COVID PREPARE Act of 2020

COVID Preparedness, Response, and Effective Planning for Advanced Requirements by the Executive Branch Act of 2020 or the COVID PREPARE Act of 2020

This bill requires federal agencies to submit to Congress plans for responding to any resurgence of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019).

Specifically, each agency shall submit (1) an initial report detailing an action plan, informed by research and best practices learned from the onset of COVID-19 and previous presidentially declared emergencies, for addressing the needs and mitigating and eliminating the risks and challenges associated with any resurgence in COVID-19 cases; and (2) subsequent reports, on a quarterly basis until the President ends the declared emergency, that update the details submitted in the plan.

The initial report shall include

• agency priorities for preparing for and responding to any resurgence;
• measurable goals specific to priorities and a time line for addressing each priority;
• anticipated challenges to addressing priorities and how the agency will address such challenges;
• how the agency will consult with Congress, the public, state and municipal governments, and relevant stakeholders while working remotely; and
• how the agency plans to issue relevant guidance to entities under the jurisdiction of the agency.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7496 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7496

   To require Federal agencies to submit plans for responding to any 
            resurgence of COVID-19, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              July 6, 2020

 Mr. Schneider (for himself, Mr. Katko, Mrs. Fletcher, Ms. Craig, Ms. 
 Sherrill, Mr. Rose of New York, Ms. Clark of Massachusetts, Mr. Kim, 
   Mr. Brindisi, Mr. Crow, Ms. Spanberger, and Ms. Davids of Kansas) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                          Oversight and Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require Federal agencies to submit plans for responding to any 
            resurgence 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 ``COVID Preparedness, Response, and 
Effective Planning for Advanced Requirements by the Executive Branch 
Act'' or the ``COVID PREPARE Act''.

SEC. 2. COVID-19 RESURGENCE PLAN.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the head of each agency shall submit to Congress 
an initial report detailing an action plan, informed by research and 
best practices learned from the onset of COVID-19 and previous 
presidentially declared emergencies, for addressing the needs and 
mitigating and eliminating the risks and challenges associated with any 
resurgence in COVID-19 cases, that includes--
            (1) agency priorities for preparing for and responding to 
        any resurgence of COVID-19, including continuity of operations 
        and fulfilling the mission of the agency;
            (2) measurable goals specific to priorities and a time line 
        for addressing each priority;
            (3) anticipated challenges to addressing priorities and how 
        the agency will address such challenges;
            (4) how the agency will consult with Congress, the public, 
        State and municipal governments, and relevant stakeholders 
        while working remotely; and
            (5) how the agency plans to issue relevant guidance to 
        entities under the jurisdiction of the agency.
    (b) Subsequent Reports.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, and quarterly thereafter until the President 
ends the declared emergency, the head of each agency shall submit to 
Congress a report that provides an update of the details submitted in 
the plan under subsection (a), including--
            (1) the status of each priority;
            (2) an explanation for any goal that has not been met 
        within the specified time frame; and
            (3) any changes or updates to the plan.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Agency.--The term ``agency'' has the meaning given that 
        term in section 551 of title 5, United States Code.
            (2) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
        States, the District of Columbia, each commonwealth, territory, 
        or possession of the United States, and each federally 
        recognized Indian Tribe.
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