Expanding Representation at HHS Act of 2020
This bill requires certain agencies and offices within the Department of Health and Human Services to address diversity in their procurement activities and workforce. The bill specifically covers offices and agencies that are authorized to award grants or other financial assistance, such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Each covered entity must establish an Office of Minority and Women Inclusion that is responsible for managing diversity within the entity and with respect to the entity's activities. This new office is not, however, responsible for enforcing civil rights statutes, regulations, or executive orders.
In addition, an entity subject to the bill's requirements must modify its evaluation, award, and termination of grants and contracts to ensure, to the maximum extent feasible, the inclusion of minorities; women; and minority-led and women-led grantees, contractors, subgrantees, and subcontractors. Each entity must also undertake actions to increase diversity in its workforce, including by recruiting at institutions of higher education where the majority of the students are members of minority populations.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8374 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8374
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for establishment of
an Office of Minority and Women Inclusion within each covered agency of
the Department of Health and Human Services, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 24, 2020
Ms. DeLauro (for herself, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Mrs. Watson Coleman,
Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Cohen, Mr. San Nicolas, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Carson of
Indiana, Ms. Norton, Ms. Johnson of Texas, Ms. Lee of California, Mr.
Cardenas, Mr. Lowenthal, Mr. Smith of Washington, Ms. Escobar, Mr.
Khanna, Ms. Clarke of New York, Ms. Sewell of Alabama, Ms. Jackson Lee,
Ms. Scanlon, Ms. Clark of Massachusetts, Mr. Sires, Ms. Velazquez, Mr.
Lawson of Florida, Mrs. Beatty, Mr. Richmond, Ms. Fudge, and Ms. Moore)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for establishment of
an Office of Minority and Women Inclusion within each covered agency of
the Department of Health and Human Services, 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 ``Expanding Representation at HHS Act
of 2020''.
SEC. 2. OFFICE OF MINORITY AND WOMEN INCLUSION.
Part A of title II of the Public Health Service Act is amended by
inserting after section 229 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 237a) the following
new section:
``SEC. 229A. OFFICE OF MINORITY AND WOMEN INCLUSION.
``(a) Office of Minority and Women Inclusion.--
``(1) Establishment.--Not later than the date that is 6
months after the date of enactment of the Expanding
Representation at HHS Act of 2020, the agency administrator of
each covered agency shall establish an office to be known as
the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (in this section
referred to as an `Office') within the covered agency to be
responsible for all matters of the covered agency relating to
diversity in the management, employment, and business
activities of the covered agency.
``(2) Transfer of responsibilities.--The agency
administrator of each covered agency that, preceding the
establishment of an Office pursuant to paragraph (1) within the
covered agency, assigned the responsibilities described in
paragraph (1) (or comparable responsibilities) to an office
other than such Office shall ensure that such responsibilities
are transferred to such Office.
``(3) Duties with respect to civil rights laws.--The
responsibilities described in paragraph (1) do not include
enforcement of statutes, regulations, or Executive orders
pertaining to civil rights, except that the Director of each
Office shall coordinate with the agency administrator of the
respective covered agency regarding the design and
implementation of any remedies resulting from violations of
such statutes, regulations, or Executive orders.
``(b) Director.--
``(1) In general.--The Office of a covered agency shall be
headed by a Director, who shall be appointed by, and shall
report directly to, the agency administrator of the covered
agency.
``(2) Designation.--The position of Director shall be--
``(A) a career reserved position in the Senior
Executive Service, as such terms are defined in section
3132 of title 5, United States Code; or
``(B) an equivalent position.
``(3) Duties.--The agency administrator of each covered
agency, in consultation with the Director of the Office of the
covered agency, shall develop standards for--
``(A) developing and overseeing the implementation
of standards for--
``(i) equal employment opportunity and the
racial, ethnic, and gender diversity of the
workforce and senior management of the covered
agency;
``(ii) increased participation of minority-
led and women-led businesses in the programs
and contracts of the covered agency, including
standards for coordinating technical assistance
to such businesses; and
``(iii) assessing the diversity policies
and practices of entities receiving financial
assistance from the covered agency, except that
the agency administrator shall exempt small
entities from the assessment, as determined to
be appropriate by the agency administrator; and
``(B) advising the agency administrator of the
covered agency on the impact of the policies and
regulations of the covered agency on minority-led and
women-led grantees and subgrantees.
``(c) Staff.--Each Office shall be staffed at the appropriate
levels to carry out the functions and responsibilities of the Office
under this section.
``(d) Inclusion in All Levels of Grantee and Subgrantee
Activities.--
``(1) In general.--The agency administrator of each covered
agency, in consultation with the Director of the Office of the
covered agency, shall develop and implement standards and
procedures to ensure, to the maximum extent possible, the fair
inclusion and utilization of minorities, women, and minority-
led and women-led grantees and subgrantees in all activities of
the covered agency at all levels, including in procurement,
insurance, and all types of contracts.
``(2) Grantmaking and contracts.--The procedures
established by each covered agency for review and evaluation of
grant- and subgrant-making and contract proposals and for
hiring service providers shall include, to the extent
consistent with applicable law, a component that gives
consideration to the diversity of the applicant. Such
procedures shall include a written statement, in a form and
with such content as the Director of the Office of the covered
agency shall prescribe, that a grantee, subgrantee, or
contractor shall ensure, to the maximum extent possible, the
fair inclusion of women and minorities in the workforce of the
grantee, subgrantee, contractor, and subcontractors.
``(3) Termination.--
``(A) Determination.--The standards and procedures
developed and implemented under this subsection shall
include a procedure for the Director of the Office
involved to determine whether a grantee, subgrantee,
contractor, or subcontractor of the covered agency has
failed to make a good faith effort to include
minorities and women in the workforce of the grantee,
subgrantee, contractor, or subcontractor.
``(B) Effect of determination.--
``(i) Recommendation to agency
administrator.--Upon a determination under
subparagraph (A) of a failure described in such
subparagraph, the Director of the Office
involved shall recommend to the agency
administrator of the covered agency that the
grant, subgrant, contract, or subcontract, as
applicable, be terminated.
``(ii) Action by agency administrator.--
Upon receipt of a recommendation under clause
(i), the agency administrator of the covered
agency may--
``(I) terminate the grant or
contract, or direct the grantee or
contractor to terminate the subgrant or
subcontract, as the case may be;
``(II) make a referral to the
Office of Federal Contract Compliance
Programs of the Department of Labor; or
``(III) take other appropriate
action.
``(e) Applicability.--This section applies with respect to all
grant agreements and other contracts of a covered agency, including for
services of any kind, including the services of adoption agencies,
child welfare organizations, energy companies participating in the Low
Income Home Energy Assistance Program, legal service providers. The
grants, subgrants, contracts, and subcontracts referred to in this
subsection include all contracts for all business and activities of a
covered agency, at all levels, including grants, subgrants, contracts,
and subcontracts for the programs and services provided by Department
of Health and Human Services grantees, subgrantees, contractors, and
subcontractors.
``(f) Reports.--The agency administrator of each covered agency, in
consultation with the Director of the Office of the covered agency,
shall submit to the Congress an annual report regarding the actions
taken by the Office and the respective covered agency pursuant to this
section. Each such report shall include--
``(1) a statement of the total amounts paid by the covered
agency to grantees and contractors, and the total amounts paid
by grantees and contractors to subgrantees and subcontractors,
during the 12-month covered reporting period;
``(2) the percentage of the amounts described in paragraph
(1) that were paid to minority-led or women-led grantees,
subgrantees, contractors, and subcontractors, disaggregated by
race, ethnicity, and gender;
``(3) the successes achieved and challenges faced by the
covered agency in operating minority and women outreach
programs;
``(4) the challenges the covered agency has experienced
during the 12-month covered reporting period in hiring
qualified minority and women employees and awarding grants and
contracting with qualified minority-led and women-led grantees,
subgrantees, contractors, and subcontractors; and
``(5) any other information, findings, conclusions, and
recommendations for legislative or agency action, as the agency
administrator determines appropriate.
``(g) Diversity in Covered Agency Workforce.--The agency
administrator of each covered agency shall take affirmative steps to
seek diversity in the workforce of the covered agency at all levels of
the covered agency in a manner consistent with applicable law. Such
steps shall include--
``(1) recruiting at historically Black colleges and
universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, women's colleges,
and other colleges and universities at which a majority of the
students are members of minority populations;
``(2) sponsoring and recruiting at job fairs in high-
poverty communities;
``(3) placing employment advertisements in newspapers,
magazines, and technologically appropriate mediums, such as the
internet or online job boards oriented toward minorities and
women;
``(4) partnering with organizations that are focused on
developing opportunities for minorities and women to place
talented young minorities and women in industry internships,
summer employment, and full-time positions; and
``(5) any other mass media communications that the agency
administrator of the covered agency determines necessary.
``(h) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
``(1) Agency administrator.--The term `agency
administrator' means the head of an agency.
``(2) Covered agency.--The term `covered agency'--
``(A) means an agency or office of the Department
of Health and Human Services with the authority to
award grants or other financial assistance; and
``(B) includes--
``(i) the Office of the Secretary;
``(ii) the Administration for Children and
Families;
``(iii) the Agency for Healthcare Research
and Quality;
``(iv) the Office of the Assistant
Secretary for Health;
``(v) the Office of the Assistant Secretary
for Preparedness and Response;
``(vi) the Center for Faith and Opportunity
Initiatives;
``(vii) the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention;
``(viii) the Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services;
``(ix) the Food and Drug Administration;
``(x) the Health Resources and Services
Administration;
``(xi) the National Institutes of Health;
``(xii) the Office of Global Affairs;
``(xiii) the Office of the National
Coordinator for Health Information Technology;
and
``(xiv) the Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration.
``(3) Minority.--The term `minority' means any Black
American, Native American, Hispanic American, or Asian
American.
``(4) Minority-led.--The term ` minority-led' means--
``(A) more than 50 percent of the leadership,
control, or ownership of which is held by one or more
minority individuals;
``(B) a significant percentage of senior management
or leadership positions of which are held by minority
individuals; and
``(C) in the case of a for-profit entity, more than
50 percent of the net profit or loss of which accrues
to one or more minority individuals.
``(5) Office.--The term `Office' means the Office of
Minority and Women Inclusion established by a covered agency
pursuant to subsection (a).
``(6) Women-led.--The term `women-led' means--
``(A) more than 50 percent of the ownership or
control of which is held by one or more women;
``(B) a significant percentage of senior management
or leadership positions of which are held by one or
more women; and
``(C) in the case of a for-profit entity, more than
50 percent of the net profit or loss of which accrues
to one or more women.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
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