Title: Supply Chain Accountability Act of 2020
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Supply Chain Accountability Act of 2020
This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to address shortages of personal protective equipment and delays in testing for COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) that are reported by health care providers, public health agencies, or certain nursing facilities.
Specifically, HHS must implement a process to respond to these reports within 30 days and outline the actions being taken to resolve the shortages and delays. HHS must also provide its response to the congressional delegation that represents the district or districts from which the reports originated.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7999 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7999

  To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to receive and 
  respond to notifications of issues relating to the lack of personal 
               protective equipment and COVID-19 testing.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            August 11, 2020

  Mr. Beyer introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to receive and 
  respond to notifications of issues relating to the lack of personal 
               protective equipment and COVID-19 testing.

    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 ``Supply Chain Accountability Act of 
2020''.

SEC. 2. DIRECTING THE SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES TO RECEIVE 
              AND RESPOND TO NOTIFICATIONS OF ISSUES RELATING TO THE 
              LACK OF PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT AND COVID-19 
              TESTING.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services (in 
this section referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall establish and 
maintain, during the emergency period described in section 
1135(g)(1)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b-5(g)(1)(B)), 
a process to receive and review the following:
            (1) Any notification from a health care provider that such 
        provider is reusing personal protective equipment at a facility 
        due to a shortage of such equipment.
            (2) Any notification from a local public health agency or 
        health care provider that such agency or provider is unable, 
        with respect to individuals seeking a COVID-19 diagnostic test, 
        to furnish such tests to all such individuals.
            (3) Any notification from a skilled nursing facility or 
        nursing facility (as such terms are defined in sections 1819 
        and 1919, respectively, of titles XVIII and XIX, respectively, 
        of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395i-3, 42 U.S.C. 
        1396r)) that such skilled nursing facility or nursing facility 
        is unable to test all employees for COVID-19 at least 2 times 
        per week.
            (4) Any notification from a State or local public health 
        agency that the average time between furnishing a COVID-19 
        diagnostic test to an individual and reporting the results to 
        such individual in the area in which such agency exercises 
        jurisdiction exceeds 3 days from the date such test was so 
        furnished.
    (b) Required Response.--The Secretary shall, with respect to each 
notification received under subsection (a), submit to the health care 
provider, local public health agency, or skilled nursing facility or 
nursing facility that submitted such notification, and to the specified 
congressional representatives (as defined in subsection (c)) with 
respect to such notification, not later than 30 days after receiving 
such notification, a written response that, in the case of a response 
to a notification described in--
            (1) subsection (a)(1), includes a specification of actions 
        the Secretary is taking to provide personal protective 
        equipment to the facility identified by the health care 
        provider submitting such notification;
            (2) subsection (a)(2), includes a specification of actions 
        the Secretary is taking to make additional COVID-19 diagnostic 
        tests available to the local public health agency or health 
        care provider submitting such notification;
            (3) subsection (a)(3), includes a specification of actions 
        the Secretary is taking to support COVID-19 diagnostic testing 
        at the skilled nursing facility or nursing facility submitting 
        such notification; and
            (4) subsection (a)(4), includes a specification of actions 
        the Secretary is taking to reduce the time described in such 
        subsection.
    (c) Definition.--For purposes of subsection (b), the term 
``specified congressional representatives'' means, with respect to a 
notification described in subsection (a), both Members of the Senate 
representing the State, and all Members of the House of Representatives 
representing the district (or districts), where, in the case of a 
notification--
            (1) described in subsection (a)(1), the facility identified 
        by the health care provider submitting such notification is 
        located;
            (2) described in subsection (a)(2), the State or local 
        public health agency submitting such notification exercises 
        jurisdiction or where the health care provider practices (as 
        identified by the provider);
            (3) described in subsection (a)(3), where the State or 
        local public health agency submitting such notification 
        exercises jurisdiction; or
            (4) described in subsection (a)(4), where the skilled 
        nursing facility or nursing facility submitting such 
        notification is located.
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