I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7077 
To establish or expand programs to improve health equity regarding COVID– 
19 and reduce or eliminate inequities in the prevalence and health out-
comes of COVID–19. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 1, 2020 
Ms. KELLY of Illinois introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To establish or expand programs to improve health equity 
regarding COVID–19 and reduce or eliminate inequities 
in the prevalence and health outcomes of COVID–19. 
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 ‘‘Community Solutions 
for COVID–19 Act’’. 
SEC. 2. ADDRESSING COVID–19 HEALTH INEQUITIES AND 
IMPROVING HEALTH EQUITY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and 
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Human Services (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Sec-
retary’’), acting through the Director of the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention, shall award grants to eli-
gible entities to establish or expand programs to improve 
health equity regarding COVID–19 and reduce or elimi-
nate inequities, including racial and ethnic inequities, in 
the incidence, prevalence, and health outcomes of COVID– 
19. 
(b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant 
under subsection (a), an entity shall— 
(1) be a nongovernmental entity or consortium 
of entities that works to improve health and health 
equity in populations or communities disproportion-
ately affected by adverse health outcomes, includ-
ing— 
(A) racial and ethnic minority commu-
nities; 
(B) Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, 
and urban Indian organizations; 
(C) people with disabilities; 
(D) English language learners; 
(E) older adults; 
(F) low-income communities; 
(G) justice-involved communities; 
(H) immigrant communities; and 
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(I) communities on the basis of their sex-
ual orientation or gender identity; 
(2) have demonstrated experience in success-
fully working in and partnering with such commu-
nities, and have an established record of accomplish-
ment in improving health outcomes or preventing, 
reducing or eliminating health inequities, including 
racial and ethnic inequities, in those communities; 
(3) communicate with State, local, and Tribal 
health departments to coordinate grant activities, as 
appropriate; and 
(4) submit to the Secretary an application at 
such time, in such manner, and containing such in-
formation as the Secretary may require. 
(c) USE OF FUNDS.—An entity shall use amounts re-
ceived under grant under this section to establish, improve 
upon, or expand programs to improve health equity re-
garding COVID–19 and reduce or eliminate inequities, in-
cluding racial and ethnic inequities, in the incidence, prev-
alence, and health outcomes of COVID–19. Such uses may 
include— 
(1) acquiring and distributing medical supplies, 
such as personal protective equipment, to commu-
nities that are at an increased risk of COVID–19; 
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(2) helping people enroll in a health insurance 
plan that meets minimum essential coverage; 
(3) increasing the availability of COVID–19 
testing and any future COVID–19 treatments or 
vaccines in communities that are at an increased 
risk of COVID–19; 
(4) aiding communities and individuals in fol-
lowing guidelines and best practices in regards to 
COVID–19, including physical distancing guidelines; 
(5) helping communities and COVID–19 sur-
vivors recover and cope with the long-term health 
impacts of COVID–19; 
(6) addressing social determinants of health, 
such as transportation, nutrition, housing, discrimi-
nation, health care access, including mental health 
care and substance use disorder prevention, treat-
ment, and recovery, health literacy, employment sta-
tus, and working conditions, education, income, and 
stress, that impact COVID–19 incidence, prevalence, 
and health outcomes, and facilitating or providing 
access to needed services; 
(7) the provision of anti-racism and implicit 
and explicit bias training for health care providers 
and other relevant professionals; 
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