I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7634 
To reduce the spread of COVID–19 through payments to States to lease 
hotels to temporarily house, on a voluntary basis, eligible individuals, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 16, 2020 
Mr. GONZALEZ of Ohio (for himself, Mr. RYAN, Mr. JOYCE of Ohio, Mr. GON-
ZALEZ of Texas, and Mr. GOTTHEIMER) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To reduce the spread of COVID–19 through payments to 
States to lease hotels to temporarily house, on a vol-
untary basis, eligible individuals, 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 ‘‘Isolate COVID–19 Act 
of 2020’’. 
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SEC. 2. REDUCING THE SPREAD OF COVID–19 THROUGH 
PAYMENTS TO STATES TO LEASE HOTELS TO 
TEMPORARILY 
HOUSE 
ELIGIBLE 
INDIVID-
UALS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services may make payments to States to lease 
hotels to temporarily house, on a voluntary basis, eligible 
individuals. 
(b) FORMULA.—The Secretary shall allocate the 
amount appropriated to carry out this section pursuant 
to a formula developed by the Secretary that— 
(1) distributes the amount among the States 
that— 
(A) submit applications in accordance with 
subsection (c); and 
(B) are determined by the Secretary to 
need such payments; and 
(2) takes into consideration— 
(A) the number of active cases of individ-
uals infected with COVID–19 in the applying 
State relative to the overall population of the 
State; and 
(B) the average income of individuals in 
the applying State relative to the average in-
come of individuals in the United States. 
(c) APPLICATIONS.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—To seek a payment under 
this section, a State shall submit an application to 
the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 
containing such information and assurances as the 
Secretary may require. 
(2) PROCESS.—The Secretary shall— 
(A) not later than 15 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, publish the process 
for States to apply for payments under this sec-
tion; and 
(B) not later than 15 days after the sub-
mission of an application in accordance with 
such process, approve or disapprove the applica-
tion. 
(3) CONTENTS.—The Secretary shall require 
the application of a State under this section to in-
clude— 
(A) a plan for leasing hotels as described 
in subsection (a); 
(B) health guidelines which the State will 
require to be implemented to protect the staff 
of the hotels; 
(C) the rates to be paid to lease the hotels; 
(D) a plan to ensure that the hotels each 
have— 
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(i) workplace safety standards for 
their staff; 
(ii) proper personal protective equip-
ment and sanitation supplies; 
(iii) a cleaning protocol for rooms and 
facilities; and 
(iv) at least one qualified health care 
professional onsite or on call to monitor 
the health of individuals being housed at 
the hotels; 
(E) a plan to feed and provide other nec-
essary materials to individuals described in sub-
section (a) at the hotels, including medications 
and hygiene products, without letting such indi-
viduals leave their rooms or accept visitors; 
(F) a plan to assist the hotels in removing 
individuals who attempt to continue their stay 
after the allotted time; 
(G) a plan for hospital networks, local 
health departments, and the hotels to coordi-
nate on the exchange and protection of patient 
information in accordance with other applicable 
law; 
(H) a plan to effectively communicate the 
State’s program funded through this section to 
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racial and ethnic minority groups and low-in-
come communities; and 
(I) each funding assurance listed in sub-
section (e). 
(d) NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR DIET OR ADMINISTRA-
TION
OF
MEDICINE.—Notwithstanding 
subsection 
(c)(3)(E), a contract between a State and a hotel pursuant 
to this section shall not make the hotel responsible for the 
diet of, or the administration of medications to, individuals 
described in subsection (a). 
(e) FUNDING ASSURANCES.—As a condition on re-
ceipt of a payment of this section, a State shall give such 
assurances as the Secretary may require that— 
(1) each contract between the State and a hotel 
pursuant to this section will be entered into on a vol-
untary basis, and no hotel will be required by the 
State to participate in the program under this sec-
tion; 
(2) individuals described in subsection (a) will 
not be charged for their lodging at a hotel pursuant 
to this section, except that such individuals may be 
required to reimburse the costs of receiving food and 
beverages; 
(3) individuals described in subsection (a) will 
retain the option of self-isolating at home (including 
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the option of checking out early and returning to 
their homes) rather than being required to stay at 
a hotel funded pursuant to this section; 
(4) before an individual is allowed to stay at a 
hotel pursuant to this section, the individual will be 
required to present, in such form and manner as 
may be required by the local department of health, 
documentation from a physician that the individual 
meets the criteria described in subsection (a); 
(5) any non-transient homeless population re-
siding at a hotel will not be displaced for purposes 
of entering into or carrying out a contract between 
the State and the hotel under this section; and 
(6) the State will pay (from funds provided to 
the State under this section or from other State 
funds)— 
(A) at least 40 percent of the costs of the 
personal protective equipment and sanitation 
supplies needed by individuals staying at a hotel 
pursuant to this section and the staff of such 
hotel; and 
(B) all of the costs of having one or more 
qualified health care professionals described in 
subsection (c)(3)(D)(iii) for the provision of 
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monitoring described in such subsection (wheth-
er by being onsite or on call). 
(f) REVIEW.—At the conclusion of the program under 
this section, the Inspector General of the Department of 
Health and Human Services shall— 
(1) review the program and activities of each 
State funded pursuant to this section; and 
(2) submit a report on the results of the review 
to— 
(A) the Committee on Energy and Com-
merce and the Committee on Ways and Means 
of the House of Representatives; and 
(B) the Committee on Finance and the 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions of the Senate. 
(g) LIABILITY PROTECTION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under 
paragraph (2), a hotel or member of the staff shall 
not be liable under Federal or State law for— 
(A) any harm caused by an act or omission 
in the provision of hotel services pursuant to 
this section; or 
(B) failing to keep an individual who is 
staying at a hotel pursuant to this section iso-
lated from people other than the staff of the 
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hotel and any qualified health care professional 
described in subsection (c)(3)(D)(iii). 
(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) does not apply 
in the case that the harm was caused by an act or 
omission constituting willful or criminal misconduct, 
gross negligence, reckless misconduct, or a conscious 
flagrant indifference to the rights or safety of the in-
dividual harmed. 
(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) The term ‘‘eligible individual’’ means an in-
dividual who is unable to self-isolate at home, does 
not require inpatient or outpatient health care treat-
ment, and— 
(A) has a laboratory-confirmed case of 
COVID–19; 
(B) has a presumptive positive case of 
COVID–19; or 
(C) is a person under investigation who is 
displaying symptoms of COVID–19. 
(2) The terms ‘‘Indian tribe’’ and ‘‘tribal orga-
nization’’ have the meanings given to those terms in 
section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu-
cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 
(3) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 
of Health and Human Services. 
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