I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 173 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary to make 
grants and enter into cooperative agreements with entities to expand 
and support activities with respect to the prevention and treatment 
of a covered condition, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 4, 2021 
Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ (for herself, Ms. DEAN, Mr. NADLER, Mr. SEAN PATRICK 
MALONEY of New York, Ms. MENG, and Mr. SIRES) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Com-
merce 
A BILL 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize the 
Secretary to make grants and enter into cooperative 
agreements with entities to expand and support activities 
with respect to the prevention and treatment of a covered 
condition, 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 ‘‘COVID–19 Prevention 
and Awareness Act of 2021’’. 
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SEC. 2. COVID–19 PREVENTION AND AWARENESS GRANTS. 
Subpart I of part D of title III of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254b et seq.) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 330N. PROGRAM TO PREVENT AND TREAT COVERED 
CONDITIONS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 
the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Pre-
vention, may award grants and enter into cooperative 
agreements with covered entities to expand and support 
activities with respect to the prevention and treatment of 
covered conditions, including— 
‘‘(1) conducting screenings, surveillance, and di-
agnostic testing for covered conditions; 
‘‘(2) providing guidance to individuals on such 
prevention and treatment activities; and 
‘‘(3) providing guidance on vaccinations rec-
ommended by the Advisory Committee on Immuniza-
tion Practices established by the Secretary. 
‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—An entity seeking a grant under 
this section shall submit an application to the Secretary 
at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such 
information as the Secretary may require. 
‘‘(c) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants or entering into 
cooperative agreements under this section, the Secretary 
shall give priority to— 
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‘‘(1) federally qualified health centers (as de-
fined in section 330A); 
‘‘(2) community-based organizations; and 
‘‘(3) entities that have an agreement with a fed-
erally-qualified health center. 
‘‘(d) REPORTS.— 
‘‘(1) REPORT TO SECRETARY.—An entity that 
receives a grant or enters into a cooperative agree-
ment under this section shall submit to the Sec-
retary a report that includes— 
‘‘(A) a description of each activity carried 
out— 
‘‘(i) pursuant to the cooperative 
agreement; or 
‘‘(ii) with amounts received through 
the grant; and 
‘‘(B) an evaluation of the effectiveness of 
each such activity. 
‘‘(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 3 
years after the date of the enactment of this section, 
the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on 
the effectiveness of the grants and cooperative agree-
ments entered into under this section. 
‘‘(e) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—An entity re-
ceiving a grant under this section shall use grant amounts 
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to supplement, not supplant, any other Federal, State, and 
local funds that would otherwise be expended by such enti-
ty to carry out the activities described in this section. 
‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) COVERED CONDITION.—The term ‘covered 
condition’ means a disease or condition that has 
been identified by the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention to increase, or likely increase, the 
risk of mortality from COVID–19 or to increase, or 
likely increase, the risk of severe illness from 
COVID–19, including the following: 
‘‘(A) Asthma. 
‘‘(B) Cancer. 
‘‘(C) Cerebrovascular disease. 
‘‘(D) Chronic kidney disease. 
‘‘(E) Chronic obstructive pulmonary dis-
ease. 
‘‘(F) Cystic fibrosis. 
‘‘(G) Hypertension or high blood pressure. 
‘‘(H) Liver disease. 
‘‘(I) Neurologic conditions, including de-
mentia. 
‘‘(J) Obesity. 
‘‘(K) Pregnancy. 
‘‘(L) Pulmonary fibrosis. 
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‘‘(M) Serious heart conditions, including 
heart failure, coronary artery disease, and car-
diomyopathy. 
‘‘(N) Sickle cell disease. 
‘‘(O) Pulmonary conditions resulting from 
tobacco use. 
‘‘(P) Thalassemia. 
‘‘(Q) Tobacco use. 
‘‘(R) Type 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus. 
‘‘(S) Weakened immune system, including 
from— 
‘‘(i) a solid organ transplant; 
‘‘(ii) a blood or bone marrow trans-
plant; 
‘‘(iii) the human immunodeficiency 
virus; and 
‘‘(iv) the use of a corticosteroid or 
other immune weakening medicine. 
‘‘(2) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘covered en-
tity’ includes the following: 
‘‘(A) Federally qualified health center (as 
defined in section 330A). 
‘‘(B) Entity that has an agreement with a 
federally qualified health center. 
‘‘(C) Community-based organization. 
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‘‘(D) Faith-based organization. 
‘‘(E) Nonprofit organization. 
‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.—To 
carry out this section, there is authorized to be appro-
priated $2,000,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2021 
through 2022, to remain available until expended. 
‘‘SEC. 330O. GRANT PROGRAM TO INCREASE AWARENESS 
OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COVERED 
CONDITIONS AND COVID–19. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 
the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Pre-
vention, may award grants to entities to carry out a cam-
paign to increase awareness of the relationship between— 
‘‘(1) covered conditions; and 
‘‘(2) the increased risk of developing a severe 
illness or mortality from COVID–19. 
‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—An entity seeking a grant under 
this section shall submit an application to the Secretary 
at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such 
information as the Secretary may require, including a de-
scription of how the entity intends to carry out the activi-
ties specified in subsection (c). 
‘‘(c) CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out the 
campaign under subsection (a), an entity shall— 
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‘‘(1) develop and disseminate informational ma-
terial— 
‘‘(A) that is culturally and linguistically 
appropriate; 
‘‘(B) targeted toward communities and 
populations that are at a high risk of— 
‘‘(i) developing a covered condition; 
and 
‘‘(ii) contracting COVID–19; 
‘‘(C) that increases awareness of the safety 
and effectiveness of a COVID–19 vaccine; and 
‘‘(D) that identifies locations in the com-
munity served by the entity where COVID–19 
vaccines are administered; 
‘‘(2) consult with members of such communities 
and populations to develop the informational mate-
rial under paragraph (1); and 
‘‘(3) disseminate informational material on 
treatments available for covered conditions, includ-
ing, if applicable, treatments provided by the entity. 
‘‘(d) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec-
tion, the Secretary shall give priority to— 
‘‘(1) federally qualified health centers (as de-
fined in section 330A); 
‘‘(2) community-based organizations; and 
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‘‘(3) entities that have an agreement with a fed-
erally qualified health center. 
‘‘(e) REPORTS.— 
‘‘(1) REPORT TO SECRETARY.—An entity that 
receives a grant under this section shall submit to 
the Secretary a report that includes— 
‘‘(A) a description of each activity carried 
out with amounts received through the grant; 
and 
‘‘(B) an evaluation of the effectiveness of 
each such activity. 
‘‘(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 3 
years after the date of the enactment of this section, 
the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on 
the effectiveness of the grants entered into under 
this section. 
‘‘(f) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—An entity re-
ceiving a grant under this section shall use grant amounts 
to supplement, not supplant, any other Federal, State, and 
local funds that would otherwise be expended by such enti-
ty to carry out the activities described in this section. 
‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) COVERED CONDITION.—The term ‘covered 
condition’ has the meaning given such term in sec-
tion 330N. 
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‘‘(2) COVID–19 VACCINE.—The term ‘COVID– 
19 vaccine’ means a vaccine that is intended to pre-
vent, mitigate, or treat the virus that causes 
COVID–19 and— 
‘‘(A) is licensed under section 351 of the 
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 262); or 
‘‘(B) authorized under section 564 of the 
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 
U.S.C. 360bbb–3). 
‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.—To 
carry out this section, there is authorized to be appro-
priated $120,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2021 
through 2022, to remain available until expended.’’. 
Æ 
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