S.Amdt. 2544

SA 2544. Mr. WICKER submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 2499 proposed by Mr. McConnell to the bill S. 178, to
condemn gross human rights violations of ethnic Turkic Muslims in
Xinjiang, and calling for an end to arbitrary detention, torture, and
harassment of these communities inside and outside China; which was
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

TITLE __--

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Office of the Secretary

public health and social services emergency fund

For an additional amount for ``Public Health and Social
Services Emergency Fund'', $7,825,000,000, to remain
available until September 30, 2022, to prevent, prepare for,
and respond to coronavirus, domestically or internationally:
Provided, That $7,600,000,000 of the funds appropriated under
this paragraph in this Act shall be transferred to ``Health
Resources and Services Administration--Primary Health Care''
for grants, cooperative agreements, and other necessary
expenses under the Health Centers Program, as defined by
section 330 of the PHS Act, including funding for alteration,
renovation, construction, equipment, and other capital
improvement costs, and including funding to support,
maintain, or increase health center capacity and staffing
levels, as necessary, to meet the needs of areas affected by
coronavirus:  Provided further, That sections 330(r)(2)(B),
330(e)(3), 330(e)(6)(A)(iii), and 330(e)(6)(B)(iii) of the
PHS Act shall not apply to funds in the preceding proviso:
Provided further, That funding made available under this
paragraph in this Act shall not be subject to requirements
under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 or the
National Historic Preservation Act of 1966:  Provided
further, That for the purposes of any funding provided for
fiscal year 2020 for the Health Centers Program pursuant to
section 330 of the PHS Act (42 U.S.C. 254b), maintaining
current health center capacity and staffing levels during a
public health emergency as a result of the coronavirus and
any renewal of such declaration pursuant to such section 319
shall be deemed a cost of prevention, diagnosis, and
treatment of coronavirus:  Provided further, That of the
amount appropriated under this paragraph in this Act,
$225,000,000 shall be for grants or other mechanisms, to
rural health clinics as defined in section 1861(aa)(2) of the
Social Security Act with such funds also available to such
entities for building or construction of temporary
structures, leasing of properties, and retrofitting
facilities as necessary to support COVID-19 testing:
Provided further, That such funds shall be distributed using
the procedures developed for the Provider Relief Fund
authorized under the third paragraph under this heading in
division B of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic
Security Act (Public Law 116-136); may be

[[Page S4858]]

distributed using contracts or agreements established for
such program; and shall be subject to the process
requirements applicable to such program:  Provided further,
That the Secretary may specify a minimum amount for each
eligible entity accepting assistance under the two previous
provisos:  Provided further, That such amount is designated
by the Congress as being for an emergency requirement
pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget
and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.
______