I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6909 
To provide for the establishment of a COVID–19 Compensation Fund, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 15, 2020 
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York (for herself, Mr. NADLER, and Mr. 
KING of New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To provide for the establishment of a COVID–19 
Compensation Fund, 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 ‘‘Pandemic Heroes 
Compensation Act of 2020’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act, the following definitions apply: 
(1) CLAIMANT.—The term ‘‘claimant’’ means 
an individual filing a claim for compensation under 
this Act. 
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(2) COLLATERAL SOURCE.—The term ‘‘collat-
eral source’’ means all compensation other than 
compensation under this Act, including life insur-
ance, pension funds, death benefit programs, and 
payments by Federal, State, Territory, or local gov-
ernments. 
(3) 
COVID–19.—The 
term 
‘‘COVID–19’’ 
means novel coronavirus disease 2019, as identified 
by the Centers for Disease Control. 
(4) ECONOMIC
LOSS.—The term ‘‘economic 
loss’’ means any pecuniary loss (including the loss of 
earnings or other benefits related to employment, 
medical expense loss, replacement services loss, loss 
due to death, burial costs, and loss of business or 
employment opportunities) resulting from harm due 
to COVID–19 to the extent recovery for such loss is 
allowed under applicable Federal, State, local, Trib-
al, or territorial law. 
(5) ESSENTIAL WORKER.—The term ‘‘essential 
worker’’ means any individual, employee, or con-
tractor working for a person, business, nonprofit en-
tity, or Federal, State, Tribal, territorial or local 
government that is determined, during the response 
to the COVID–19 pandemic, to be essential, based 
on State, local, Tribal, or territorial orders or dec-
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larations (or equivalent), or Federal guidance pub-
lished by the Cyber & Infrastructure Security Agen-
cy (CISA), and who performed work outside their 
place of residence. 
(6) NONECONOMIC LOSSES.—The term ‘‘non-
economic losses’’ means losses for physical and emo-
tional pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical im-
pairment, mental anguish, disfigurement, loss of en-
joyment of life, loss of society and companionship, 
loss of consortium (other than loss of domestic serv-
ice), hedonic damages, injury to reputation, and all 
other nonpecuniary losses of any kind or nature. 
(7) SPECIAL MASTER.—The term ‘‘Special Mas-
ter’’ means the Special Master appointed by the At-
torney General under section 3. 
(8) PLACE OF RESIDENCE.—The term ‘‘place of 
residence’’ means the physical location or locations 
at which claimant resided or was residing during the 
eligibility period. 
(9) ELIGIBILITY PERIOD.—The term ‘‘eligibility 
period’’ means any time during which any Federal, 
State, Tribal, territorial, or local COVID–19 related 
emergency order or declaration (or equivalent) is or 
was in effect, regardless of the claimant’s place of 
residence. 
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SEC. 3. ADMINISTRATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General, acting 
through a Special Master appointed by the Attorney Gen-
eral, shall— 
(1) administer the compensation program es-
tablished under this Act; 
(2) promulgate all procedural and substantive 
rules for the administration of this Act; and 
(3) employ and supervise hearing officers and 
other administrative personnel to perform the duties 
of the Special Master under this Act. 
(b) APPOINTMENT OF SPECIAL MASTER AND DEP-
UTY SPECIAL MASTERS.—The Attorney General may ap-
point a Special Master and no more than two Deputy Spe-
cial Masters without regard to the provisions of title 5, 
United States Code, governing appointments in the com-
petitive service. Any such employee shall serve at the 
pleasure of the Attorney General. The Attorney General 
shall fix the annual salary of the Special Master and the 
Deputy Special Masters. 
(c) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to pay the administrative and support costs for 
the Special Master in carrying out this Act. 
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(ii) information establishing that the 
claimant or decedent was an essential 
worker; 
(iii) information from the claimant 
concerning any possible economic and non-
economic losses that the claimant suffered 
as a result of COVID–19 or that was 
caused by the death of the decedent from 
COVID–19; and 
(iv) information regarding collateral 
sources of compensation the claimant has 
received or is entitled to receive as a result 
of COVID–19. 
(3) LIMITATION.—No claim may be filed under 
paragraph (1) after the date that is 5 years after 
the end of the eligibility period. 
(b) REVIEW AND DETERMINATION.— 
(1) REVIEW.—The Special Master shall review 
a claim submitted under subsection (a) and deter-
mine— 
(A) whether the claimant is an eligible in-
dividual under subsection (c); and 
(B) with respect to a claimant determined 
to be an eligible individual— 
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(i) the extent of the harm to the 
claimant, including any economic and non-
economic losses; and 
(ii) subject to paragraph (7), the 
amount of compensation to which the 
claimant is entitled based on the harm to 
the claimant, the facts of the claim, and 
the individual circumstances of the claim-
ant. 
(2) NEGLIGENCE.—With respect to a claimant, 
the Special Master shall not consider negligence or 
any other theory of liability. 
(3) DETERMINATION.—A determination under 
this subsection shall be final and not subject to judi-
cial review. 
(4) RIGHTS OF CLAIMANT.—A claimant in a re-
view under paragraph (1) shall have— 
(A) the right to be represented by an at-
torney or other representative; 
(B) the right to present evidence, including 
the presentation of witnesses and documents; 
and 
(C) any other due process rights deter-
mined appropriate by the Special Master. 
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(5) NO PUNITIVE DAMAGES.—The Special Mas-
ter may not include amounts for punitive damages 
in any compensation paid under a claim under this 
Act. 
(6) COLLATERAL COMPENSATION.—The Special 
Master shall reduce the amount of compensation de-
termined under paragraph (1) by the amount of the 
collateral source compensation the claimant has re-
ceived or is entitled to receive as a result of the 
claimant suffering from COVID–19. 
(7) LIMITATIONS
ON
CLAIMS.—Noneconomic 
losses shall not exceed such limit as the Special Mas-
ter may impose. 
(c) ELIGIBILITY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—A claimant or decedent shall 
be determined to be an eligible individual for pur-
poses of this subsection if the Special Master deter-
mines that such claimant or decedent— 
(A) was designated an essential worker 
during the eligibility period or was a family 
member of such an essential worker who re-
sided with the essential worker during the eligi-
bility period; 
(B) expressed symptoms consistent with 
COVID–19, including those with laboratory 
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confirmations, diagnosis by a healthcare pro-
vider, or for whom there is or was an absence 
of an alternate diagnosis that explains claim-
ant’s or decedent’s symptoms; 
(C) suffered economic loss; and 
(D) meets the requirements of paragraph 
(2). 
(2) SINGLE CLAIM.—Not more than one claim 
may be submitted under this Act by an individual or 
on behalf of a deceased individual. If the claimant 
dies during the pendency of a claim, the decedent’s 
family or other individual representing the decedent 
may continue the claimant’s claim with added ex-
penses related to the claimant’s death, as needed. 
SEC. 5. ASSISTANCE TO CLAIMANTS. 
The Special Master will establish an office to provide 
assistance to all claimants in submitting claims. 
SEC. 6. PAYMENTS TO ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the limitations under 
subsection (d), not later than 20 days after the date on 
which a determination is made by the Special Master re-
garding the amount of compensation due a claimant under 
this Act, the Special Master shall authorize payment to 
such claimant of the amount determined with respect to 
the claimant. 
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(b) FUNDING.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General is au-
thorized to accept such amounts as may be contrib-
uted by individuals, business concerns, or other enti-
ties to carry out this Act, under such terms and con-
ditions as the Attorney General may impose. 
(2) USE OF SEPARATE ACCOUNT.—In making 
payments under this section, amounts contained in 
any account containing funds provided under para-
graph (1) shall be used prior to using appropriated 
amounts. 
(c) DEVELOPMENT OF AGENCY POLICIES AND PRO-
CEDURES.—Not later than 120 days after the date of en-
actment the Special Master shall develop agency policies 
and procedures that meet the requirements including poli-
cies and procedures for presumptive award schedules, ad-
ministrative expenses, and related internal memoranda. 
(d) ATTORNEY FEES.—The Special Master shall have 
the sole discretion to determine reasonable compensation 
for services rendered for attorney fees for services ren-
dered, if any. 
SEC. 7. REGULATIONS. 
Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Attorney General, in consultation with the 
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Special Master, shall promulgate regulations to carry out 
this Act, including regulations with respect to— 
(1) forms to be used in submitting claims under 
this Act; 
(2) the information to be included in such 
forms; 
(3) procedures for hearing and the presentation 
of evidence; 
(4) procedures to assist an individual in filing 
and pursuing claims under this Act; and 
(5) other matters determined appropriate by 
the Attorney General. 
SEC. 8. RIGHT OF SUBROGATION. 
The United States shall have the right of subrogation 
with respect to any claim paid by the United States, sub-
ject to the limitation described in this Act. 
SEC. 9. VICTIM COMPENSATION FUND. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the Treas-
ury of the United States a fund to be known as the 
‘‘COVID–19 Compensation Fund’’, consisting of amounts 
deposited into such fund under subsection (b). 
(b) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts deposited 
into the COVID–19 Compensation Fund shall be avail-
able, without further appropriation, to the Special Master 
to provide compensation. 
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(c) TERMINATION.—The COVID–19 Compensation 
Fund shall be permanently closed on the date that is 1 
year after the Special Master determines that no addi-
tional claims may be filed. 
SEC. 10. APPROPRIATION. 
There is authorized to be appropriated for purposes 
of carrying out this Act such sums as may be necessary 
for fiscal year 2020 and each fiscal year thereafter 
through fiscal year 2026, to remain available until ex-
pended. 
Æ 
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