I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 778 
To authorize the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
to award grants to eligible State, Tribal, and territorial public health 
agencies to develop and administer a program for digital contact tracing 
for COVID–19, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 3, 2021 
Ms. SPEIER (for herself, Ms. DEGETTE, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. CARSON, Mr. 
JONES, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. RASKIN, and Mr. TAKANO) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Com-
merce 
A BILL 
To authorize the Director of the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention to award grants to eligible State, Tribal, 
and territorial public health agencies to develop and ad-
minister a program for digital contact tracing for 
COVID–19, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Secure Data and Pri-
vacy for Contact Tracing Act of 2021’’. 
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SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM FOR DIGITAL CONTACT TRACING 
FOR COVID–19. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention shall award grants to eli-
gible State, Tribal, and territorial public health agencies 
to— 
(1) establish a contact tracing program that im-
plements traditional contact tracing protocols with 
the assistance of digital contact-tracing technology 
to track and prevent the spread of COVID–19; 
(2) incorporate digital contact-tracing tech-
nology into a contact tracing program that imple-
ments traditional contact tracing protocols to track 
and prevent the spread of COVID–19; and 
(3) expand or maintain an existing program as 
described in paragraph (1). 
(b) USE OF FUNDS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Funds received through a 
grant under this section may be used for— 
(A) the development, maintenance, or 
staffing of digital contact tracing programs; 
(B) associated outreach and marketing; or 
(C) other activities identified by the State, 
Tribal, or territorial public health agency re-
ceiving the grant as advancing the effectiveness 
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and reach of digital contact-tracing tech-
nologies. 
(2) EDUCATION AND OUTREACH.—Of the funds 
received by a State, Tribal, or territorial public 
health agency through a grant under this section, 
the agency may use not more than 10 percent of 
such funds to integrate education and outreach re-
lated to vaccines for COVID–19 into digital contact- 
tracing programs. 
(c) FUNDING DISQUALIFICATION.—If a State, Trib-
al, or territorial public health agency develops or procures 
any digital contact-tracing technology with respect to 
COVID–19 that does not meet each of the requirements 
listed in subsection (d), such State, Tribal, or territorial 
public health agency shall be ineligible to receive or con-
tinue to receive— 
(1) any funds through a grant under this sec-
tion; and 
(2) any other Federal funds, including under 
the CARES Act (Public Law 116–136), for any dig-
ital contact-tracing technology with respect to 
COVID–19. 
(d) DIGITAL CONTACT-TRACING REQUIREMENTS.— 
A State, Tribal, or territorial public health agency may 
use a grant under this section for digital contact-tracing 
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technology, as described in subsections (a) and (b), only 
if the technology meets each of the following requirements: 
(1) The technology shall be voluntary for the 
user and provide to the user complete and clear in-
formation on the intended use and processing of 
data collected by the technology. To be voluntary for 
the user, the technology shall meet requirements in-
cluding each of the following: 
(A) Use of the technology and of contact- 
tracing data collected using the technology shall 
be predicated on the user’s affirmative express 
consent. 
(B) Use of the technology shall not be a 
condition for the reception of government bene-
fits. 
(C) Use of the technology shall not be 
made a condition of employment or employment 
status. 
(2) The technology shall limit the collection of 
data by the technology to only the data that is nec-
essary to meet contact tracing objectives, includ-
ing— 
(A) the status of any person as an infected 
or potentially infected person; and 
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(B) the proximity of a person to someone 
who is symptomatic or has tested positive. 
(3) The technology— 
(A) shall delete or de-identify any contact- 
tracing data that is individually identifiable in-
formation not later than the date that is 30 
days after the end of the COVID–19 emergency 
declaration; and 
(B) shall include notifications to prompt 
users to disable or completely remove any dig-
ital contact-tracing technology where practical. 
(4) The technology shall have robust contact 
detection specifications, including for distance and 
time, that allow for detection consistent with guid-
ance of the Centers for Disease Control and Preven-
tion on COVID–19. 
(5) The technology shall ensure that the storing 
of proximity and any contact-tracing data is 
encrypted to the maximum extent possible. 
(e) PLAN FOR INTEROPERABILITY.—As a condition 
on receipt of a grant under this section, a State, Tribal, 
or territorial public health agency shall— 
(1) develop and make publicly available a plan 
for how the digital contact-tracing technology of the 
agency with respect to COVID–19 augments— 
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(A) traditional contact tracing efforts, if 
applicable; and 
(B) statewide efforts to prevent, prepare 
for, and respond to COVID–19; and 
(2) include in such plan a description of the 
agency’s efforts to ensure that the digital contact- 
tracing technologies of the agency with respect to 
COVID–19 are interoperable with the digital con-
tact-tracing technology and public health agency 
databases of other jurisdictions with respect to 
COVID–19; and 
(3) ensure that data collected by the digital 
contact-tracing technology of the agency— 
(A) is accessed and processed only by pub-
lic health authorities (or their designees); and 
(B) is not shared with any person, or 
accessed or used by any person, for any purpose 
other than diagnosis, containment, treatment, 
or reduction of, or research into, COVID–19. 
(f) INDEPENDENT SECURITY ASSESSMENTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—As a condition on receipt of 
a grant under this section, a State, Tribal, or terri-
torial public health agency shall— 
(A) establish procedures for completing or 
obtaining independent security assessments of 
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digital contact tracing infrastructure to ensure 
that physical and network security is resilient 
and secure; and 
(B) develop a process to address the miti-
gation 
or 
remediation 
of 
the 
security 
vulnerabilities discovered during such inde-
pendent security assessments. 
(2) SOURCE CODE.—A State, Tribal, or terri-
torial public health agency should consider making 
public the source code of the digital contact-tracing 
technology used by the agency. 
(g) APPLICATION.—To seek a grant under this sec-
tion, an eligible State, Tribal, or territorial public health 
agency shall submit an application in such form, in such 
manner, and containing such information and assurances 
as the Director may require. 
(h) SECURING DIGITAL CONTACT-TRACING DATA.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The provisions of the 
HIPAA privacy and security law (as defined in sec-
tion 3009(a)(2) of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 300jj–19(a)(2))) shall apply to a State, Trib-
al, or territorial public health agency receiving a 
grant under subsection (a) with respect to individ-
ually identifiable health information (as defined in 
section 1171(a)(6) of the Social Security Act (42 
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U.S.C. 1320d(a)(6))) received by, maintained on, or 
transmitted through a contact tracing program de-
scribed in such subsection (a) in the same manner 
as such provisions apply with respect to such infor-
mation and a covered entity (as defined in section 
13400(3) 
of 
the 
HITECH 
Act 
(42 
U.S.C. 
17921(3))). 
(2) BUSINESS ASSOCIATES.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Any entity with a con-
tract in effect with an agency described in para-
graph (1) for the development, maintenance, or 
operation of a program described in such para-
graph shall be deemed to be a business asso-
ciate of such agency for purposes of subtitle D 
of the HITECH Act (42 U.S.C. 17921 et seq.). 
(B) REVISION OF SAMPLE AGREEMENT.— 
Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services shall revise the sample 
business associate agreement provisions pub-
lished on January 25, 2013, to take account of 
the provisions of this subsection. 
(C) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The provisions of 
subparagraph (A) shall apply beginning on the 
day after the Secretary of Health and Human 
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Services revises the provisions described in sub-
paragraph (B). 
(i) LIMITATION ON USE OF DATA.—Data generated 
in connection with the operation of digital contact-tracing 
technology funded pursuant to this section may not be 
used for any punitive purpose, including law enforcement, 
immigration enforcement, or criminal prosecution. Such 
data and any information derived from it, whether in 
whole or in part, may not be received as evidence in any 
trial, hearing, or other proceeding in or before any court, 
grand jury, department, officer, agency, regulatory body, 
legislative committee, or other authority of the United 
States, a State, or a political subdivision thereof. 
(j) REPORT
TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 24 
months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comp-
troller General of the United States shall— 
(1) evaluate the outcome of the grants awarded 
under this section, including an assessment of the 
impact of the implementation of digital contact trac-
ing programs funded through such grants on the 
spread of COVID–19; and 
(2) submit to the Congress a report on the re-
sults of such evaluation. 
(k) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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(1) AFFIRMATIVE
EXPRESS
CONSENT.—The 
term ‘‘affirmative express consent’’ means an affirm-
ative act by an individual that clearly and conspicu-
ously communicates the individual’s authorization 
for an act or practice, in response to a specific re-
quest that— 
(A) is provided to the individual in a clear 
and conspicuous disclosure that is separate 
from other options or acceptance of general 
terms; 
(B) includes a description of each act or 
practice for which the individual’s consent is 
sought and— 
(i) is written clearly and unmistakably 
stated; and 
(ii) includes a prominent heading that 
would enable a reasonable individual to 
identify and understand the act or prac-
tice; and 
(C) cannot be inferred from inaction. 
(2) CONTACT-TRACING DATA.—The term ‘‘con-
tact-tracing data’’ means information linked or rea-
sonably linkable to a user or device, that— 
(A) concerns the COVID–19 pandemic; 
and 
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(B) is gathered, processed, or transferred 
by digital contact-tracing technology. 
(3) COVID–19 EMERGENCY
DECLARATION.— 
The term ‘‘COVID–19 emergency declaration’’ has 
the meaning given to such term in section 
1135(g)(1)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1320b–5). 
(4) DE-IDENTIFY.—The term ‘‘de-identify’’ 
means to ensure that information cannot reasonably 
identify, relate to, describe, be capable of being asso-
ciated with, or be linked, directly or indirectly, to a 
particular individual. 
(5) DESIGNEE.—The term ‘‘designee’’— 
(A) subject to subparagraph (B), means 
any person or entity, other than a public health 
agency, that collects, processes, or transfers 
contact-tracing data in the course of performing 
a service or function on behalf of, for the ben-
efit of, under instruction of, and under contrac-
tual agreement with a public health authority; 
and 
(B) excludes any Federal, State, Tribal, 
territorial, or local law (including immigration 
law) enforcement personnel or entity. 
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