I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6862 
To provide funding to States, localities, and community-based organizations 
for emergency aid and services in response to the COVID–19 pandemic. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 14, 2020 
Ms. JUDY CHU of California (for herself, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, 
Ms. SA´NCHEZ, and Mr. GOMEZ) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To provide funding to States, localities, and community-based 
organizations for emergency aid and services in response 
to the COVID–19 pandemic. 
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 ‘‘Social Services Pan-
demic Disaster Relief Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FUNDING TO STATES, LOCALITIES, AND COMMU-
NITY-BASED 
ORGANIZATIONS 
FOR 
EMER-
GENCY AID AND SERVICES. 
(a) FUNDING FOR STATES.— 
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(1) INCREASE IN FUNDING FOR SOCIAL SERV-
ICES BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM.— 
(A) APPROPRIATION.—Out of any money 
in the Treasury of the United States not other-
wise appropriated, there are appropriated 
$9,600,000,000, which shall be available for 
payments under section 2002 of the Social Se-
curity Act. 
(B) DEADLINE
FOR
DISTRIBUTION
OF 
FUNDS.—Within 45 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services shall distribute the funds 
made available by this paragraph, which shall 
be made available to States on an emergency 
basis for immediate obligation and expenditure. 
(C) SUBMISSION
OF
REVISED
PRE-EX-
PENDITURE REPORT.—Within 90 days after a 
State receives funds made available by this 
paragraph, the State shall submit to the Sec-
retary a revised pre-expenditure report pursu-
ant to title XX of the Social Security Act that 
describes how the State plans to administer the 
funds. 
(D) OBLIGATION OF FUNDS BY STATES.— 
A State to which funds made available by this 
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paragraph are distributed shall obligate the 
funds not later than December 31, 2020. 
(E) 
EXPENDITURE
OF
FUNDS
BY 
STATES.—A grantee to which a State (or a sub-
grantee to which a grantee) provides funds 
made available by this paragraph shall expend 
the funds not later than December 31, 2021. 
(2) RULES
GOVERNING
USE
OF
ADDITIONAL 
FUNDS.—A State to which funds made available by 
paragraph (1)(B) are distributed shall use the funds 
in accordance with the following: 
(A) PURPOSE.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—The State shall use 
the funds only to support the provision of 
emergency services to disadvantaged chil-
dren, families, and households. 
(ii) DISADVANTAGED
DEFINED.—In 
this paragraph, the term ‘‘disadvantaged’’ 
means, with respect to an entity, that the 
entity— 
(I) is an individual, or is located 
in a community, that is experiencing 
material hardship; 
(II) is a household in which there 
is a child (as defined in section 12(d) 
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of the Richard B. Russell National 
School Lunch Act) or a child served 
under section 11(a)(1) of such Act, 
who, if not for the closure of the 
school attended by the child during a 
public health emergency designation 
and due to concerns about a COVID– 
19 outbreak, would receive free or re-
duced price school meals pursuant to 
such Act; 
(III) is an individual, or is lo-
cated in a community, with barriers to 
employment; or 
(IV) is located in a community 
that, as of the date of the enactment 
of this Act, is not experiencing a 56- 
day downward trajectory of— 
(aa) influenza-like illnesses; 
(bb) COVID-like syndromic 
cases; 
(cc) documented COVID–19 
cases; or 
(dd) positive test results as 
a percentage of total COVID–19 
tests. 
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(B) PASS-THROUGH
TO
LOCAL
ENTI-
TIES.— 
(i) In the case of a State in which a 
county administers or contributes finan-
cially to the non-Federal share of the 
amounts expended in carrying out a State 
program funded under title IV of the So-
cial Security Act, the State may pass at 
least 50 percent of all funds so made avail-
able through to— 
(I) the chief elected official of the 
city or county that administers the 
program; or 
(II) local government and com-
munity-based organizations. 
(ii) In the case of any other State and 
any State to which clause (i) applies that 
does not pass through funds as described 
in that clause, the State shall— 
(I) pass at least 50 percent of 
the funds through to— 
(aa)(AA) local governments 
that will expend or distribute the 
funds in consultation with com-
munity-based organizations with 
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experience serving disadvantaged 
families or individuals; or 
(BB) community-based or-
ganizations with experience serv-
ing disadvantaged families and 
individuals; and 
(bb) sub-State areas in pro-
portions based on the population 
of disadvantaged individuals liv-
ing in the areas; and 
(II) report to the Secretary on 
how 
the 
State 
determined 
the 
amounts passed through pursuant to 
this clause. 
(C) METHODS.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—The State shall use 
the funds only for— 
(I) administering emergency serv-
ices; 
(II) providing short-term cash, 
non-cash, or in-kind emergency dis-
aster relief; 
(III) providing services with dem-
onstrated need in accordance with ob-
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