law enforcement violence prevention 

22 program. 

23 (b) GENERAL DUTIES.—In implementing the pro24 gram under subsection (a), the Center shall conduct re25 search into, and provide leadership and coordination for— 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 666 IH

1 (1) the understanding and promotion of knowl2 edge about the public health impacts of uses of force 

3 by law enforcement, including police brutality and 

4 violence; 

5 (2) developing public health interventions and 

6 perspectives for eliminating deaths, injury, trauma, 

7 and negative mental health effects from police pres8 ence and interactions, including police brutality and 

9 violence; and 

10 (3) ensuring comprehensive data collection, 

11 analysis, and reporting regarding police violence and 

12 misconduct in consultation with the Department of 

13 Justice and independent researchers. 

14 (c) FUNCTIONS.—Under the program under sub15 section (a), the Center shall— 

16 (1) summarize and enhance the knowledge of 

17 the distribution, status, and characteristics of law 

18 enforcement-related death, trauma, and injury; 

19 (2) conduct research and prepare, with the as20 sistance of State public health departments— 

21 (A) statistics on law enforcement-related 

22 death, injury, and brutality; 

23 (B) studies of the factors, including legal, 

24 socioeconomic, discrimination, and other factors 

25 that correlate with or influence police brutality; 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 666 IH

1 (C) public information about uses of force 

2 by law enforcement, including police brutality 

3 and violence, for the practical use of the public 

4 health community, including publications that 

5 synthesize information relevant to the national 

6 goal of understanding police violence and meth7 ods for its control; 

8 (D) information to identify socioeconomic 

9 groups, communities, and geographic areas in 

10 need of study, and a strategic plan for research 

11 necessary to comprehend the extent and nature 

12 of police uses of force by law enforcement, in13 cluding police brutality and violence, and deter14 mine what options exist to reduce or eradicate 

15 death and injury that result; and 

16 (E) best practices in police violence preven17 tion in other countries; 

18 (3) award grants, contracts, and cooperative 

19 agreements to provide for the conduct of epidemio20 logic research on uses of force by law enforcement, 

21 including police brutality and violence, by Federal, 

22 State, local, and private agencies, institutions, orga23 nizations, and individuals; 

24 (4) award grants, contracts, and cooperative 

25 agreements to community groups, independent reVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:56 Feb 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H666.IH H666

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 666 IH

1 search organizations, academic institutions, and 

2 other entities to support, execute, or conduct re3 search on interventions to reduce or eliminate uses 

4 of force by law enforcement, including police bru5 tality and violence; 

6 (5) coordinate with the Department of Justice, 

7 and other Federal, State, and local agencies on the 

8 standardization of data collection, storage, and re9 trieval necessary to collect, evaluate, analyze, and 

10 disseminate information about the extent and nature 

11 of uses of force by law enforcement, including police 

12 brutality and violence, as well as options for the 

13 eradication of such practices; 

14 (6) submit an annual report to Congress on re15 search findings with recommendations to improve 

16 data collection and standardization and to disrupt 

17 processes in policing that preserve and reinforce rac18 ism and racial disparities in public health; 

19 (7) conduct primary research and explore uses 

20 of force by law enforcement, including police bru21 tality and violence, and options for its control; and 

22 (8) study alternatives to law enforcement re23 sponse as a method of reducing police violence. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 666 IH

1 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

2 authorized to be appropriated, such sums as may be nec3 essary to carry out this section. 

Æ 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS