I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 710 

To create a Coronavirus Containment Corps, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 2, 2021 

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan (for himself, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, Ms. 

BARRAGA ́N, Ms. BASS, Mrs. BEATTY, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. BOWMAN, Mr. 

CARSON, Ms. DEAN, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mrs. DINGELL, 

Mr. EVANS, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Mr. GREEN of Texas, 

Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. HASTINGS, Mrs. HAYES, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. 

JAYAPAL, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. LIEU, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. 

POCAN, Ms. PORTER, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. ROSS, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. 

SABLAN, Ms. SCANLON, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. TRONE, and Mr. 

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

Education and Labor, and Natural Resources, 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 create a Coronavirus Containment Corps, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS; DEFINI2 TIONS. 

3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

4 ‘‘Coronavirus Containment Corps Act’’. 

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

6 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents; definitions. 

Sec. 2. Nationwide contact tracing strategy. 

Sec. 3. Grants to public health departments. 

Sec. 4. Awards to Tribes and Tribal organizations. 

Sec. 5. Reporting by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Sec. 6. Grants to State and Tribal workforce agencies. 

Sec. 7. GAO study. 

Sec. 8. Application of the Service Contract Act to contracts and grants. 

Sec. 9. Rule of construction. 

7 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

8 (1) The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com9 mittees’’ means— 

10 (A) the Committee on Education and 

11 Labor of the House of Representatives; 

12 (B) the Committee on Energy and Com13 merce of the House of Representatives; and 

14 (C) the Committee on Health, Education, 

15 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate. 

16 (2) The term ‘‘COVID–19 public health emer17 gency’’ means— 

18 (A) the public health emergency declared 

19 by the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

20 pursuant to section 319 of the Public Health 

21 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) on January 31, 


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1 2020, as a result of confirmed cases of 2019 

2 Novel Coronavirus (2019–nCoV) and any suc3 cessor to such declaration; or 

4 (B) the national emergency declared by the 

5 President under the National Emergencies Act 

6 (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) on March 13, 2020, 

7 as a result of the COVID–19 outbreak. 

8 (3) The term ‘‘State’’ includes any of the 50 

9 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the 

10 Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the 

11 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

12 (4) The terms ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ and ‘‘Tribal or13 ganization’’ have the meanings given to the terms 

14 ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ and ‘‘Tribal organization’’, respec15 tively, in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination 

16 and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

17 SEC. 2. NATIONWIDE CONTACT TRACING STRATEGY. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 21 days after the 

19 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health 

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

21 ‘‘Secretary’’), acting through the Director of the Centers 

22 for Disease Control and Prevention, shall— 

23 (1) provide to the appropriate congressional 

24 committees a strategy to expand COVID–19 contact 

25 tracing; and 


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1 (2) include in such strategy recommendations 

2 to augment the capacity of State, Tribal, and local 

3 public health departments to train and place individ4 uals (to be referred to collectively as the 

5 ‘‘Coronavirus Containment Corps’’) to— 

6 (A) investigate cases of COVID–19; 

7 (B) identify the contacts of individuals 

8 confirmed or presumed to have been infected by 

9 SARS–CoV–2; 

10 (C) trace such contacts; and 

11 (D) provide supports to ensure that such 

12 contacts can take the precautions necessary to 

13 safely quarantine to stop the spread of COVID– 

14 19. 

15 (b) CONSULTATION.—In developing the strategy 

16 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult with— 

17 (1) State public health officials; 

18 (2) Tribal public health officials, Tribal nations, 

19 and Tribal organizations; 

20 (3) local public health officials; 

21 (4) the Director of the Indian Health Service; 

22 and 

23 (5) experts with knowledge of, or field experi24 ence concerning, racial and ethnic disparities in pub25 lic health and historically marginalized communities. 


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1 (c) REQUIREMENTS.—The strategy under subsection 

2 (a) shall identify— 

3 (1) the minimum number of persons needed to 

4 investigate cases of COVID–19 and identify the con5 tacts of individuals confirmed or presumed to have 

6 been infected by SARS–CoV–2 for each State and 

7 Indian Tribe; 

8 (2) the minimum number of contact tracers 

9 needed for each State and Indian Tribe; 

10 (3) the minimum number of specialists needed 

11 to connect contacts described in paragraph (1) to so12 cial supports to ensure those contacts can take the 

13 precautions necessary to safely quarantine to stop 

14 the spread of COVID–19 for each State and Indian 

15 Tribe; 

16 (4) the recommended qualifications necessary 

17 for case investigators, contact tracers, and social 

18 support specialists to perform such duties success19 fully; 

20 (5) strategies to enable State, Tribal, and local 

21 public health departments to hire, train, and deploy 

22 case investigators, contact tracers, and social sup23 port specialists; 

24 (6) strategies to rapidly develop guidance and 

25 training materials necessary to support public health 


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1 departments in preparing individuals to serve as 

2 case investigators, contact tracers, and social sup3 port specialists; 

4 (7) plans to use mobile or app-based contact 

5 tracing technology, including— 

6 (A) plans to prevent the misuse of data 

7 and to ensure the automatic deletion of data 

8 after the conclusion of the COVID–19 public 

9 health emergency; and 

10 (B) plans to prohibit data sharing with 

11 and within the Federal Government, with the 

12 exceptions of the Centers for Disease Control 

13 and Prevention and the Indian Health Service; 

14 (8) strategies to record and publicly report de15 identified data, while protecting— 

16 (A) the privacy of individuals and informa17 tion regarding their personal health; and 

18 (B) Tribal data sovereignty; 

19 (9) protocols to limit the risks posed to indi20 vidual privacy and data security, including through 

21 data minimization, anonymizing and redacting, and 

22 limitations on sharing and storing personally identi23 fiable information; 


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1 (10) strategies to monitor and evaluate best 

2 practices in contact tracing, with input from State, 

3 Tribal, and local public health departments; and 

4 (11) strategies to coordinate with State and 

5 Tribal workforce agencies to recruit newly unem6 ployed individuals— 

7 (A) prioritizing individuals from within the 

8 communities in which they will work; and 

9 (B) reflecting the diversity of that commu10 nity. 

11 (d) STRATEGIES TO ENABLE HIRING, TRAINING, 

12 AND DEPLOYMENT.—Not later than 7 days after the 

13 strategy under subsection (a) is provided to the appro14 priate congressional committees, the Secretary shall pro15 vide the strategies described in subsection (c)(5) to States 

16 and Tribes. 

17 SEC. 3. GRANTS TO PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENTS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap19 propriations, the Secretary Health and Human Services 

20 (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’), acting 

21 through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control 

22 and Prevention, shall award a grant to each State and 

23 local public health department that seeks a grant in ac24 cordance with this section to implement the strategy under 

25 section 2(a). 


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1 (b) FORMULA.—The Secretary shall allocate amounts 

2 made available pursuant to subsection (a) in accordance 

3 with a formula to be established by the Secretary that— 

4 (1) provides a minimum level of funding to each 

5 grantee; and 

6 (2) allocates— 

7 (A) additional funding among grantees 

8 based on— 

9 (i) population, including the presence 

10 of medically underserved populations (as 

11 defined in section 330(b)(3) of the Public 

12 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

13 254b(b)(3))); 

14 (ii) the projected need for COVID–19 

15 in vitro diagnostic products (as defined in 

16 section 809.3 of title 21, Code of Federal 

17 Regulations (or successor regulations)) 

18 during the period of the grant; 

19 (iii) the percentage of COVID–19 

20 cases per 10,000 persons as of the date of 

21 submission of the application for the grant; 

22 (iv) the COVID–19 case growth rate; 

23 and 


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1 (v) the projected number of COVID– 

2 19 cases during the period of the grant; 

3 and 

4 (B) an additional increment for States that 

5 have a plan to increase the percentage of the 

6 population that will be tested. 

7 (c) REQUIRED USES OF FUNDS.—Amounts made 

8 available to a grantee pursuant to subsection (a) shall be 

9 used for the following activities: 

10 (1) Costs, including wages and benefits, includ11 ing health care benefits, as appropriate, related to 

12 the recruiting and hiring of individuals— 

13 (A) to serve as case investigators, contact 

14 tracers, and social support specialists described 

15 in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), respectively, of 

16 section 2(c); and 

17 (B) employed by— 

18 (i) the State or local government in19 volved; or 

20 (ii) a nonprofit organization with 

21 demonstrated expertise in implementing 

22 public health programs. 

23 (2) Supplies necessary for grantees to imple24 ment the strategy established under section 2, in25 cluding any supplies, equipment, or technology for 


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1 individuals serving as case investigators, contact 

2 tracers, or social support specialists. 

3 (3) Administrative costs and activities necessary 

4 for grantees to implement the strategy established 

5 under section 2. 

6 (4) Development of partnerships with State and 

7 local workforce development systems as defined in 

8 section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor9 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102) to provide training and 

10 supportive service for individuals serving as case in11 vestigators, contact tracers, or social support special12 ists. 

13 (5) Reporting to the Centers for Disease Con14 trol and Prevention on— 

15 (A) implementation of the strategy estab16 lished under section 2; and 

17 (B) indicators of performance listed in sec18 tion 5(c)(1). 

19 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

20 out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated 

21 $10,000,000,000, to remain available until expended. 

22 SEC. 4. AWARDS TO TRIBES AND TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap24 propriations, the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

25 (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’), acting 


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1 through the Director of the Indian Health Service, in co2 ordination with the Director of the Centers for Disease 

3 Control and Prevention, in consultation with Indian 

4 Tribes and Tribal organizations, shall award funds to In5 dian Tribes and Tribal organizations to implement the 

6 strategy established under section 2. 

7 (b) FORMULA.—The Secretary shall allocate amounts 

8 made available pursuant to subsection (a) in accordance 

9 with a formula to be established by the Secretary in con10 sultation with Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations 

11 that— 

12 (1) provides a minimum level of funding to each 

13 Indian Tribe and Tribal organization; and 

14 (2) allocates additional funding on the basis of 

15 population. 

16 (c) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Amounts made available 

17 to an awardee pursuant to subsection (a) shall be used 

18 for the following activities: 

19 (1) Costs, including wages and benefits, includ20 ing health care benefits, as appropriate, related to 

21 the recruiting and hiring of individuals— 

22 (A) to serve as case investigators, contact 

23 tracers, and social support specialists described 

24 in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), respectively, of 

25 section 2(c); and 


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1 (B) employed by— 

2 (i) the Tribal government involved; or 

3 (ii) a nonprofit organizations with 

4 demonstrated expertise in implementing 

5 public health programs. 

6 (2) Supplies necessary for awardees to imple7 ment the strategy established under section 2, in8 cluding any supplies, equipment, or technology for 

9 individuals serving as case investigators, contact 

10 tracers, or social support specialists. 

11 (3) Administrative costs and activities necessary 

12 for awardees to implement the strategy established 

13 under section 2. 

14 (4) Development of partnerships with State and 

15 local workforce development systems as defined in 

16 section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor17 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102) to provide training and 

18 supportive service for individuals serving as case in19 vestigators, contact tracers, or social support special20 ists. 

21 (5) Reporting to the Indian Health Service, 

22 which shall then report the information to the Cen23 ters for Disease Control and Prevention, on— 

24 (A) implementation of the strategy estab25 lished under section 2; and 


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1 (B) indicators of performance listed in sec2 tion 5(c)(1). 

3 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

4 out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated 

5 $1,000,000,000, to remain available until expended. 

6 SEC. 5. REPORTING BY THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CON7 TROL AND PREVENTION. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

9 date of enactment of this Act, and every 30 days there10 after, the Secretary of Health and Human Services acting 

11 through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control 

12 and Prevention (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Sec13 retary’’) shall report to the appropriate congressional com14 mittees on the implementation of the strategy established 

15 under section 2. 

16 (b) REPORTING INFRASTRUCTURE.—In carrying out 

17 subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 

18 (1) support a reporting infrastructure that— 

19 (A) minimizes administrative burdens on 

20 States, Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, and 

21 localities; and 

22 (B) protects the privacy of individuals’ in23 formation; and 

24 (2) consult with Indian Tribes and Tribal orga25 nizations and coordinate with the Indian Health 


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1 Service to create a reporting infrastructure for In2 dian Tribes and Tribal organizations that— 

3 (A) honors and preserves Tribal data sov4 ereignty; and 

5 (B) ensures that Indian Tribes and Tribal 

6 organizations consent before any Tribal data is 

7 reported. 

8 (c) REQUIREMENTS.—The report under subsection 

9 (a) shall— 

10 (1) for each State and Indian Tribe include— 

11 (A) the number of case investigators hired, 

12 trained, and deployed; 

13 (B) the number of contact tracers hired, 

14 trained, and deployed; 

15 (C) the number of social support special16 ists hired, trained, and deployed; 

17 (D) the number of case investigations 

18 launched; 

19 (E) the percentage of contacts reached 

20 compared to the percentage of contacts identi21 fied; 

22 (F) the percentage of contacts quarantined 

23 or isolated compared to the percentage of con24 tacts reached; 


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1 (G) the percentage of contacts connected 

2 to social supports compared to the percentage 

3 of contacts needing such supports to quar4 antine; and 

5 (H) a description of any barriers that limit 

6 the ability of contacts to quarantine, to isolate, 

7 or to access needed social supports; 

8 (2) contextualize the data that is reported so as 

9 to mitigate discrimination against historically 

10 marginalized communities; and 

11 (3) be made public on the internet website of 

12 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

13 SEC. 6. GRANTS TO STATE AND TRIBAL WORKFORCE AGEN14 CIES. 

15 (a) DEFINITIONS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro17 vided, the terms in this section have the meanings 

18 given the terms in section 3 of the Workforce Inno19 vation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102). 

20 (2) APPRENTICESHIP; APPRENTICESHIP PRO21 GRAM.—The term ‘‘apprenticeship’’ or ‘‘apprentice22 ship program’’ means an apprenticeship program 

23 registered under the Act of August 16, 1937 (com24 monly known as the ‘‘National Apprenticeship Act’’) 

25 (50 Stat. 664, chapter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.), 


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1 including any requirement, standard, or rule promul2 gated under such Act, as such requirement, stand3 ard, or rule was in effect on December 30, 2019. 

4 (3) CONTACT TRACING AND RELATED POSI5 TIONS.—The term ‘‘contact tracing and related posi6 tions’’ means employment related to contact tracing, 

7 surveillance, containment, and mitigation activities. 

8 (4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti9 ty’’ means— 

10 (A) a State or territory, including the Dis11 trict of Columbia and Puerto Rico; 

12 (B) an Indian Tribe, Tribal organization, 

13 Urban Indian organization, Alaska Native enti14 ty, Indian-controlled organization serving Indi15 ans, or Native Hawaiian organization; 

16 (C) an outlying area; or 

17 (D) a local board, if an eligible entity 

18 under subparagraphs (A) through (C) has not 

19 applied with respect to the area over which the 

20 local board has jurisdiction as of the date on 

21 which the local board submits an application 

22 under subsection (c). 

23 (5) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—Notwithstanding 

24 section 170(b)(2) of the Workforce Innovation and 

25 Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3225(b)(2)), the term 


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1 ‘‘eligible individual’’ means an individual seeking or 

2 securing employment in contact tracing or related 

3 positions and is served by an eligible entity or com4 munity-based organization receiving funding under 

5 this section. 

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

7 the Secretary of Labor. 

8 (7) URBAN INDIAN ORGANIZATION.—The term 

9 ‘‘Urban Indian organization’’ has the meaning given 

10 to such term in section 4 of the Indian Health Care 

11 Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 1603). 

12 (b) GRANTS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of 

14 appropriations under subsection (g), the Secretary 

15 shall award national dislocated worker grants under 

16 section 170(b)(1)(B) of the Workforce Innovation 

17 and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3225(b)(1)(B)) to 

18 each eligible entity that seeks a grant to assist local 

19 boards and community-based organizations in car20 rying out activities under subsections (f) and (d), re21 spectively, for the following purposes: 

22 (A) To support the recruitment, place23 ment, and training, as applicable, of eligible in24 dividuals seeking employment in contact tracing 


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1 and related positions in accordance with the 

2 strategy established under section 2 of this Act. 

3 (B) To assist with the employment transi4 tion to new employment or education and train5 ing of individuals employed under this section 

6 in preparation for and upon termination of such 

7 employment. 

8 (2) TIMELINE.—The Secretary of Labor shall— 

9 (A) issue application requirements under 

10 subsection (c) not later than 10 days after the 

11 date of enactment of this section; and 

12 (B) award grants to an eligible entity 

13 under paragraph (1) not later than 10 days 

14 after the date on which the Secretary receives 

15 an application from such entity. 

16 (c) GRANT APPLICATION.—An eligible entity apply17 ing for a grant under this section shall submit an applica18 tion to the Secretary, at such time and in such form and 

19 manner as the Secretary may reasonably require, which 

20 shall include a description of— 

21 (1) how the eligible entity will support the re22 cruitment, placement, and training, as applicable, of 

23 eligible individuals seeking employment in contact 

24 tracing and related positions by partnering with— 


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1 (A) a State, local, Tribal, or territorial 

2 health department; or 

3 (B) a community-based organization 

4 partnering with such health departments; 

5 (2) how the activities described in paragraph 

6 (1) will support State efforts to address the demand 

7 for contact tracing and related positions with respect 

8 to— 

9 (A) the State plans referred to in the head10 ing ‘‘Public Health and Social Services Emer11 gency Fund’’ in title I of division B of the Pay12 check Protection Program and Health Care En13 hancement Act (Public Law 116–139); 

14 (B) the strategy established under section 

15 2 of this Act; and 

16 (C) the number of eligible individuals that 

17 the State plans to recruit and train under the 

18 plans and strategies described in subparagraphs 

19 (A) and (B); 

20 (3) the specific strategies for recruiting and 

21 placement of eligible individuals from or residing 

22 within the communities in which they will work, in23 cluding— 

24 (A) plans for the recruitment of eligible in25 dividuals to serve as contact tracers and related 


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1 positions, including dislocated workers, individ2 uals with barriers to employment, veterans, new 

3 entrants in the workforce, or underemployed or 

4 furloughed workers, who are from or reside in 

5 or near the local area in which they will serve, 

6 and who, to the extent practicable— 

7 (i) have experience or a background in 

8 industry-sectors and occupations such as 

9 public health, social services, customer 

10 service, case management, or occupations 

11 that require related qualifications, skills, or 

12 competencies, such as strong interpersonal 

13 and communication skills, needed for con14 tact tracing or related positions; or 

15 (ii) seek to transition to public health 

16 and public health related occupations upon 

17 the conclusion of employment in contact 

18 tracing or related positions; 

19 (B) how such strategies will take into ac20 count the diversity of such community, includ21 ing racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, linguistic, or 

22 geographic diversity; 

23 (4) the amount, timing, and mechanisms for 

24 distribution of funds provided to local boards or 

25 through subgrants as described in subsection (d); 


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1 (5) for eligible entities described in subpara2 graphs (A) through (C) of subsection (a)(4), a de3 scription of how the eligible entity will ensure the eq4 uitable distribution of funds with respect to— 

5 (A) geography (such as urban and rural 

6 distribution); 

7 (B) medically underserved populations (as 

8 defined in section 33(b)(3) of the Public Health 

9 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254b(b))); 

10 (C) health professional shortage areas (as 

11 defined under section 332(a) of the Public 

12 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254e(a))); and 

13 (D) the racial and ethnic diversity of the 

14 area; and 

15 (6) for eligible entities who are local boards, a 

16 description of how a grant to such eligible entity 

17 would serve the equitable distribution of funds as de18 scribed in paragraph (5). 

19 (d) SUBGRANT AUTHORIZATION AND APPLICATION

20 PROCESS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity may award 

22 a subgrant to a community-based organization for 

23 the purposes of partnering with a State or local 

24 board to conduct outreach and education activities 

25 to inform potentially eligible individuals about emVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:57 Feb 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H710.IH H710

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1 ployment opportunities in contact tracing and re2 lated positions. 

3 (2) APPLICATION.—A community-based organi4 zation shall submit an application at such time and 

5 in such manner as the eligible entity may reasonably 

6 require, including— 

7 (A) a demonstration of the community8 based organization’s established expertise and 

9 effectiveness in community outreach in the local 

10 area that such organization plans to serve; 

11 (B) a demonstration of the community12 based organization’s expertise in providing em13 ployment or public health information to the 

14 local areas in which such organization plans to 

15 serve; and 

16 (C) a description of the expertise of the 

17 community-based organization in utilizing cul18 turally competent and multilingual strategies in 

19 the provision of services. 

20 (e) GRANT DISTRIBUTION.— 

21 (1) FEDERAL DISTRIBUTION.— 

22 (A) USE OF FUNDS.—The Secretary of 

23 Labor shall use the funds appropriated to carry 

24 out this section as follows: 


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1 (i) Subject to clause (ii), the Secretary 

2 shall distribute funds among eligible enti3 ties in accordance with a formula to be es4 tablished by the Secretary that— 

5 (I) provides a minimum level of 

6 funding to each eligible entity that 

7 seeks a grant under this section; and 

8 (II) allocates additional funding 

9 with priority given based on the num10 ber and proportion of contact tracing 

11 and related positions that the State 

12 plans to recruit, place, and train as a 

13 part of the State plans described in 

14 subsection (c)(2)(A). 

15 (ii) Not more than 2 percent of the 

16 funding may be used for administration of 

17 the grants and for providing technical as18 sistance to recipients of funds under this 

19 section. 

20 (B) EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION.—If the ge21 ographic region served by one or more eligible 

22 entities overlaps, the Secretary shall distribute 

23 funds among such entities in such a manner 

24 that ensures equitable distribution with respect 

25 to the factors under in subsection (c)(5). 


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1 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY USE OF FUNDS.—An eli2 gible entity described in subparagraphs (A) through 

3 (C) of subsection (a)(4)— 

4 (A) shall, not later than 30 days after the 

5 date on which the entity receives grant funds 

6 under this section, provide not less than 70 per7 cent of grant funds to local boards for the pur8 pose of carrying out activities in subsection (f); 

9 (B) may use up to 20 percent of such 

10 funds to make subgrants to community-based 

11 organizations in the service area to conduct out12 reach, to potential eligible individuals, as de13 scribed in subsection (d); 

14 (C) in providing funds to local boards and 

15 awarding subgrants under this subsection shall 

16 ensure the equitable distribution with respect to 

17 the factors described in subsection (c)(5); and 

18 (D) may use not more than 10 percent of 

19 the funds awarded under this section for the 

20 administrative costs of carrying out the grant 

21 and for providing technical assistance to local 

22 boards and community-based organizations. 

23 (3) LOCAL BOARD USE OF FUNDS.—A local 

24 board, or an eligible entity that is a local board, 

25 shall use— 


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1 (A) not less than 60 percent of the funds 

2 for recruitment and training for activities in ac3 cordance with the strategy established under 

4 section 2; 

5 (B) not less than 30 of the funds to sup6 port the transition of individuals hired as con7 tact tracers and related positions into an edu8 cation or training program, or unsubsidized em9 ployment upon completion of such positions; 

10 and 

11 (C) not more than 10 percent of the funds 

12 for administrative costs. 

13 (f) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—The State or local boards 

14 shall use funds awarded under this section to support the 

15 recruitment and placement of eligible individuals, training 

16 and employment transition as related to contact tracing 

17 and related positions, and for the following activities: 

18 (1) Establishing or expanding partnerships 

19 with— 

20 (A) State, local, Tribal, and territorial 

21 public health departments; 

22 (B) community-based health providers, in23 cluding community health centers and rural 

24 health clinics; 


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1 (C) labor organizations or joint labor man2 agement organizations; 

3 (D) two-year and four-year institutions of 

4 higher education (as defined in section 101 of 

5 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

6 1001)), including institutions eligible to receive 

7 funds under section 371(a) of the Higher Edu8 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a)); and 

9 (E) community action agencies or other 

10 community-based organizations serving local 

11 areas in which there is a demand for contact 

12 tracers and related positions. 

13 (2) Providing training for contact tracing and 

14 related positions in coordination with State, local, 

15 Tribal, or territorial health departments that is con16 sistent with the State or territorial testing and con17 tact tracing strategy and ensuring that eligible indi18 viduals receive compensation while participating in 

19 such training. 

20 (3) Providing eligible individuals with— 

21 (A) adequate and safe equipment, environ22 ments, and facilities for training and super23 vision, as applicable; 

24 (B) information regarding the wages and 

25 benefits related to contact tracing and related 


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1 positions, as compared to State, local, and na2 tional averages; 

3 (C) supplies and equipment needed by the 

4 program participants to support placement of 

5 an individual in contact tracing and related po6 sitions, as applicable; 

7 (D) an individualized employment plan for 

8 each eligible individual, as applicable— 

9 (i) in coordination with the entity em10 ploying the eligible individual in a contact 

11 tracing or related position; and 

12 (ii) which shall include providing a 

13 case manager to work with each eligible in14 dividual to develop the plan, which may in15 clude— 

16 (I) identifying employment and 

17 career goals, and setting appropriate 

18 achievement objectives to attain such 

19 goals; and 

20 (II) exploring career pathways 

21 that lead to in-demand industries and 

22 sectors, including in public health and 

23 related occupations; and 

24 (E) services for the period during which 

25 the individual is employed in a contact tracing 


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1 and related position to ensure job retention, 

2 which may include— 

3 (i) supportive services throughout the 

4 term of employment; 

5 (ii) a continuation of skills training as 

6 related to employment as a contact tracer 

7 or related positions, that is conducted in 

8 collaboration with the employers of such 

9 participants; 

10 (iii) mentorship services and job re11 tention support for eligible individuals; or 

12 (iv) targeted training for managers 

13 and workers working with eligible individ14 uals (such as mentors), and human re15 source representatives. 

16 (4) Supporting the transition and placement in 

17 unsubsidized employment for eligible individuals 

18 serving in the contact tracing or related positions 

19 after such positions are no longer necessary in the 

20 State or local area, including— 

21 (A) any additional training and employ22 ment activities as described in section 170(d)(4) 

23 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 

24 Act (29 U.S.C. 3225(d)(4)); 


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1 (B) developing the appropriate combina2 tion of services to enable the eligible individual 

3 to achieve the employment and career goals 

4 identified under paragraph (3)(D)(ii)(I); and 

5 (C) services to assist eligible individuals in 

6 maintaining employment for not less than 12 

7 months after the completion of employment in 

8 contact tracing or related positions, as appro9 priate. 

10 (5) Any other activities as described in sub11 sections (a)(3) and (b) of section 134 of the Work12 force Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

13 3174). 

14 (g) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding section 

15 170(d)(3)(A) of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor16 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3225(d)(3)(A)), a person may be 

17 employed in a contact tracing or related position using 

18 funds under this section for a period not greater than 2 

19 years. 

20 (h) REPORTING BY THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days of 

22 the enactment of this Act, and once grant funds 

23 have been expended under this section, the Secretary 

24 shall report to the Committee on Education and 

25 Labor of the House of Representatives and the ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:57 Feb 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H710.IH H710

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1 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

2 of the Senate, and make publicly available a report 

3 containing a description of— 

4 (A) the number of eligible individuals re5 cruited, hired, trained as contact tracers or in 

6 related positions; 

7 (B) the number of individuals successfully 

8 transitioned to unsubsidized employment or 

9 training at the completion of employment in 

10 contact tracing or related positions using funds 

11 under this subtitle; 

12 (C) the number of such individuals who 

13 were unemployed prior to being hired, trained, 

14 or deployed as described in paragraph (1); 

15 (D) the performance of each program sup16 ported by funds under this subtitle with respect 

17 to the indicators of performance under section 

18 116 of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor19 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3141), as applicable; 

20 (E) the number of individuals in unsub21 sidized employment within six months and 1 

22 year, respectively, of the conclusion of employ23 ment in contact tracing or related positions 

24 and, of those, the number of individuals within 

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1 partment in an occupation related to public 

2 health; 

3 (F) any information on how eligible enti4 ties, local boards, or community-based organiza5 tions that received funding under this sub6 section were able to support the goals of the 

7 strategy established under section 2 of this Act; 

8 and 

9 (G) best practices for improving and in10 creasing the transition of individuals employed 

11 in contact tracing or related positions to perma12 nent, full-time employment. 

13 (2) DISAGGREGATION.—All data reported under 

14 paragraph (1) shall be disaggregated by race, eth15 nicity, sex, age, and, with respect to individuals with 

16 barriers to employment, subpopulation of such indi17 viduals, except for when the number of participants 

18 in a category is insufficient to yield statistically reli19 able information or when the results would reveal 

20 personally identifiable information about an indi21 vidual participant. 

22 (i) SPECIAL RULE.—Any funds used for programs 

23 under this section that are used to fund an apprenticeship 

24 or apprenticeship program shall only be used for, or pro25 vided to, an apprenticeship or apprenticeship program 


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1 that meets the definition of such term subsection (a) of 

2 this section, including any funds awarded for the purposes 

3 of grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements, or the de4 velopment, implementation, or administration, of an ap5 prenticeship or an apprenticeship program. 

6 (j) DISPLACEMENT.— 

7 (1) PROHIBITION.—A participant in a program 

8 or activity authorized under this section shall not 

9 displace (including a partial displacement, such as a 

10 reduction in the hours of nonovertime work, wages, 

11 or employment benefits) any currently employed em12 ployee (as of the date of the participation). 

13 (2) PROHIBITION ON IMPAIRMENT OF CON14 TRACTS.—A program or activity authorized under 

15 this section shall not impair an existing contract for 

16 services or collective bargaining agreement, and no 

17 such activity that would be inconsistent with the 

18 terms of a collective bargaining agreement shall be 

19 undertaken without the written concurrence of the 

20 labor organization and employer concerned. 

21 (k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

22 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

23 $500,000,000. 


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1 SEC. 7. GAO STUDY. 

2 (a) SCOPE OF STUDY.—The Comptroller General of 

3 the United States shall conduct a study to evaluate— 

4 (1) the strategies, components, policies, and 

5 practices used by recipients of funding under this 

6 Act to successfully assist— 

7 (A) State, Tribal, and local health depart8 ments; and 

9 (B) State, Tribal, and local workforce de10 velopment systems; and 

11 (2) any challenges associated with implementa12 tion of such strategies, components, policies, and 

13 practices. 

14 (b) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the study 

15 under subsection (a), the Comptroller General shall con16 sult with a geographically diverse (including urban, subur17 ban, and rural) representation of individuals engaged in 

18 implementation of this Act, including the following: 

19 (1) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

20 employees. 

21 (2) Department of Labor employees. 

22 (3) State and local public health departments. 

23 (4) State and local workforce development sys24 tems. 

25 (5) Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations. 


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1 (6) Case investigators, contact tracers, and so2 cial support specialists. 

3 (c) SUBMISSION.—Not later than two years after the 

4 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

5 shall submit the study conducted under subsection (a) to 

6 the appropriate congressional committees. 

7 SEC. 8. APPLICATION OF THE SERVICE CONTRACT ACT TO 

8 CONTRACTS AND GRANTS. 

9 Contracts and grants which include contact tracing 

10 as part of the scope of work and that are awarded under 

11 this subtitle shall require that contact tracers and related 

12 positions are paid not less than the prevailing wage and 

13 fringe rates required under chapter 67 of title 41, United 

14 States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Service Contract 

15 Act’’), for the area in which the work is performed. To 

16 the extent that a nonstandard wage determination is re17 quired to establish a prevailing wage for contact tracers 

18 and related positions for purposes of this subtitle, the Sec19 retary of Labor shall issue such determination not later 

20 than 14 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

21 based on a job description used by the Centers for Disease 

22 Control and Prevention and contractors or grantees per23 forming contact tracing for State public health agencies. 


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1 SEC. 9. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

2 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to restrict or 

3 in any way infringe upon individuals’ freedom of associa4 tion. 

Æ 


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