WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand led a group of Senate Colleagues in a letter to Senate and House leadership urging the inclusion of the Force to Fight COVID-19 joint proposal in the upcoming COVID-19 relief package. The proposal combines seven health and social service workforce bills into one dynamic package that would combat the unprecedented economic and public health crisis, support efforts to address its wide-ranging harms, address the racial and ethnic health disparities exacerbated by the pandemic, and strengthen America’s infrastructure to prepare for future health and social challenges. Specific provisions of the plan include a community-based public health workforce, boosts to FEMA for supply chain logistics, public health workforce loan repayments, investments in health services training, grant programs for nursing, expansion of national service programs that provide an array of social services, creation of career pathways for young Americans, and more. The Force to Fight COVID-19 Proposal would address the workforce needs to respond to the pandemic, such as testing and health monitoring, as well as the broad social consequences of the pandemic, including by supporting educators and food banks.
The working group consists of Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chris Coons (D-DE), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Ed Markey (D-MA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Cory Booker (D-NJ).
“This comprehensive proposal will leverage American ingenuity, innovation and determination to execute a national strategy to address and recover from this unprecedented economic and public health crisis, and strengthen our health infrastructure for the future,” saidU.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.
The legislation included in the Force to Fight COVID-19 proposal is based off of existing bills, including: The Health Force and Resilience Force Act, The Jobs to Fight COVID-19 Act, The Coronavirus Containment Corps Act, Strengthening the Public Health Workforce Act, Strengthening America’s Health Care Readiness Act (or the Health Heroes Act), The Future Advancement of Academic Nursing (FAAN) Act, and The Cultivating Opportunity and Response to the Pandemic through Service (CORPS) Act. Versions of legislation in this proposal have Republican support, and all bills have endorsements from advocate, academic, and industry groups.
The Force to Fight COVID-19 Proposal
Public Health Service Legislation
- The Health Force + Jobs to Fight COVID-19: A federally funded, locally led, community-based public health workforce with core components of the Jobs to Fight COVID-19 Act. Based on legislation by Senators Gillibrand, Bennet, Schatz, Blumenthal, Booker, Duckworth, Feinstein, Harris, Klobuchar, Reed, Rosen, and Smith.
- National Coronavirus Monitoring Strategy (Coronavirus Containment Corps): A national strategy to boost and coordinate efforts to monitor and prevent COVID-19. Based on legislation by Senators Warren, Merkley, and Smith.
- Resilience Force: A FEMA CORE surge workforce to assist with supply chain logistics and emergency procurement of medical/PPE/testing supplies, support testing and contact tracing activities, and to carry out disaster preparedness and response functions. Based on legislation by Senators Markey and Van Hollen.
- Strengthening the Public Health Workforce: Reauthorization and improvement of the Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Program to provide education loan repayment assistance to people who work in a state, local, or Tribal public health department. Based on legislation by Senators Smith and Booker.
Clinical Health Service Legislation
- Strengthening America’s Health Care Readiness (Health Heroes): A historic investment in the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) and Nurse Corps programs to provide scholarship and loan repayment for the graduate education costs of tens of thousands of doctors, nurses, and other clinicians in order to help address health workforce shortages, medical disparities, and gaps in emergency preparedness that have been magnified by the pandemic. Based on bipartisan legislation by Senator Durbin and Senator Rubio with Senators Duckworth, Blumenthal, Stabenow, Merkley, Jones, Klobuchar, Hirono, Gillibrand, Smith, Sanders, Harris, Baldwin, and Rosen.
- Future Advancement of Academic Nursing (FAAN): A grant program for nursing education in rural, underserved areas, or minority serving institutions to enhance preparedness, quickly respond to public health emergencies and pandemics, enroll students underrepresented in the nursing workforce, and modernize nursing education and infrastructure. Based on legislation by Senator Merkley.
National Service Legislation
- Strengthening and Expanding AmeriCorps: An expansion of social services-focused national service programs for a three-year period to their current authorization, extending opportunity to up to 250,000 Americans per year to combat food insecurity, assist educators, build capacity at community-based organizations, and help with COVID-19 recovery and response, while providing an improved living allowance and pathway to higher education for participants. Based on legislation by Senator Coons, Reed, Klobuchar, Duckworth, Heinrich, Markey, Van Hollen, Blumenthal, Durbin, King, Smith, Shaheen, Udall, Stabenow, Brown, Hirono, Harris, and Booker.
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