Title: Pandemic Community Reserve and Public Health Response Act
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Pandemic Community Reserve and Public Health Response Act
This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants and otherwise expand the federal public health reserve corps, including by reactivating retired personnel, to assist with COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) response efforts. This corps includes, among others, the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service, the Medical Reserve Corps, and certain personnel of the Federal Emergency Management Agency appointed to respond to disasters and emergencies.
Specifically, HHS must award grants to governmental health departments to recruit and train personnel to serve in the federal public health reserve corps and assist with COVID-19 testing, contact tracing, and treatment. To carry out these grants, health departments may establish partnerships with institutions that offer medical training and public health programs, giving priority to partnerships with historically Black colleges and universities and other minority-serving institutions. HHS must also develop a training program, in consultation with the Department of Defense, that addresses activation and surge capacity of the reserve corps to respond to COVID-19.
In addition, HHS must award grants, in consultation with the Department of Labor, to local workforce development boards to develop career plans and other activities to facilitate the transition of reserve corps personnel to other health-related occupations.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7801 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7801

To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to 
 State, local, and Tribal public health departments to train and equip 
 Federal public health reserve corps personnel to assist with testing, 
  contact tracing, and treatment of COVID-19, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 27, 2020

  Ms. Fudge introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on 
      Education and Labor, Armed Services, and Transportation and 
   Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to 
 State, local, and Tribal public health departments to train and equip 
 Federal public health reserve corps personnel to assist with testing, 
  contact tracing, and treatment of COVID-19, 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 ``Pandemic Community Reserve and 
Public Health Response Act''.

SEC. 2. GRANTS TO INCREASE FEDERAL PUBLIC HEALTH RESERVE CORPS 
              PERSONNEL.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
shall--
            (1) award grants to State, local, and Tribal public health 
        departments to train and equip public health and medical 
        personnel to serve as Federal public health reserve corps 
        personnel to assist with testing, contact tracing, and 
        treatment of COVID-19;
            (2) reactivate retired personnel of any such corps to 
        assist with such testing, contact tracing, and treatment of 
        COVID-19; and
            (3) in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, award 
        grants to local workforce development boards established under 
        section 107 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 
        U.S.C. 3122) to develop transition plans (including career 
        exposure, career planning, and career pathways) and 
        transferable credits and certifications for Federal public 
        health reserve corps personnel to pursue further service in a 
        health-related career.
    (b) Funds.--A State, local, or Tribal health department that 
receives a grant under this section may use funds received through the 
grant awarded under subsection (a)(1) to establish partnerships with 
medical training and public health programs, such as medical schools, 
nursing schools, respiratory therapy programs, and community-based 
organizations, to recruit individuals to serve as Federal public health 
reserve corps personnel.
    (c) Priority.--In establishing partnerships under subsection (b), a 
State, local, or Tribal health department that receives a grant under 
this section shall give priority to institutions eligible to receive 
funding under section 371 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1067q).
    (d) Training.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 
establish, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, a national 
training program (in digital and in-person formats) for individuals 
serving as Federal public health reserve corps personnel with respect 
to responding to COVID-19, including necessary surge capacity and 
activation on short notice in local communities, including hot spot 
areas with 100 or more COVID-19 hospital admissions. Any certification 
received for completion of any such training shall not supersede any 
training required under State law for public health personnel.
    (e) Reports.--Not later than 1 year after the date on which the 
emergency period (as defined in section 1135(g)(1)(B) of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b-5(g)(1)(B))) ends, and annually 
thereafter, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit to 
the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 
Senate a report on the state of the Federal public health reserve 
corps, including--
            (1) the rate of participation by members of racial and 
        ethnic minority groups in such corps;
            (2) specific occupations of corps personnel;
            (3) careers attained after service in the corps; and
            (4) specific recommendations on the amount of funding 
        necessary for successful deployment of Federal heath reserve 
        corps personnel during public health emergencies.
    (f) Federal Public Health Reserve Corp.--In this section, the term 
``Federal public health reserve corps'' includes--
            (1) Federal public health and medical personnel under the 
        authority of the Secretary, including the Ready Reserve Corps, 
        the Regular Corps, the National Disaster Medical System, the 
        Medical Reserve Corps, and the Emergency System for Advance 
        Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals;
            (2) personnel of the Federal Emergency Management Agency 
        appointed under section 306(c) of the Robert T. Stafford 
        Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5149);
            (3) personnel of the Pandemic Community Reserve Corps; and
            (4) members of the National Guard.
    (g) State Defined.--In this section, the term ``State'' has the 
meaning given that term in section 101 of title 38, United States Code.
    (h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $25,000,000,000 to remain 
available until expended.

SEC. 3. GRANTS TO ESTABLISH PANDEMIC COMMUNITY RESERVE CORPS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in 
consultation with the Office of Minority Health and Health Equity of 
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall award grants to 
State, local, and Tribal public health departments to establish and 
operate a Pandemic Community Reserve Corps within the jurisdiction of 
such State, local, or Tribal public health department for the purposes 
of--
            (1) increasing diversity in recruitment of reserve corps 
        personnel;
            (2) ensuring a locally-sourced public health workforce to 
        supplement the existing State and Federal public health 
        infrastructure; and
            (3) assisting with testing, contact tracing, and treatment 
        of COVID-19. 
    (b) Conditions.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall, 
as a condition on the receipt of a grant under this section, require 
that a State, local, or Tribal public health department that receives a 
grant under this section--
            (1) requires that personnel of the Pandemic Community 
        Reserve Corps complete training under the national program 
        established under section 1(d); and
            (2) in establishing and operating a Pandemic Community 
        Reserve Corps, gives priority to dislocated workers, the 
        underemployed, youth, veterans, and individuals with barriers 
        to employment.
    (c) Reports.--
            (1) Reports to secretary.--Not later than 1 year after the 
        date on which the first grant is awarded under this section, 
        and annually thereafter, each State, local, and Tribal public 
        health department receiving such a grant shall submit to the 
        Secretary of Health and Human Services a report on the state of 
        the Pandemic Community Reserve Corps within the jurisdiction of 
        such State, local, or Tribal public health department, 
        including--
                    (A) the rate of participation by members of racial 
                and ethnic minority groups in such corps;
                    (B) specific occupations of corps personnel;
                    (C) careers attained after service in the corps; 
                and
                    (D) specific recommendations on the amount of 
                funding necessary for successful deployment of Pandemic 
                Community Reserve Corps personnel during public health 
                emergencies.
            (2) Report to congress.--Not later than 1 year after the 
        date on which the emergency period (as defined in section 
        1135(g)(1)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b-
        5(g)(1)(B))) ends, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of 
        Health and Human Services shall submit to the Committee on 
        Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the 
        Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 
        Senate a report on the state of the Pandemic Community Reserve 
        Corps receiving funding pursuant to this section, including the 
        information specified in each of subparagraphs (A) through (D) 
        of paragraph (1).
    (d) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Locally-sourced.--The term ``locally-sourced'' means, 
        with respect to personnel of a Pandemic Community Reserve Corps 
        established pursuant to subsection (a), individuals residing 
        within the community or communities served by that Pandemic 
        Community Reserve Corps that reflect the diversity of such 
        community or communities.
            (2) State.--The term ``State'' has the meaning given that 
        term in section 101 of title 38, United States Code.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $50,000,000,000 to remain 
available until expended.
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