I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8374 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for establishment of 
an Office of Minority and Women Inclusion within each covered agency 
of the Department of Health and Human Services, and for other pur-
poses. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 24, 2020 
Ms. DELAURO (for herself, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, 
Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. COHEN, Mr. SAN NICOLAS, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. CAR-
SON of Indiana, Ms. NORTON, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Ms. LEE of Cali-
fornia, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Ms. 
ESCOBAR, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. SEWELL of Ala-
bama, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, 
Mr. SIRES, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. 
RICHMOND, Ms. FUDGE, and Ms. MOORE) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for 
establishment of an Office of Minority and Women Inclu-
sion within each covered agency of the Department of 
Health and Human Services, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:32 Oct 16, 2020
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8374.IH
H8374
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Expanding Represen-
tation at HHS Act of 2020’’. 
SEC. 2. OFFICE OF MINORITY AND WOMEN INCLUSION. 
Part A of title II of the Public Health Service Act 
is amended by inserting after section 229 of such Act (42 
U.S.C. 237a) the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 229A. OFFICE OF MINORITY AND WOMEN INCLUSION. 
‘‘(a) OFFICE
OF MINORITY
AND WOMEN INCLU-
SION.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than the 
date that is 6 months after the date of enactment 
of the Expanding Representation at HHS Act of 
2020, the agency administrator of each covered 
agency shall establish an office to be known as the 
Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (in this sec-
tion referred to as an ‘Office’) within the covered 
agency to be responsible for all matters of the cov-
ered agency relating to diversity in the management, 
employment, and business activities of the covered 
agency. 
‘‘(2) TRANSFER
OF
RESPONSIBILITIES.—The 
agency administrator of each covered agency that, 
preceding the establishment of an Office pursuant to 
paragraph (1) within the covered agency, assigned 
the responsibilities described in paragraph (1) (or 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:32 Oct 16, 2020
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8374.IH
H8374
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
comparable responsibilities) to an office other than 
such Office shall ensure that such responsibilities 
are transferred to such Office. 
‘‘(3) DUTIES WITH RESPECT TO CIVIL RIGHTS 
LAWS.—The responsibilities described in paragraph 
(1) do not include enforcement of statutes, regula-
tions, or Executive orders pertaining to civil rights, 
except that the Director of each Office shall coordi-
nate with the agency administrator of the respective 
covered agency regarding the design and implemen-
tation of any remedies resulting from violations of 
such statutes, regulations, or Executive orders. 
‘‘(b) DIRECTOR.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Office of a covered 
agency shall be headed by a Director, who shall be 
appointed by, and shall report directly to, the agency 
administrator of the covered agency. 
‘‘(2) DESIGNATION.—The position of Director 
shall be— 
‘‘(A) a career reserved position in the Sen-
ior Executive Service, as such terms are defined 
in section 3132 of title 5, United States Code; 
or 
‘‘(B) an equivalent position. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:32 Oct 16, 2020
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8374.IH
H8374
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
‘‘(3) DUTIES.—The agency administrator of 
each covered agency, in consultation with the Direc-
tor of the Office of the covered agency, shall develop 
standards for— 
‘‘(A) developing and overseeing the imple-
mentation of standards for— 
‘‘(i) equal employment opportunity 
and the racial, ethnic, and gender diversity 
of the workforce and senior management 
of the covered agency; 
‘‘(ii) increased participation of minor-
ity-led and women-led businesses in the 
programs and contracts of the covered 
agency, including standards for coordi-
nating technical assistance to such busi-
nesses; and 
‘‘(iii) assessing the diversity policies 
and practices of entities receiving financial 
assistance from the covered agency, except 
that the agency administrator shall exempt 
small entities from the assessment, as de-
termined to be appropriate by the agency 
administrator; and 
‘‘(B) advising the agency administrator of 
the covered agency on the impact of the policies 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:32 Oct 16, 2020
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8374.IH
H8374
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
and regulations of the covered agency on minor-
ity-led and women-led grantees and sub-
grantees. 
‘‘(c) STAFF.—Each Office shall be staffed at the ap-
propriate levels to carry out the functions and responsibil-
ities of the Office under this section. 
‘‘(d) INCLUSION IN ALL LEVELS OF GRANTEE AND 
SUBGRANTEE ACTIVITIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The agency administrator 
of each covered agency, in consultation with the Di-
rector of the Office of the covered agency, shall de-
velop and implement standards and procedures to 
ensure, to the maximum extent possible, the fair in-
clusion and utilization of minorities, women, and mi-
nority-led and women-led grantees and subgrantees 
in all activities of the covered agency at all levels, in-
cluding in procurement, insurance, and all types of 
contracts. 
‘‘(2) GRANTMAKING
AND
CONTRACTS.—The 
procedures established by each covered agency for 
review and evaluation of grant- and subgrant-mak-
ing and contract proposals and for hiring service 
providers shall include, to the extent consistent with 
applicable law, a component that gives consideration 
to the diversity of the applicant. Such procedures 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:32 Oct 16, 2020
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8374.IH
H8374
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
shall include a written statement, in a form and with 
such content as the Director of the Office of the cov-
ered agency shall prescribe, that a grantee, sub-
grantee, or contractor shall ensure, to the maximum 
extent possible, the fair inclusion of women and mi-
norities in the workforce of the grantee, subgrantee, 
contractor, and subcontractors. 
‘‘(3) TERMINATION.— 
‘‘(A) 
DETERMINATION.—The 
standards 
and procedures developed and implemented 
under this subsection shall include a procedure 
for the Director of the Office involved to deter-
mine whether a grantee, subgrantee, contractor, 
or subcontractor of the covered agency has 
failed to make a good faith effort to include mi-
norities and women in the workforce of the 
grantee, subgrantee, contractor, or subcon-
tractor. 
‘‘(B) EFFECT OF DETERMINATION.— 
‘‘(i) RECOMMENDATION
TO
AGENCY 
ADMINISTRATOR.—Upon a determination 
under subparagraph (A) of a failure de-
scribed in such subparagraph, the Director 
of the Office involved shall recommend to 
the agency administrator of the covered 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:32 Oct 16, 2020
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8374.IH
H8374
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
agency that the grant, subgrant, contract, 
or subcontract, as applicable, be termi-
nated. 
‘‘(ii) ACTION
BY
AGENCY
ADMINIS-
TRATOR.—Upon receipt of a recommenda-
tion under clause (i), the agency adminis-
trator of the covered agency may— 
‘‘(I) terminate the grant or con-
tract, or direct the grantee or con-
tractor to terminate the subgrant or 
subcontract, as the case may be; 
‘‘(II) make a referral to the Of-
fice of Federal Contract Compliance 
Programs of the Department of 
Labor; or 
‘‘(III) take other appropriate ac-
tion. 
‘‘(e) APPLICABILITY.—This section applies with re-
spect to all grant agreements and other contracts of a cov-
ered agency, including for services of any kind, including 
the services of adoption agencies, child welfare organiza-
tions, energy companies participating in the Low Income 
Home Energy Assistance Program, legal service providers. 
The grants, subgrants, contracts, and subcontracts re-
ferred to in this subsection include all contracts for all 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:32 Oct 16, 2020
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8374.IH
H8374
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
business and activities of a covered agency, at all levels, 
including grants, subgrants, contracts, and subcontracts 
for the programs and services provided by Department of 
Health and Human Services grantees, subgrantees, con-
tractors, and subcontractors. 
‘‘(f) REPORTS.—The agency administrator of each 
covered agency, in consultation with the Director of the 
Office of the covered agency, shall submit to the Congress 
an annual report regarding the actions taken by the Office 
and the respective covered agency pursuant to this section. 
Each such report shall include— 
‘‘(1) a statement of the total amounts paid by 
the covered agency to grantees and contractors, and 
the total amounts paid by grantees and contractors 
to subgrantees and subcontractors, during the 12- 
month covered reporting period; 
‘‘(2) the percentage of the amounts described in 
paragraph (1) that were paid to minority-led or 
women-led grantees, subgrantees, contractors, and 
subcontractors, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, and 
gender; 
‘‘(3) the successes achieved and challenges 
faced by the covered agency in operating minority 
and women outreach programs; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:32 Oct 16, 2020
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8374.IH
H8374
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
‘‘(4) the challenges the covered agency has ex-
perienced during the 12-month covered reporting pe-
riod in hiring qualified minority and women employ-
ees and awarding grants and contracting with quali-
fied minority-led and women-led grantees, sub-
grantees, contractors, and subcontractors; and 
‘‘(5) any other information, findings, conclu-
sions, and recommendations for legislative or agency 
action, as the agency administrator determines ap-
propriate. 
‘‘(g) DIVERSITY
IN
COVERED
AGENCY
WORK-
FORCE.—The agency administrator of each covered agen-
cy shall take affirmative steps to seek diversity in the 
workforce of the covered agency at all levels of the covered 
agency in a manner consistent with applicable law. Such 
steps shall include— 
‘‘(1) recruiting at historically Black colleges 
and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, wom-
en’s colleges, and other colleges and universities at 
which a majority of the students are members of mi-
nority populations; 
‘‘(2) sponsoring and recruiting at job fairs in 
high-poverty communities; 
‘‘(3) placing employment advertisements in 
newspapers, magazines, and technologically appro-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:32 Oct 16, 2020
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8374.IH
H8374
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
priate mediums, such as the internet or online job 
boards oriented toward minorities and women; 
‘‘(4) partnering with organizations that are fo-
cused on developing opportunities for minorities and 
women to place talented young minorities and 
women in industry internships, summer employment, 
and full-time positions; and 
‘‘(5) any other mass media communications 
that the agency administrator of the covered agency 
determines necessary. 
‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 
‘‘(1) 
AGENCY
ADMINISTRATOR.—The 
term 
‘agency administrator’ means the head of an agency. 
‘‘(2) COVERED
AGENCY.—The term ‘covered 
agency’— 
‘‘(A) means an agency or office of the De-
partment of Health and Human Services with 
the authority to award grants or other financial 
assistance; and 
‘‘(B) includes— 
‘‘(i) the Office of the Secretary; 
‘‘(ii) the Administration for Children 
and Families; 
‘‘(iii) the Agency for Healthcare Re-
search and Quality; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:32 Oct 16, 2020
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8374.IH
H8374
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
‘‘(iv) the Office of the Assistant Sec-
retary for Health; 
‘‘(v) the Office of the Assistant Sec-
retary for Preparedness and Response; 
‘‘(vi) the Center for Faith and Oppor-
tunity Initiatives; 
‘‘(vii) the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention; 
‘‘(viii) the Centers for Medicare & 
Medicaid Services; 
‘‘(ix) the Food and Drug Administra-
tion; 
‘‘(x) the Health Resources and Serv-
ices Administration; 
‘‘(xi) 
the 
National 
Institutes 
of 
Health; 
‘‘(xii) the Office of Global Affairs; 
‘‘(xiii) the Office of the National Co-
ordinator for Health Information Tech-
nology; and 
‘‘(xiv) the Substance Abuse and Men-
tal Health Services Administration. 
‘‘(3) MINORITY.—The term ‘minority’ means 
any Black American, Native American, Hispanic 
American, or Asian American. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:32 Oct 16, 2020
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8374.IH
H8374
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
‘‘(4) MINORITY-LED.—The term ‘ minority-led’ 
means— 
‘‘(A) more than 50 percent of the leader-
ship, control, or ownership of which is held by 
one or more minority individuals; 
‘‘(B) a significant percentage of senior 
management or leadership positions of which 
are held by minority individuals; and 
‘‘(C) in the case of a for-profit entity, more 
than 50 percent of the net profit or loss of 
which accrues to one or more minority individ-
uals. 
‘‘(5) OFFICE.—The term ‘Office’ means the Of-
fice of Minority and Women Inclusion established by 
a covered agency pursuant to subsection (a). 
‘‘(6) 
WOMEN-LED.—The 
term 
‘women-led’ 
means— 
‘‘(A) more than 50 percent of the owner-
ship or control of which is held by one or more 
women; 
‘‘(B) a significant percentage of senior 
management or leadership positions of which 
are held by one or more women; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:32 Oct 16, 2020
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00012
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8374.IH
H8374
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
‘‘(C) in the case of a for-profit entity, more 
than 50 percent of the net profit or loss of 
which accrues to one or more women.’’. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:32 Oct 16, 2020
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00013
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H8374.IH
H8374
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS