Blumenthal Introduces Bicameral Health Force, Resilience Force, and Jobs to Fight COVID-19 Act to Combat Public Health and Economic Crises

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Bob Casey (D-PA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Jack Reed(D-RI) announced the introduction of the Health Force, Resilience Force, and Jobs to Fight COVID-19 Act, legislation that would invest billions in the nation’s public health jobs and infrastructure and aid the country’s lagging vaccine distribution campaign. The bicameral legislation will be introduced in the House by U.S. Representatives Jason Crow, Jimmy Panetta, Lauren Underwood, and Dean Phillips.

The Health Force, Resilience Force, and Jobs to Fight COVID-19 Act (Health Force), championed by the senators, would invest billions in local public health infrastructure to recruit, train and employ hundreds of thousands of Americans to build public health capacity in underserved communities. Additionally, the Resilience Force would complement the Health Force by bolstering the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) workforce in the whole-of-government effort to combat the COVID-19 outbreak. These public health workers could respond to a surge in COVID-19 patients and administer and distribute vaccines. As the United States continues to battle the coronavirus pandemic and rebuild the economy, the Health Force would support already overburdened state and local health departments, provide jobs for thousands of recently unemployed Americans, and directly support the nation’s efforts to recover from the current crises.

“The Health Force mobilized by this legislation will help our country overcome the COVID-19 crisis. Through a surge of federal investment, hundreds of thousands of Americans will be recruited, trained, and put to work aiding our struggling public health system. With their reinforcement, strained state and local health departments will have all hands on deck to respond to surges of patients with COVID-19 and to help in getting vaccinations to all Americans,” said Senator Blumenthal.

Community-based public health jobs and resources, like those created by the Health Force, are known to improve local health outcomes, including vaccination rates. The Health Force proposal would ensure the federal government has a proactive and coordinated approach to facilitate vaccine distribution and administration — it would deliver $40 billion a year, for the first two years, to meet the COVID-19 vaccine distribution needs and address the various public health challenges caused by the pandemic.

Health Force is inspired by the Depression-era Works Progress Administration, which similarly tapped thousands of job seekers to help the nation recover from a sharp economic downturn. Health Force will train Americans, equip them with basic public health skills, and employ them in their home communities to expand the public health workforce and meet local needs. By providing federal funding to State, local, territorial, and Tribal public health departments, and their partners across the country, Health Force will ensure that every community is positioned to meet its most pressing needs. Health Force could be responsible for

• Supporting the administration of diagnostic, serologic, or other COVID–19 tests;
• Supporting COVID-19 vaccination campaigns;
• Addressing social, economic, behavioral and preventive health needs for individuals affected by COVID-19, including those who are asked to voluntarily isolate or quarantine in their homes.
• Sharing public health information with community members and organizations;
• Helping community members address social, economic, behavioral health, and preventive health needs beyond those created by the pandemic, using evidence-informed models and in accordance with recognized standards;
• Sharing community-based information with local and Tribal health departments to inform and improve health programming, especially for hard-to-reach communities. Promoting linkages with other health and social programs.

After the current public health crisis concludes, the Health Force would be retained to continue to serve as local, trusted public health workers in their home communities, especially in historically underserved areas.

In addition to the Health Force, the legislation also includes the Resilience Force which would complement the Health Force goals by training 62,000 additional FEMA Cadre of On-Call Response/Recovery (CORE) members to battle the COVID-19 pandemic and to combat other natural disasters. In taking advance of an existing hiring mechanism, Resilience Force members would provide a surge workforce for FEMA, broadening opportunities for unemployed Americans while supporting the nation’s COVID-19 response plans, including stand up vaccination centers in the hardest hit communities. Resilience Force members could assist with supply chain logistics, rebuild COVID-safe infrastructure for schools and beyond, and aid the emergency procurement of medical, personal protective equipment, and testing supplies.

Health Force, Resilience Force, and Jobs to Fight COVID-19 Act has been endorsed by leading public health organizations, health care organizations, and world-renowned experts, including Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Center for Popular Democracy Action, Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH), Greater New York Hospital Association, HealthBegins, Families USA, National Coalition of STD Directors, National Hispanic Medical Association, National Hispanic Medical Association, National Partnership for Women & Families, National Peace Corps Association, Partners In Health, Resilience Force, Right to Health Action (R2H Action), Service Employees International Union, and more.

“Partners In Health welcomes this proactive proposal rooted at the intersection of public health and social justice. We need a long-term public health workforce that will be recruited from and reflective of the needs of their communities at the state and local levels, and that is exactly what this legislation will build. This is a key to ensuring a more equitable COVID-19 response and a stronger public health system.” — Cate Oswald, Chief Policy and Partnership Officer, Partners In Health

"The Health Force bill can help us scale vaccination efforts, end the pandemic, create thousands of jobs, and protect the health of our hardest-hit communities. As it paves the way for the US Public Health Jobs Corps, the Health Force bill will mobilize trusted community-based organizations and workers to help fight the pandemic, create jobs to rebuild our public health infrastructure, and fast-track local economic recovery." — Dr. Rishi Manchanda, CEO, HealthBegins

"Frontline workers like me have first-hand experience with the consequences that come as a result of lawmakers' decisions. This pandemic has been a stark reminder of how underfunding affects care delivery, and sadly, it's only widened existing gaps. Senator Gillibrand and Senator Bennet's "Health Force" bill will invest in the good jobs and public health infrastructure our communities need to beat this virus. We need similar leadership from others to turn the corner and fully recover from the effects of this unprecedented health crisis." — Shamika Ossey, Registered Nurse with the LA County Department of Public Health Emergency Preparedness & Response Division on behalf of SEIU

“At a time when so many Americans are under or unemployed, and suffering financially due to COVID-19, the Health Force, Resilience Force, and Jobs to Fight COVID Act would create much-needed jobs by employing community health frontline workers. Equally important, it will combat health inequities by recruiting individuals who are reflective of the communities they serve, thereby leveraging assets within communities hardest hit by the pandemic.” — Amber Hewitt, Director of Health Equity, Families USA

"FEMA has a unique role to play in hiring a flexible workforce that can respond quickly to disasters like COVID. The Health Force and Resilience Force taps into this powerful workforce to hire and deploy FEMA members to some of our country's hardest hit communities.” – Craig Fugate, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), 2009-2017

The full list of Health Force endorsements can be found here.

A one pager of the Health Force, Resilience Force, and Jobs to Fight COVID-19 Act can be found here.

A section-by-section of the bill can be found here.

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