Frontline Health Care Workers Assistance Act
Latest action · Mar 27, 2020 Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMar 26, 2020
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Frontline Health Care Workers Assistance Act
This bill directs certain actions to procure equipment necessary to prevent, identify, and mitigate cases of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019).
The National Response Coordination Center of the Federal Emergency Management Agency must, within seven days, submit a report to Congress and the President that (1) assesses the need for equipment, including personal protective equipment and ventilators, across the United States; and (2) identifies the industry sectors and manufacturers capable of fulfilling purchase orders for such equipment, as well as government-owned and privately owned stockpiles of such equipment that could be refurbished.
Within 24 hours, the President must issue a purchase order with the highest priority rating under the Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) for a specified number of N-95 respirators and face masks. (DPAS is used to prioritize national defense-related contracts, subcontracts, and purchase orders.) Within seven days of receiving the center's report, the President must also issue priority purchase orders for the equipment identified in the report under authorities provided by the Defense Production Act of 1950. (That act confers upon the President a broad set of authorities to influence domestic industry in order to provide essential materials and goods for the national defense.) The bill waives certain requirements under the act related to congressional notification and authorization and makes specified funds available for these efforts.
Cosponsors 58
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 26, 2020 to Apr 21, 2020, with 24 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-NH | Ann M. Kuster | Original | Mar 26, 2020 |
| D-MA | Ayanna Pressley | Original | Mar 26, 2020 |
| D-PA | Brendan F. Boyle | Original | Mar 26, 2020 |
| D-WA | Derek Kilmer | Original | Mar 26, 2020 |
| D-CA | Grace F. Napolitano | Original | Mar 26, 2020 |
| D-CA | Harley Rouda | Original | Mar 26, 2020 |
| D-CT | Jahana Hayes | Original | Mar 26, 2020 |
| D-MA | James P. McGovern | Original | Mar 26, 2020 |
| D-MD | Jamie Raskin | Original | Mar 26, 2020 |
| D-NY | Jerrold Nadler | Original | Mar 26, 2020 |
| D-TX | Joaquin Castro | Original | Mar 26, 2020 |
| D-CO | Joe Neguse | Original | Mar 26, 2020 |
| D-CT | John B. Larson | Original | Mar 26, 2020 |
| D-CA | Katie Porter | Original | Mar 26, 2020 |
| D-TX | Lizzie Fletcher | Original | Mar 26, 2020 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Mar 27, 2020Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management.
- Mar 26, 2020Introduced in House
- Mar 26, 2020Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on 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.
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Health.
- Cardiovascular and respiratory health
- Congressional oversight
- Emergency medical services and trauma care
- Health
- Health personnel
- Health technology, devices, supplies
- Infectious and parasitic diseases
- Manufacturing
- Military procurement, research, weapons development
- Public contracts and procurement
- Worker safety and health
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Mar 26, 2020Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.