Title: TRACE Act
Policy area: Health

Summary:
COVID-19 Testing, Reaching, And Contacting Everyone Act or the TRACE Act
This bill authorizes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to award grants for testing, contact tracing, monitoring, and other activities to address COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). Entities such as federally qualified health centers, nonprofit organizations, and certain hospitals and schools are eligible to receive such grants. In awarding the grants, the CDC shall prioritize applicants that (1) operate in hot spots and medically underserved communities, and (2) agree to hire individuals from the communities where grant activities occur.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4315 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4315

To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants 
 to eligible entities to conduct testing and contact tracing for COVID-
19, and related activities such as supported isolation, through mobile 
  health units and, as necessary, at individuals' residences, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 23, 2020

Mr. King (for himself and Ms. Murkowski) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants 
 to eligible entities to conduct testing and contact tracing for COVID-
19, and related activities such as supported isolation, through mobile 
  health units and, as necessary, at individuals' residences, 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 Testing, Reaching, And 
Contacting Everyone Act'' or the ``TRACE Act''.

SEC. 2. COVID-19 TESTING AND CONTACT TRACING USING MOBILE HEALTH UNITS.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Grants.--The Secretary, acting through the Director of 
        the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, may award 
        grants to eligible entities to conduct testing for COVID-19, to 
        trace and monitor the contacts of infected individuals, and to 
        support the quarantine and isolation of such contacts, and by 
        providing such services--
                    (A) through mobile health units;
                    (B) through community-based organizations; or
                    (C) with respect to quarantine and isolation of 
                contacts, at individuals' residences or another 
                facility that a State, territorial, Tribal, or local 
                health authority has provided for such purposes.
            (2) Use of existing mechanisms and programs.--The Secretary 
        may use existing mechanisms and programs to administer and 
        distribute grants under paragraph (1).
    (b) Permissible Uses of Funds.--A recipient of a grant under this 
section may use the grant funds to--
            (1) hire, train, and equip personnel to provide services 
        described in subsection (a)(1);
            (2) cover other expenses related to carrying out the 
        activities described in subsection (a)(1), which may include 
        covering appropriate and related expenses incurred by 
        individuals receiving services described in subsection (a)(1); 
        or
            (3) purchase personal protective equipment, testing 
        supplies and equipment, and other supplies for persons carrying 
        out the activities or receiving services described in 
        subsection (a)(1).
    (c) Applicants.--
            (1) In general.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
        this section, an eligible entity shall submit an application to 
        the Secretary, at such time, in such manner, and containing 
        such information as the Secretary may require, including the 
        entity's proposal for using evidence-based models for testing, 
        tracing, and supported isolation.
            (2) Priority.--In selecting grant recipients under this 
        section, the Secretary shall give priority to applicants that 
        meet one or more of the following criteria, in proportion to 
        the number of the following criteria met:
                    (A) Proposing to conduct activities funded under 
                this section in hot spots and medically underserved 
                communities.
                    (B) For purposes of carrying out activities funded 
                under this section, proposing to hire residents of the 
                area or community where the activities will primarily 
                occur, with priority among applicants described in this 
                subparagraph given in proportion to the percentage of 
                individuals to be hired from such area or community.
                    (C) With respect to contact tracing activities, 
                demonstrating experience or expertise in training, 
                conducting, participating in, or administering public 
                health contact tracing programs.
                    (D) Committing to distributing at least 30 percent 
                of grant funds received under this section to county 
                and other local governmental entities within the State 
                that do not receive funds directly from the Department 
                of Health and Human Services for the programs supported 
                by an award under this section.
    (d) Distribution.--In selecting grant recipients under this 
section, the Secretary shall ensure that grants are distributed across 
urban and rural areas.
    (e) Federal Privacy Requirements.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to supersede any Federal privacy or confidentiality 
requirement, including the regulations promulgated under section 264(c) 
of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 
(Public Law 104-191; 110 Stat. 2033) and section 543 of the Public 
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290dd-2).
    (f) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The term ``eligible entity'' means an entity that--
                    (A) is--
                            (i) a federally qualified health center (as 
                        defined in section 1861(aa) of the Social 
                        Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(aa)));
                            (ii) a school-based health clinic;
                            (iii) a disproportionate share hospital (as 
                        defined under the applicable State plan under 
                        title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
                        1396 et seq.) pursuant to section 1923(a)(1)(A) 
                        of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1396r-4));
                            (iv) an academic medical center;
                            (v) a nonprofit organization (including any 
                        such faith-based organization);
                            (vi) an institution of higher education (as 
                        defined in section 101 of the Higher Education 
                        Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001));
                            (vii) a high school (as defined in section 
                        8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
                        Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)); or
                            (viii) an Indian Tribe or a Tribal 
                        Organization as defined in section 4 of the 
                        Indian Self-Determination and Education 
                        Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304); and
                    (B) is working in coordination with a State, 
                territorial, Tribal, county, or municipal health 
                department.
            (2) The term ``emergency period'' has the meaning given to 
        that term in section 1135(g)(1)(B) of the Social Security Act 
        (42 U.S.C. 1320b-5(g)(1)(B)).
            (3) The term ``hot spot'' means a geographic area where the 
        prevalence or incidence of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes 
        COVID-19) or of COVID-19 exceeds the national or State average.
            (4) The term ``medically underserved community'' has the 
        meaning given to that term in section 799B of the Public Health 
        Service Act (42 U.S.C. 295p).
            (5) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Health 
        and Human Services.
    (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section, 
there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary 
for each of fiscal years 2020 and 2021, and for any subsequent fiscal 
year during which the emergency period continues.
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