I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 352 

To establish an initiative for national testing, contact tracing, and pandemic 

response, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 19, 2021 

Mr. MORELLE (for himself and Mr. TAKANO) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in 

addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, 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 an initiative for national testing, contact tracing, 

and pandemic response, 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 ‘‘Jobs to Fight COVID– 

5 19 Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 Except as otherwise explicitly provided, in this Act: 


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1 (1) COVID–19.—The term ‘‘COVID–19’’ 

2 means the novel coronavirus disease of 2019 

3 (COVID–19). 

4 (2) HEALTH PROFESSIONAL SHORTAGE

5 AREA.—The term ‘‘health professional shortage 

6 area’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

7 332(a) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

8 254e(a)). 

9 (3) MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED POPU10 LATIONS.—The term ‘‘medically underserved popu11 lation’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

12 330(b)(3) of the Public Health Service Act (42 

13 U.S.C. 254b(b)(3)). 

14 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

15 the Secretary of Labor. 

16 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ refers to each 

17 of the 50 States and the District of Columbia. 

18 (6) TERRITORY.—The term ‘‘territory’’ means 

19 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American 

20 Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern 

21 Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Is22 lands. 

23 (7) TRIBAL.—The term ‘‘Tribal’’, with respect 

24 to a health department, includes— 

25 (A) Indian Tribes that— 


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1 (i) are operating one or more health 

2 facilities pursuant to an agreement under 

3 the Indian Self-Determination and Edu4 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5301 et 

5 seq.); or 

6 (ii) receive services from a facility op7 erated by the Indian Health Services; and 

8 (B) Tribal organizations and Native Ha9 waiian organizations, as such terms are defined 

10 in section 166 of the Workforce Innovation and 

11 Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3221), and urban 

12 Indian organizations. 

13 SEC. 3. GRANTS TO SUPPORT PANDEMIC PUBLIC WORKS. 

14 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro16 vided in this section or section 2, the terms in this 

17 section have the meanings given the terms in section 

18 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

19 (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 PANDEMIC RE5 SPONSE POSITIONS.—The term ‘‘contact tracing and 

6 pandemic response positions’’ means employment re7 lated to— 

8 (A) contact tracing, surveillance, contain9 ment, and mitigation activities needed to imple10 ment the national system under section 6; 

11 (B) other activities necessary for pandemic 

12 response, including cleaning and mitigation ac13 tivities; and 

14 (C) activities necessary to respond to the 

15 economic impacts of COVID–19. 

16 (4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti17 ty’’ means— 

18 (A) a State or territory; 

19 (B)(i) an Indian Tribe, Tribal organiza20 tion, Alaska Native entity, or Native Hawaiian 

21 organization as such terms are defined in sec22 tion 166 of the Workforce Innovation and Op23 portunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3221); or 

24 (ii) an Indian-controlled organization serv25 ing Indians as defined in such section 166; or 


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1 (C) a unit of local government, if an entity 

2 described in subparagraph (A) has not applied 

3 with respect to the area over which the unit has 

4 jurisdiction by the deadline required under sub5 section (b)(2)(B). 

6 (5) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘eligible 

7 individual’’ means an individual seeking or securing 

8 employment in a contact tracing or pandemic re9 sponse position and who is served by an eligible enti10 ty or community-based organization receiving fund11 ing under this section. 

12 (6) UNIT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term 

13 ‘‘unit of local government’’ means any city, county, 

14 township, town, borough, parish, village, or other 

15 general purpose political subdivision of a State. 

16 (b) GRANTS.— 

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

18 appropriations under subsection (l), the Secretary 

19 shall award a grant to each eligible entity that sub20 mits a complete application under subsection (c), to 

21 enable the eligible entity to— 

22 (A) as applicable, support the recruitment, 

23 placement, and training of, and provide employ24 ment to, eligible individuals seeking employment 


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1 in contact tracing and pandemic response posi2 tions; and 

3 (B) assist with the employment transition 

4 to new employment or education and training of 

5 individuals employed under this section in prep6 aration for and upon termination of such em7 ployment. 

8 (2) TIMELINE.— 

9 (A) DEADLINE FOR SECRETARY APPLICA10 TION REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall 

11 issue application requirements under subsection 

12 (c) not later than 10 days after the date of en13 actment of this Act. 

14 (B) STATE AND TRIBAL APPLICATIONS.— 

15 The deadline for applications from eligible enti16 ties described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of 

17 subsection (a)(4) shall be the date that is 30 

18 days after the date the Secretary issues applica19 tion requirements under subparagraph (A). 

20 (C) APPLICATIONS FOR LOCAL GOVERN21 MENTS SERVING AS ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—The 

22 deadline for applications for grants from eligible 

23 entities described in subsection (a)(4)(C) shall 

24 be the date that is 10 days after the date that 

25 applications are due under subparagraph (B). 


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1 (D) GRANT AWARDS.—The Secretary shall 

2 award a grant to an eligible entity under para3 graph (1) not later than 15 days after the date 

4 on which applications are due under subpara5 graph (C). 

6 (c) GRANT APPLICATION.—An eligible entity apply7 ing for a grant under this section shall submit an applica8 tion to the Secretary, at such time and in such form and 

9 manner as the Secretary may reasonably require, which 

10 shall include a description of— 

11 (1) how the eligible entity will, as applicable, 

12 support the recruitment, placement, and training of, 

13 and provide employment to, of eligible individuals 

14 seeking employment in contact tracing and pandemic 

15 response positions; 

16 (2) how the activities described in paragraph 

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

18 for contact tracing and pandemic response positions 

19 with respect to— 

20 (A) the State plans referred to in the head21 ing ‘‘Public Health and Social Services Emer22 gency Fund’’ in title I of division B of the Pay23 check Protection Program and Health Care En24 hancement Act (Public Law 116–139); and 


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1 (B) the number of eligible individuals that 

2 the State plans to recruit, train, and employ 

3 under the plans described in subparagraph (A); 

4 (3) the specific strategies for recruiting, place5 ment, and employment of eligible individuals from or 

6 residing within the communities in which they will 

7 work, including— 

8 (A) plans for the recruitment of eligible in9 dividuals to serve in contact tracing or pan10 demic response positions, including dislocated 

11 workers, individuals with barriers to employ12 ment, veterans, new entrants in the workforce, 

13 self-employed individuals who are unemployed 

14 as a result of COVID–19, or underemployed or 

15 furloughed workers, who are from or reside in 

16 or near the locality in which they will serve, and 

17 who, to the extent practicable— 

18 (i) have experience or a background in 

19 industry sectors and occupations such as 

20 public health, social services, customer 

21 service, case management, or occupations 

22 that require related qualifications, skills, or 

23 competencies, such as strong interpersonal 

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1 tact tracing or pandemic response posi2 tions; or 

3 (ii) seek to transition to public health 

4 and public health related occupations upon 

5 the conclusion of employment in contact 

6 tracing or pandemic response positions; 

7 and 

8 (B) how such strategies will take into ac9 count the diversity of such community, includ10 ing racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, linguistic, or 

11 geographic diversity; 

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

13 distribution of funds provided to local units of gov14 ernment or through subgrants as described in sub15 section (d)(2)(A) or (e); 

16 (5) for eligible entities described in subpara17 graph (A) or (B) of subsection (a)(4), a description 

18 of how the eligible entity will ensure the equitable 

19 distribution of funds with respect to— 

20 (A) geography (such as urban and rural 

21 distribution); 

22 (B) medically underserved populations; 

23 (C) health professional shortage areas; and 

24 (D) the racial and ethnic diversity of the 

25 area; 


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1 (6) for eligible entities described in subsection 

2 (a)(4)(C), a description of how a grant to such eligi3 ble entity would serve the equitable distribution of 

4 funds as described in paragraph (5); and 

5 (7) how the eligible entity will collaborate with 

6 State boards and local boards, the unemployment 

7 compensation system of the State, and the employ8 ment service offices (providing services under the 

9 Wagner-Peyser Act (29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.)) of the 

10 State regarding the State reemployment services and 

11 eligibility assessment activities and the activities pro12 vided under this section. 

13 (d) GRANT DISTRIBUTION.— 

14 (1) FEDERAL DISTRIBUTION.— 

15 (A) USE OF FUNDS.—The Secretary shall 

16 use the funds appropriated to carry out this 

17 section as follows: 

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

19 shall distribute funds among eligible enti20 ties that submit a complete application 

21 under subsection (c) in accordance with a 

22 formula to be established by the Secretary 

23 that— 


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1 (I) provides a minimum level of 

2 funding to each eligible entity that 

3 submits a complete application; and 

4 (II) allocates additional funding 

5 as follows: 

6 (aa) The formula shall give 

7 first priority based on the num8 ber and proportion of contact 

9 tracing or pandemic response po10 sitions for which the eligible enti11 ty plans to recruit, place, train, 

12 and employ individuals as a part 

13 of the State strategy described in 

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

15 (bb) The formula shall give 

16 second highest priority to appli17 cations that will serve States, ter18 ritories, Indian Tribes, or Native 

19 Hawaiian populations that have 

20 the highest unemployment rates, 

21 as determined based on the most 

22 recent data available. 

23 (cc) The formula shall give 

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1 lations in one or more geographic 

2 regions with a high burden of 

3 COVID–19 based on data pro4 vided by the Centers for Disease 

5 Control and Prevention, or other 

6 sources as determined by the 

7 Secretary. 

8 (dd) The formula shall give 

9 fourth highest priority to appli10 cants preparing for, or currently 

11 working to mitigate, a COVID– 

12 19 surge in a geographic region 

13 that does not yet have a high 

14 number of reported cases of 

15 COVID–19 based on data pro16 vided by the Centers for Disease 

17 Control and Prevention, or other 

18 sources as determined by the 

19 Secretary. 

20 (ee) The formula shall give 

21 fifth highest priority to appli22 cants proposing to serve high 

23 numbers of low-income and unin24 sured populations, including 

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1 lations, health professional short2 age areas, racial and ethnic mi3 norities, or geographically diverse 

4 areas, as determined by the Sec5 retary. 

6 (ii) Not more than 2 percent of the 

7 funding for administration of the grants 

8 and for providing technical assistance to 

9 recipients of funds under this section. 

10 (B) EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION.—If the ge11 ographic region served by one or more eligible 

12 entities overlaps, the Secretary shall distribute 

13 funds among such entities in such a manner 

14 that ensures equitable distribution with respect 

15 to the factors under subsection (c)(5). 

16 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY USE OF FUNDS.—An eli17 gible entity described in subsection (a)(4)(A)— 

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

19 date on which the entity receives grant funds 

20 under this section, use not less than 40 percent 

21 of grant funds to award subgrants to units of 

22 local government for the purpose of carrying 

23 out activities described in subsection (f); 

24 (B) may use not more than 5 percent of 

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1 based organizations in the service area to con2 duct outreach, to potential eligible individuals, 

3 as described in subsection (e); 

4 (C) in providing subgrants to units of local 

5 government under subparagraph (A) and 

6 awarding subgrants under subsection (e), shall 

7 ensure the equitable distribution with respect to 

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

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

10 the funds awarded under this section for the 

11 administrative costs of carrying out the grant 

12 and for providing technical assistance to local 

13 units of government and community-based or14 ganizations. 

15 (e) OUTREACH AND EDUCATION SUBGRANT AU16 THORIZATION AND APPLICATION PROCESS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity receiving a 

18 grant under this section may use a portion of such 

19 funds to award a subgrant to one or more commu20 nity-based organizations for the purposes of 

21 partnering with an eligible entity to conduct out22 reach and education activities to inform potentially 

23 eligible individuals about employment opportunities 

24 in contact tracing or pandemic response positions. 


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1 (2) APPLICATION.—A community-based organi2 zation desiring a subgrant under this subsection 

3 shall submit an application at such time and in such 

4 manner as the eligible entity may reasonably require, 

5 including— 

6 (A) a demonstration of the community7 based organization’s established expertise and 

8 effectiveness in community outreach in the lo9 cality that such organization plans to serve; 

10 (B) a demonstration of the community11 based organization’s expertise in providing em12 ployment or information to the locality in which 

13 such organization plans to serve; and 

14 (C) a description of the expertise of the 

15 community-based organization in utilizing cul16 turally competent and multilingual strategies in 

17 the provision of services. 

18 (f) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—An eligible entity receiv19 ing a grant, or a unit of local government receiving a 

20 subgrant from an eligible entity, under this section shall 

21 use such grant or subgrant funds— 

22 (1) to support the recruitment and placement of 

23 eligible individuals; 

24 (2) to employ eligible individuals in contact 

25 training or pandemic response positions; 


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1 (3) to support the training and employment 

2 transition as related to contact tracing or pandemic 

3 response positions; 

4 (4) for the following activities: 

5 (A) Establishing or expanding training 

6 partnerships with— 

7 (i) community-based health providers, 

8 including community health centers and 

9 rural health clinics; 

10 (ii) labor organizations or joint labor 

11 management organizations; 

12 (iii) 2-year and 4-year institutions of 

13 higher education (as defined in section 101 

14 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

15 U.S.C. 1001)), including institutions eligi16 ble to receive funds under section 371(a) 

17 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

18 U.S.C. 1067q(a)); and 

19 (iv) community action agencies or 

20 other community-based organizations serv21 ing localities in which there is a demand 

22 for contact tracing or pandemic response 

23 positions. 

24 (B) Providing training for contact tracing 

25 or pandemic response positions in coordination 


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1 with State, local, Tribal, or territorial health 

2 departments that is consistent with the State or 

3 territorial testing and contact tracing strategy 

4 and ensuring that eligible individuals receive 

5 compensation while participating in such train6 ing. 

7 (C) Providing eligible individuals with— 

8 (i) adequate and safe equipment, envi9 ronments, and facilities for training and 

10 supervision, as applicable; 

11 (ii) supplies and equipment needed by 

12 the program participants to support place13 ment of an individual in contact tracing or 

14 pandemic response positions, as applicable; 

15 and 

16 (iii) services for the period during 

17 which the individual is employed in a con18 tact tracing or pandemic response position 

19 to ensure job retention, which may in20 clude— 

21 (I) supportive services through22 out the term of employment; or 

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1 sition, that is conducted in collabora2 tion with the employers of such par3 ticipants; and 

4 (5) supporting the transition and placement in 

5 unsubsidized employment for eligible individuals 

6 serving in the contact tracing or pandemic response 

7 positions after such positions are no longer nec8 essary in the State or locality, which may include— 

9 (A) providing additional disaster relief em10 ployment and employment and training activi11 ties described in subparagraphs (A) and (C) of 

12 section 170(d)(1) of the Workforce Innovation 

13 and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3225(d)(1)) 

14 and services described in section 7(a)(1) of the 

15 Wagner-Peyser Act (29 U.S.C. 49f(a)(1)); 

16 (B) providing services to assist eligible in17 dividuals in maintaining employment for not 

18 less than 12 months after the completion of em19 ployment in contact tracing or pandemic re20 sponse positions, as appropriate; and 

21 (C) assisting eligible individuals in obtain22 ing other employment directly with the eligible 

23 entity, or with a unit of local government, after 

24 serving in a contact tracing or pandemic re25 sponse position supported under this section, by 


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1 paying for the costs of not more than 10 per2 cent of the total compensation provided by the 

3 eligible entity or unit of local government to 

4 such eligible individual for a period of not more 

5 than the first year in which the individual is so 

6 employed, if such employment is not otherwise 

7 subsidized under this or any other Act. 

8 (g) REQUIREMENTS FOR TRANSITION BACK TO UN9 EMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION.—As a condition of an eli10 gible entity that is a State receiving a grant under this 

11 section, the State law (as defined in section 205 of the 

12 Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act 

13 of 1970 (26 U.S.C. 3304 note)) of the State shall, in the 

14 case of an individual who is receiving unemployment com15 pensation under at the time the individual enrolls in a pro16 gram funded under the grant, provide for the following: 

17 (1) Such individual shall be eligible to resume 

18 receiving unemployment compensation after leaving 

19 such program if the individual is unemployed. 

20 (2) The amount of the weekly benefit amount 

21 for such individual shall be the greater of— 

22 (A) the weekly benefit amount such indi23 vidual was receiving when such individual en24 tered the program; or 


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1 (B) a weekly benefit amount that is deter2 mined based on such individual’s earnings from 

3 employment under the program. 

4 (h) LIMITATIONS.— 

5 (1) EXTENSION OF PERIOD FOR CONTACT

6 TRACING OR PANDEMIC RESPONSE POSITIONS.—A 

7 person may be employed in a contact tracing or pan8 demic response position using funds under this sec9 tion for a period not greater than 2 years. 

10 (2) PROHIBITION OF DISPLACEMENT.—An indi11 vidual placed in a contact tracing or pandemic re12 sponse position under this section shall not displace 

13 (including a partial displacement, such as a reduc14 tion in the hours of nonovertime work, wages, or em15 ployment benefits)— 

16 (A) any employee of the eligible entity; or 

17 (B) any contractor, or employee of any 

18 contractor, of the eligible entity. 

19 (i) REPORTING BY THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.— 

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

21 the enactment of this Act, and once grant funds 

22 have been expended under this section, the Secretary 

23 shall report to the Committee on Health, Education, 

24 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Com25 mittee on Education and Labor of the House of 


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1 Representatives, and make publicly available, a re2 port containing a description of— 

3 (A) the number of eligible individuals re4 cruited, hired, and trained for contact tracing 

5 or pandemic response positions under this sec6 tion; 

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 pandemic response positions 

11 using funds under this Act; 

12 (C) the number of such individuals who 

13 were unemployed prior to being hired or trained 

14 as described in subparagraph (A); 

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

17 the indicators of performance under section 116 

18 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 

19 Act (29 U.S.C. 3141), as applicable; 

20 (E) the number of individuals in unsub21 sidized employment within 6 months and 1 

22 year, respectively, of the conclusion of employ23 ment in contact tracing or pandemic response 

24 positions, the quarterly wages, and number of 

25 hours worked per week, of such individuals, 


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1 and, of those individuals, the number of individ2 uals within a State, territorial, or local public 

3 health department in an occupation related to 

4 public health; and 

5 (F) any information on how eligible enti6 ties, units of local government, or community7 based organizations that received funding under 

8 this section were able to support the goals of 

9 the national system for COVID–19 testing, con10 tact tracing, surveillance, containment, and 

11 mitigation established under section 6. 

12 (2) DISAGGREGATION.—All data reported under 

13 paragraph (1) shall be disaggregated by race, eth14 nicity, sex, age, and, with respect to individuals with 

15 barriers to employment, subpopulation of such indi16 viduals, except for when the number of participants 

17 in a category is insufficient to yield statistically reli18 able information or when the results would reveal 

19 personally identifiable information about an indi20 vidual participant. 

21 (j) SPECIAL RULE.—Any funds used for programs 

22 under this section that are used to fund an apprenticeship 

23 or apprenticeship program shall only be used for, or pro24 vided to, an apprenticeship or apprenticeship program 

25 that meets the definition of such term in subsection (a), 


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1 including any funds awarded for the purposes of grants, 

2 contracts, or cooperative agreements, or the development, 

3 implementation, or administration, of an apprenticeship or 

4 an apprenticeship program. 

5 (k) INFORMATION SHARING REQUIREMENT FOR

6 HHS.—The Secretary of Health and Human Services, 

7 acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease 

8 Control and Prevention, shall provide the Secretary of 

9 Labor, acting through the Assistant Secretary of the Em10 ployment and Training Administration, with information 

11 on grants under section 7, including— 

12 (1) the formula used to award such grants to 

13 State, local, Tribal, and territorial health depart14 ments; 

15 (2) the dollar amounts of and scope of the work 

16 funded under such grants; 

17 (3) the geographic areas served by eligible enti18 ties that receive such grants; and 

19 (4) the number of individual to be hired in con20 tact tracing or pandemic response positions using 

21 such grants. 

22 (l) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Of the 

23 amounts appropriated to carry out this Act under section 

24 9, $100,000,000,000 shall be used by the Secretary to 

25 carry out subsections (a) through (h). 


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1 SEC. 4. SERVICE CONTRACT ACT APPLICATION. 

2 Contracts and grants that include contact tracing or 

3 other pandemic response activities as part of the scope of 

4 work and that are awarded under this Act shall require 

5 that individuals in contact tracing and pandemic response 

6 positions are paid not less than the prevailing wage and 

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

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

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

10 the extent that a nonstandard wage determination is re11 quired to establish a prevailing wage for contact tracing 

12 or pandemic response positions for purposes of this Act, 

13 the Secretary of Labor shall issue such determination not 

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

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

16 Control and Prevention and contractors or grantees per17 forming contact tracing or pandemic response activities 

18 for State public health agencies. 

19 SEC. 5. AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS. 

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

21 Human Services, acting through the Director of the Cen22 ters for Disease Control and Prevention and in coordina23 tion with other offices and agencies, as appropriate, shall 

24 award competitive grants or contracts to one or more pub25 lic entities to carry out multilingual and culturally appro26 priate awareness campaigns. Such campaigns shall— 


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1 (1) be based on available scientific evidence; 

2 (2) increase awareness and knowledge of 

3 COVID–19, including countering stigma associated 

4 with COVID–19; 

5 (3) improve information on the availability of 

6 COVID–19 diagnostic testing; 

7 (4) promote cooperation with contact tracing ef8 forts; and 

9 (5) promote employment opportunities per10 forming contact tracing and other pandemic re11 sponse activities. 

12 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Of the 

13 amounts appropriated to carry out this Act under section 

14 9, $5,000,000,000 shall be used by the Secretary to carry 

15 out this section. 

16 SEC. 6. NATIONAL SYSTEM FOR COVID–19 TESTING, CON17 TACT TRACING, SURVEILLANCE, CONTAIN18 MENT, AND MITIGATION. 

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

20 Human Services, acting through the Director of the Cen21 ters for Disease Control and Prevention, and in coordina22 tion with the applicable offices of the Department of 

23 Health and Human Services and State, local, Tribal, and 

24 territorial health departments, shall establish and imple25 ment a nationwide evidence-based system for— 


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1 (1) testing, contact tracing, surveillance, con2 tainment, and mitigation with respect to COVID–19; 

3 (2) offering guidance on voluntary isolation and 

4 quarantine of individuals infected with, or exposed to 

5 individuals infected with, the virus that causes 

6 COVID–19; and 

7 (3) public reporting on testing, contact tracing, 

8 surveillance, and voluntary isolation and quarantine 

9 activities with respect to COVID–19. 

10 (b) COORDINATION; TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—In 

11 carrying out the national system under this section, the 

12 Secretary of Health and Human Services shall— 

13 (1) coordinate State, local, Tribal, and terri14 torial activities related to testing, contact tracing, 

15 surveillance, containment, and mitigation with re16 spect to COVID–19, as appropriate; and 

17 (2) provide technical assistance for such activi18 ties, as appropriate. 

19 (c) CONSIDERATION.—In establishing and imple20 menting the national system under this section, the Sec21 retary of Health and Human Services shall take into con22 sideration the State and Tribal plans referred to in the 

23 heading ‘‘Public Health and Social Services Emergency 

24 Fund’’ in title I of division B of the Paycheck Protection 


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1 Program and Health Care Enhancement Act (Public Law 

2 116–139). 

3 (d) REPORTING.—The Secretary of Health and 

4 Human Services shall— 

5 (1) not later than December 31, 2021, submit 

6 to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 

7 Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on En8 ergy and Commerce of the House of Representatives 

9 a preliminary report on the effectiveness of the ac10 tivities carried out pursuant to this Act; and 

11 (2) not later than December 21, 2022, submit 

12 to such committees a final report on such effective13 ness. 

14 SEC. 7. HEALTH DEPARTMENT GRANTS. 

15 (a) DEFINITION OF SECRETARY.—In this section, the 

16 term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of Health and 

17 Human Services. 

18 (b) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—To implement the na19 tional system under section 6, the Secretary, acting 

20 through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control 

21 and Prevention, shall, subject to the availability of appro22 priations, award grants to State, local, Tribal, and terri23 torial health departments that seek grants under this sec24 tion to carry out coordinated testing, contact tracing, surVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:13 Feb 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H352.IH H352

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1 veillance, containment, and mitigation with respect to 

2 COVID–19, including— 

3 (1) diagnostic and surveillance testing and re4 porting; 

5 (2) community-based contact tracing efforts; 

6 and 

7 (3) policies related to voluntary isolation and 

8 quarantine of individuals infected with, or exposed to 

9 individuals infected with, the virus that causes 

10 COVID–19. 

11 (c) FLEXIBILITY.—The Secretary shall ensure that— 

12 (1) the grants under subsection (b) provide 

13 flexibility for State, local, Tribal, and territorial 

14 health departments to modify, establish, or maintain 

15 evidence-based systems; and 

16 (2) local health departments receive funding 

17 from State health departments or directly from the 

18 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to con19 tribute to such systems, as appropriate. 

20 (d) ALLOCATIONS.— 

21 (1) FORMULA.—The Secretary, acting through 

22 the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 

23 Prevention, shall allocate amounts made available 

24 pursuant to subsection (b) in accordance with a for25 mula, to be established by the Secretary, that— 


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1 (A) provides a minimum level of funding to 

2 each State, local, Tribal, and territorial health 

3 department that seeks a grant under this sec4 tion; and 

5 (B) allocates additional funding based on 

6 the following prioritization: 

7 (i) The Secretary shall give highest 

8 priority to applicants proposing to serve 

9 populations in one or more geographic re10 gions with a high burden of COVID–19 

11 based on data provided by the Centers for 

12 Disease Control and Prevention, or other 

13 sources as determined by the Secretary. 

14 (ii) The Secretary shall give second 

15 highest priority to applicants preparing 

16 for, or currently working to mitigate, a 

17 COVID–19 surge in a geographic region 

18 that does not yet have a high number of 

19 reported cases of COVID–19 based on 

20 data provided by the Centers for Disease 

21 Control and Prevention, or other sources 

22 as determined by the Secretary. 

23 (iii) The Secretary shall give third 

24 highest priority to applicants proposing to 

25 serve high numbers of low-income and unVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:13 Feb 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H352.IH H352

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1 insured populations, including medically 

2 underserved populations, health profes3 sional shortage areas, racial and ethnic mi4 norities, or geographically diverse areas, as 

5 determined by the Secretary. 

6 (2) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than the date 

7 that is 7 days before first awarding grants under 

8 this section, the Secretary shall submit to the Com9 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

10 of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and 

11 Commerce of the House of Representatives a notifi12 cation detailing the formula established under para13 graph (1) for allocating amounts made available pur14 suant to subsection (b). 

15 (e) USE OF FUNDS.—A State, local, Tribal, or terri16 torial health department receiving a grant under this sec17 tion shall, to the extent possible, use the grant funds for 

18 activities determined appropriate by the Director of the 

19 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (in coordina20 tion with Tribal health organizations) to implement the 

21 national system under section 6. 

22 (f) REPORTING.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall facilitate 

24 mechanisms for timely, standardized reporting by 

25 grantees under this section regarding implementaVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:13 Feb 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H352.IH H352

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1 tion of the systems established under this section 

2 and coordinated processes with the reporting as re3 quired under the heading ‘‘Public Health and Social 

4 Service Emergency Fund’’ in title I of division B of 

5 the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care 

6 Enhancement Act (Public Law 116–139, 134 Stat. 

7 620), including— 

8 (A) a summary of county or local health 

9 department level information from the entities 

10 receiving funding under this section about the 

11 activities that will be undertaken using funding 

12 awarded under this section, including sub13 grants; and 

14 (B) any barriers in the prevention, testing, 

15 mitigation, or treatment of COVID–19 under 

16 this section. 

17 (2) TRIBAL DATA SOVEREIGNTY.—The Sec18 retary shall consult with Indian Tribes and Tribal 

19 organizations and coordinate with Tribal health or20 ganizations to ensure that any reporting process 

21 under this section honors and preserves the data 

22 sovereignty of individuals who are members of In23 dian Tribes or Tribal organizations (as such terms 

24 are defined in section 166 of the Workforce Innova25 tion and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3221)), includVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:13 Feb 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H352.IH H352

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1 ing individuals who are members of Native Hawaiian 

2 organizations (as defined in such section 166), and 

3 urban Indian organizations. 

4 (g) PUBLIC LISTING OF AWARDS.—The Secretary 

5 shall— 

6 (1) not later than 7 days after first awarding 

7 grants under this section, post in a searchable, elec8 tronic format a list of all awards made by the Sec9 retary under this section, including the recipients 

10 and amounts of such awards; and 

11 (2) update such list not less than once every 7 

12 days until all funds made available to carry out this 

13 section are expended. 

14 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Of the 

15 amounts appropriated to carry out this Act under section 

16 9, $15,000,000,000 shall be used by the Secretary to carry 

17 out this section. 

18 SEC. 8. GUIDANCE AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

19 (a) DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERV20 ICES GUIDELINES.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 14 days after 

22 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

23 of Health and Human Services, in coordination with 

24 the heads of other Federal agencies as appropriate, 

25 shall issue guidance, provide technical assistance, 


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1 and provide information to States, units of local gov2 ernment, Tribes, and territories, with respect to the 

3 following: 

4 (A) Best practices regarding contact trac5 ing, including the collection of data with respect 

6 to such contact tracing and requirements re7 lated to the standardization of demographic and 

8 syndromic information collected as part of con9 tact tracing efforts. 

10 (B) Best practices regarding COVID–19 

11 disease surveillance, including best practices to 

12 reduce duplication in surveillance activities, 

13 identifying gaps in surveillance and surveillance 

14 systems, and ways in which the Secretary of 

15 Health and Human Services plans to effectively 

16 support State, local, Tribal, and territorial 

17 health departments in addressing such gaps. 

18 (C) Information on ways for State, local, 

19 Tribal, and territorial health departments to es20 tablish and maintain the contact tracing and 

21 surveillance activities described in subpara22 graphs (A) and (B). 

23 (D) Best practices regarding privacy and 

24 cybersecurity protection related to contact trac25 ing, containment, and mitigation efforts. 


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1 (2) COMMUNICATION.—The Secretary of Health 

2 and Human Services shall identify and publicly an3 nounce the form and manner for communication 

4 with State, local, Tribal, and territorial health de5 partments for purposes of carrying out the activities 

6 addressed by guidance issued under paragraph (1). 

7 (b) LABOR AND WORKPLACE RELATED GUIDANCE.— 

8 Not later than 14 days after the date of enactment of this 

9 Act, the Secretary of Labor, acting through the Assistant 

10 Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, 

11 shall provide guidance and technical assistance regarding 

12 how to provide individuals in contact tracing and pan13 demic response positions with healthy and safe working 

14 conditions. 

15 (c) ONGOING PROVISION OF GUIDANCE AND TECH16 NICAL ASSISTANCE.—Notwithstanding whether funds are 

17 available specifically to carry out this Act, guidance and 

18 technical assistance shall continue to be provided under 

19 this section. 

20 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

21 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

22 this Act, $125,000,000,000 to remain available until ex23 pended. 

Æ 


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