I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 56
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish health 
empowerment zone programs in communities that disproportionately ex-
perience disparities in health status and health care, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 4, 2005
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN (for herself, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. CUMMINGS, Ms. 
CARSON, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. WYNN, Mr. MEEK of 
Florida, Ms. WATSON, Mr. CLYBURN, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of 
Texas, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, and Ms. KILPATRICK of Michi-
gan) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to 
establish health empowerment zone programs in commu-
nities that disproportionately experience disparities in 
health status and health care, 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 ‘‘Health Empowerment 
Zone Act of 2005’’.
SEC. 2. HEALTH EMPOWERMENT ZONES. 
(a) HEALTH EMPOWERMENT ZONE PROGRAMS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services, acting through the Administrator 
of the Health Resources and Services Administration 
and the Director of the Office of Minority Health, 
and in cooperation with the Director of the Office of 
Community Services and the Director of the Na-
tional Center for Minority Health and Health Dis-
parities—
(A) shall designate health empowerment 
zones in accordance with paragraph (2); and 
(B) shall make grants in accordance with 
paragraph (3). 
(2) DESIGNATION OF HEALTH EMPOWERMENT 
ZONES.—The Secretary may designate a community 
as a health empowerment zone if—
(A) a community partnership seeking a 
grant under this section requests that the com-
munity be designated as a health empowerment 
zone; and 
(B) the community partnership dem-
onstrates, to the Secretary’s satisfaction, that 
the community is a community of color that ex-
periences disproportionate disparities in health 
status and health care.
(3) GRANTS.—The Secretary shall make grants 
to community partnerships of private and public en-
tities to establish health empowerment zone pro-
grams. 
(4) USE OF FUNDS.—Grants under this section 
shall be used for the establishment of a health em-
powerment zone program to assist individuals, busi-
nesses, schools, minority health associations, non-
profit organizations, community-based organizations, 
hospitals, health care clinics, and foundations in a 
health empowerment zone that are seeking—
(A) to effectively access Federal programs 
to improve the health or environment of 1 or 
more minority individuals in the community and 
eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in health 
status and health care; and 
(B) to coordinate the efforts of govern-
mental and private entities regarding the elimi-
nation of racial and ethnic disparities in health 
status and health care. 
(5) ESTABLISHMENT IN TERRITORY OR POSSES-
SION.—The Secretary shall make at least 1 grant 
under this section to a community partnership for a 
health empowerment zone program in a health em-
powerment zone that is located in a territory or pos-
session of the United States. 
(6) APPLICATION.—To seek the designation of 
a community as a health empowerment zone and to 
obtain a grant under this section, a community part-
nership shall submit to the Secretary an application 
in such form and in such manner as the Secretary 
may require. An application under this paragraph 
shall—
(A) demonstrate that the community to be 
served is a community of color that experiences 
disproportionate disparities in health status and 
health care; 
(B) set forth a strategic plan for the pro-
posed health empowerment zone program, by—
(i) describing the coordinated health, 
economic, human, community, and physical 
development plan and related activities 
proposed for the community involved; 
(ii) describing the inclusion of the 
community involved as a full partner in the 
process of developing, implementing, moni-
toring, and evaluating the strategic plan 
and the extent to which local institutions
and organizations have contributed to the 
planning process; 
(iii) identifying the projected amount 
of Federal, State, local, and private re-
sources that will be available in the area 
and the private and public community 
partnerships to be used (including any par-
ticipation by or cooperation with univer-
sities, colleges, foundations, nonprofit orga-
nizations, medical centers, hospitals, health 
clinics, school districts, or other private 
and public entities); 
(iv) identifying the funding requested 
under any Federal program in support of 
the proposed health, economic, human, 
community, and physical development, and 
related activities; 
(v) identifying baselines, methods, 
health outcomes, and benchmarks for 
measuring the success of carrying out the 
strategic plan; 
(vi) demonstrating the ability to effec-
tively reach and service the targeted under-
served minority community populations in
a culturally appropriate and linguistically 
responsive manner; 
(vii) demonstrating a capacity and in-
frastructure to provide long-term commu-
nity response that is culturally appropriate 
and linguistically responsive to a commu-
nity of color that experiences dispropor-
tionate disparities in health status and 
health care; and 
(viii) identifying the individuals who 
have agreed to serve as members of a 
health empowerment zone coordinating 
committee for the community involved; and 
(C) include such other information as the 
Secretary may require. 
(7) PREFERENCE.—In awarding grants under 
this subsection, the Secretary shall give preference 
to proposals from indigenous community entities 
that have an expertise in providing culturally appro-
priate and linguistically responsive services to com-
munities of color that experience disproportionate 
disparities in health status and health care. 
(b) FEDERAL ASSISTANCE FOR HEALTH EMPOWER-
MENT
ZONE
GRANT
PROGRAMS.—The Secretary of 
Health and Human Services, the Administrator of the
Small Business Administration, the Secretary of Agri-
culture, the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of 
Labor, and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop-
ment shall each—
(1) where appropriate, provide entity-specific 
technical assistance and evidence-based strategies to 
communities of color that experience dispropor-
tionate disparities in health status and health care 
to further the purposes of a health empowerment 
zone program described in subsection (a)(5); 
(2) identify all programs administered by the 
Department of Health and Human Services, the 
Small Business Administration, the Department of 
Agriculture, the Department of Education, the De-
partment of Labor, and the Department of Housing 
and Urban Development, respectively, that may be 
used to further the purposes of a health empower-
ment zone program described in subsection (a)(5); 
and 
(3) in administering any program identified 
under paragraph (2), give priority to any individual 
or entity located in a community served by a health 
empowerment zone program under subsection (a) if 
such priority would further the purposes of the
health empowerment zone program described in sub-
section (a)(5). 
(c) HEALTH EMPOWERMENT ZONE COORDINATING 
COMMITTEE.—
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—For each health em-
powerment zone program established with a grant 
under subsection (a), the Secretary, acting through 
the Director of the Office of Minority Health and 
the Administrator of the Health Resources and Serv-
ices Administration, shall establish a health em-
powerment zone coordinating committee. 
(2) DUTIES.—Each coordinating committee es-
tablished, in coordination with the Director of the 
Office of Minority Health and the Administrator of 
the Health Resources and Services Administration, 
shall provide technical assistance and evidence-based 
strategies to the grant recipient involved, including 
providing guidance on research, strategies, health 
outcomes, program goals, management, implementa-
tion, monitoring, assessment, and evaluation proc-
esses. 
(3) MEMBERSHIP.—
(A) APPOINTMENT.—The Director of the 
Office of Minority Health and the Adminis-
trator of the Health Resources and Services Ad-
ministration, in consultation with the respective 
grant recipient, shall appoint the members of 
each coordinating committee. 
(B) COMPOSITION.—The Director of the 
Office of Minority Health and the Adminis-
trator of the Health Resources and Services Ad-
ministration shall ensure that each coordinating 
committee—
(i) has not more than 20 members; 
(ii) includes individuals from commu-
nities of color that experience dispropor-
tionate disparities in health status and 
health care; 
(iii) includes community leaders and 
leaders of community-based organizations; 
(iv) includes representatives of aca-
demia and lay and professional organiza-
tions and associations including those hav-
ing expertise in medicine, technical, social 
and behavioral science, health policy, advo-
cacy, cultural and linguistic competency, 
research management, and organization; 
and 
(v) represents a reasonable cross-sec-
tion of knowledge, views, and application
of expertise on societal, ethical, behavioral, 
educational, policy, legal, cultural, lin-
guistic, and workforce issues related to 
eliminating disparities in health and health 
care. 
(C) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Director of 
the Office of Minority Health and the Adminis-
trator of the Health Resources and Services Ad-
ministration shall ensure that the members of 
each coordinating committee meet the following: 
(i) No member is employed by the 
Federal Government. 
(ii) Each member has appropriate ex-
perience, including experience in the areas 
of community development, cultural and 
linguistic competency, reducing and elimi-
nating racial and ethnic disparities in 
health and health care, or minority health. 
(iii) A majority of the members reside 
in the health empowerment zone involved. 
(D) SELECTION.—In selecting individuals 
to serve on a coordinating committee, the Di-
rector of the Office of Minority Health and the 
Administrator of the Health Resources and 
Services Administration shall give due consider-
ation to the recommendations of the Congress, 
industry leaders, the scientific community (in-
cluding the Institute of Medicine), academia, 
community based nonprofit organizations, mi-
nority health and related organizations, the 
education community, State and local govern-
ments, and other appropriate organizations. 
(E) CHAIRPERSON.—The Director of the 
Office of Minority Health and the Adminis-
trator of the Health Resources and Services Ad-
ministration, in consultation with the members 
of the coordinating committee involved, shall 
designate a chairperson of the coordinating 
committee, who shall serve for a term of 3 
years and who may be reappointed at the expi-
ration of each such term. 
(F) TERMS.—Each member of a coordi-
nating committee shall be appointed for a term 
of 1 to 3 years in overlapping staggered terms, 
as determined by the Director of the Office of 
Minority Health and the Administrator of the 
Health Resources and Services Administration 
at the time of appointment, and may be re-
appointed at the expiration of each such term.
(G) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on a coordi-
nating committee shall be filled in the same 
manner in which the original appointment was 
made. 
(H) COMPENSATION.—The members of a 
coordinating committee shall serve without pay. 
(I) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of 
a coordinating committee shall receive travel ex-
penses, including per diem in lieu of subsist-
ence, in accordance with applicable provisions 
under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, 
United States Code. 
(4) STAFF; EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—
(A) STAFF.—The chairperson of a coordi-
nating committee may appoint and fix the pay 
of additional personnel as the chairperson con-
siders appropriate. 
(B) EXPERTS
AND
CONSULTANTS.—The 
chairperson of a coordinating committee may 
procure temporary and intermittent services 
under section 3109(b) of title 5, United States 
Code. 
(5) MEETINGS.—A coordinating committee 
shall meet 3 to 5 times each year, at the call of the 
coordinating committee’s chairperson and in con-
sultation with the Director of the Office of Minority 
Health and the Administrator of the Health Re-
sources and Services Administration. 
(6) REPORT.—Each coordinating committee 
shall transmit to the Congress an annual report 
that, with respect to the health empowerment zone 
program involved, includes the following: 
(A) A review of the program’s effectiveness 
in achieving stated goals and outcomes, and 
overcoming challenges. 
(B) A review of the program’s manage-
ment and coordination of the entities involved. 
(C) A review of the activities in the pro-
gram’s portfolio and components. 
(D) An identification of policy issues raised 
by the program. 
(E) An assessment of program’s results in-
cluding that of capacity, infrastructure, number 
of underserved minority communities reached 
and retained in the effort in a defined time 
frame. 
(F) Recommendations for new program 
goals, research areas, enhanced approaches, 
community partnerships, coordination and man-
agement mechanisms, and projects to be estab-