Pandemic Community Reserve and Public Health Response Act

Bill: 116-hr-7801
Sponsor: Rep. Fudge, Marcia L. [D-OH-11]
Introduced: 2020-07-27 in the House
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Allied health services
Cardiovascular and respiratory health
Community life and organization
Congressional oversight
Department of Homeland Security
Education programs funding
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Employment and training programs
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Health personnel
Health programs administration and funding
Health promotion and preventive care
Higher education
Hospital care
Indian social and development programs
Infectious and parasitic diseases
Medical education
Medical tests and diagnostic methods
Military personnel and dependents
Minority employment
Minority health
National Guard and reserves
Nursing
Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations
Unemployment
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
Youth employment and child labor

Summary:
action_date: 2020-07-27
text: 

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.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-07-28
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management.
action_date: 2020-07-27
text: 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.
action_date: 2020-07-27
text: 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.
action_date: 2020-07-27
text: 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.
action_date: 2020-07-27
text: 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.
action_date: 2020-07-27
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2020-07-27
text: Introduced in House