COVID–19 Prevention and Awareness Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.173 | Sponsor: Rep. Velazquez, Nydia M. (D-NY)
Policy area: Health

Summary:
COVID-19 Prevention and Awareness Act of 2021
This bill authorizes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to award various grants to federally qualified health centers and other organizations to prevent, treat, and raise awareness of certain diseases or conditions, such as asthma or cancer, that increase the risk of mortality from COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019).

To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary to 
  make grants and enter into cooperative agreements with entities to 
   expand and support activities with respect to the prevention and 
       treatment of a covered condition, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``COVID-19 Prevention and Awareness 
Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. COVID-19 PREVENTION AND AWARENESS GRANTS.

    Subpart I of part D of title III of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 254b et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 330N. PROGRAM TO PREVENT AND TREAT COVERED CONDITIONS.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the Director of 
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, may award grants and 
enter into cooperative agreements with covered entities to expand and 
support activities with respect to the prevention and treatment of 
covered conditions, including--
            ``(1) conducting screenings, surveillance, and diagnostic 
        testing for covered conditions;
            ``(2) providing guidance to individuals on such prevention 
        and treatment activities; and
            ``(3) providing guidance on vaccinations recommended by the 
        Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices established by the 
        Secretary.
    ``(b) Application.--An entity seeking a grant under this section 
shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such 
manner, and accompanied by such information as the Secretary may 
require.
    ``(c) Priority.--In awarding grants or entering into cooperative 
agreements under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to--
            ``(1) federally qualified health centers (as defined in 
        section 330A);
            ``(2) community-based organizations; and
            ``(3) entities that have an agreement with a federally-
        qualified health center.
    ``(d) Reports.--
            ``(1) Report to secretary.--An entity that receives a grant 
        or enters into a cooperative agreement under this section shall 
        submit to the Secretary a report that includes--
                    ``(A) a description of each activity carried out--
                            ``(i) pursuant to the cooperative 
                        agreement; or
                            ``(ii) with amounts received through the 
                        grant; and
                    ``(B) an evaluation of the effectiveness of each 
                such activity.
            ``(2) Report to congress.--Not later than 3 years after the 
        date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall 
        submit to Congress a report on the effectiveness of the grants 
        and cooperative agreements entered into under this section.
    ``(e) Supplement Not Supplant.--An entity receiving a grant under 
this section shall use grant amounts to supplement, not supplant, any 
other Federal, State, and local funds that would otherwise be expended 
by such entity to carry out the activities described in this section.
    ``(f) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Covered condition.--The term `covered condition' 
        means a disease or condition that has been identified by the 
        Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to increase, or 
        likely increase, the risk of mortality from COVID-19 or to 
        increase, or likely increase, the risk of severe illness from 
        COVID-19, including the following:
                    ``(A) Asthma.
                    ``(B) Cancer.
                    ``(C) Cerebrovascular disease.
                    ``(D) Chronic kidney disease.
                    ``(E) Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
                    ``(F) Cystic fibrosis.
                    ``(G) Hypertension or high blood pressure.
                    ``(H) Liver disease.
                    ``(I) Neurologic conditions, including dementia.
                    ``(J) Obesity.
                    ``(K) Pregnancy.
                    ``(L) Pulmonary fibrosis.
                    ``(M) Serious heart conditions, including heart 
                failure, coronary artery disease, and cardiomyopathy.
                    ``(N) Sickle cell disease.
                    ``(O) Pulmonary conditions resulting from tobacco 
                use.
                    ``(P) Thalassemia.
                    ``(Q) Tobacco use.
                    ``(R) Type 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus.
                    ``(S) Weakened immune system, including from--
                            ``(i) a solid organ transplant;
                            ``(ii) a blood or bone marrow transplant;
                            ``(iii) the human immunodeficiency virus; 
                        and
                            ``(iv) the use of a corticosteroid or other 
                        immune weakening medicine.
            ``(2) Covered entity.--The term `covered entity' includes 
        the following:
                    ``(A) Federally qualified health center (as defined 
                in section 330A).
                    ``(B) Entity that has an agreement with a federally 
                qualified health center.
                    ``(C) Community-based organization.
                    ``(D) Faith-based organization.
                    ``(E) Nonprofit organization.
    ``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section, 
there is authorized to be appropriated $2,000,000,000 for the period of 
fiscal years 2021 through 2022, to remain available until expended.

``SEC. 330O. GRANT PROGRAM TO INCREASE AWARENESS OF THE RELATIONSHIP 
              BETWEEN COVERED CONDITIONS AND COVID-19.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the Director of 
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, may award grants to 
entities to carry out a campaign to increase awareness of the 
relationship between--
            ``(1) covered conditions; and
            ``(2) the increased risk of developing a severe illness or 
        mortality from COVID-19.
    ``(b) Application.--An entity seeking a grant under this section 
shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such 
manner, and accompanied by such information as the Secretary may 
require, including a description of how the entity intends to carry out 
the activities specified in subsection (c).
    ``(c) Campaign Activities.--In carrying out the campaign under 
subsection (a), an entity shall--
            ``(1) develop and disseminate informational material--
                    ``(A) that is culturally and linguistically 
                appropriate;
                    ``(B) targeted toward communities and populations 
                that are at a high risk of--
                            ``(i) developing a covered condition; and
                            ``(ii) contracting COVID-19;
                    ``(C) that increases awareness of the safety and 
                effectiveness of a COVID-19 vaccine; and
                    ``(D) that identifies locations in the community 
                served by the entity where COVID-19 vaccines are 
                administered;
            ``(2) consult with members of such communities and 
        populations to develop the informational material under 
        paragraph (1); and
            ``(3) disseminate informational material on treatments 
        available for covered conditions, including, if applicable, 
        treatments provided by the entity.
    ``(d) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the 
Secretary shall give priority to--
            ``(1) federally qualified health centers (as defined in 
        section 330A);
            ``(2) community-based organizations; and
            ``(3) entities that have an agreement with a federally 
        qualified health center.
    ``(e) Reports.--
            ``(1) Report to secretary.--An entity that receives a grant 
        under this section shall submit to the Secretary a report that 
        includes--
                    ``(A) a description of each activity carried out 
                with amounts received through the grant; and
                    ``(B) an evaluation of the effectiveness of each 
                such activity.
            ``(2) Report to congress.--Not later than 3 years after the 
        date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall 
        submit to Congress a report on the effectiveness of the grants 
        entered into under this section.
    ``(f) Supplement Not Supplant.--An entity receiving a grant under 
this section shall use grant amounts to supplement, not supplant, any 
other Federal, State, and local funds that would otherwise be expended 
by such entity to carry out the activities described in this section.
    ``(g) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Covered condition.--The term `covered condition' has 
        the meaning given such term in section 330N.
            ``(2) COVID-19 vaccine.--The term `COVID-19 vaccine' means 
        a vaccine that is intended to prevent, mitigate, or treat the 
        virus that causes COVID-19 and--
                    ``(A) is licensed under section 351 of the Public 
                Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 262); or
                    ``(B) authorized under section 564 of the Federal 
                Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 360bbb-3).
    ``(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section, 
there is authorized to be appropriated $120,000,000 for the period of 
fiscal years 2021 through 2022, to remain available until expended.''.
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