,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #hfjd  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,october #af1        
#bjbj,mr4 ,kim 7for himself and ,mr4    
,schneider7 introduced the following    
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,energy and ,commerce  ,a 
,,bill  ,to direct the ,secretary of    
,health and ,human ,services to maintain
 an internet clearinghouse of           
information on suppliers of personal    
protective equipment needed to prevent  
the spread of ,,covid-#ai or any other  
pathogen triggering a public health     
emergency declaration1 including        
information on the quality and          
availability of such equipment1 and for 
other purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this 
,act may be cited as the ,protecting    
,essential ,workers ,act4  #b4 ,national
 ,,covid-#ai personal protective        
equipment clearinghouse  7a7 ,in general
 ,beginning not later than #b months    
after the date of enactment of this     
,act1 the ,secretary of ,health and     

,human ,services shall establish and    
maintain an internet clearinghouse of   
information on suppliers of personal    
protective equipment needed to prevent  
the spread of ,,covid-#ai or any other  
pathogen triggering a public health     
emergency declaration4  7b7             
,requirements ,subject to subsection    
7c71 the internet clearinghouse         
established under subsection 7a7 shall--
 7#a7 identify available personal       
protective equipment by-- 7,a7          
conducting outbound sourcing to identify
 manufacturers and distributers of      
personal protective equipment2  7,b7    
soliciting information from             
manufacturers and distributers of       
available personal protective equipment2
  7,c7 verifying manufacturer and       
distributer regulatory status2  7,d7    
verifying supporting documentation of   
supplier registration1 factory1 and     
product certifications2  7,e7 collecting
 information on product pricing1 minimum
 order quantities1 lead time1 supply    

resilience1 and availability2 and  7,f7 
verifying product prices to ensure that 
no price violates antiprice gouging     
laws2  7#b7 provide transparent         
information about personal protective   
equipment availability1 dissemination1  
and procurement opportunities by making 
available information collected pursuant
 to paragraph 7#a72 and  7#c7 be        
established in a manner that allows the 
information collected to be available to
 the public and government1 including-- 
7,a7 health care providers2  7,b7       
workers deemed essential by public      
officials during the ,,covid-#ai        
pandemic and any subsequent pandemics   
triggering public health emergency      
declarations2  7,c7 any ,state1 local1  
or ,tribal government2 and  7,d7 local  
emergency operations centers and health 
departments4  7c7 ,inclusion of         
suppliers only on voluntary basis ,the  
,secretary may include in the internet  
clearinghouse established under         
subsection 7a7 information with respect 

to a supplier 7including any            
manufacturer or distributor7 only if the
 supplier agrees to be referenced in the
 clearinghouse1 in which case the       
supplier shall agree to provide to the  
,secretary the information listed in    
subsection 7b77#a74  7d7 ,definitions   
,in this section3 7#a7 ,the term        
personal protective equipment-- 7,a7    
means equipment designated to protect   
individuals from the spread of infection
 or illness1 as determined by the       
,secretary2 and  7,b7 includes any such 
disinfecting wipes1 helmets1 gloves1    
face shields1 hand sanitizer1 goggles1  
facemasks1 protective clothing1 and     
respirators4  7#b7 ,the term ,state     
means the #ej ,states1 the ,district of 
,columbia1 the ,commonwealth of ,puerto 
,rico1 the ,united ,states ,virgin      
,islands1 ,guam1 the ,commonwealth of   
the ,northern ,mariana ,islands1 and    
,american ,samoa4  7#c7 ,the term       
,tribal1 with respect to a department of
 health 7or health department71         

includes-- 7,a7 ,indian ,tribes that--  
7i7 are operating #a or more health     
facilities pursuant to an agreement     
under the ,indian ,self-,determination  
and ,education ,assistance ,act 7#be    
,u4,s4,c4 #ecja et seq472 or  7ii7      
receive services from a facility        
operated by the ,indian ,health         
,services2 and  7,b7 ,tribal            
organizations 7as the term tribal       
organization is defined in section #d of
 the ,indian ,self-,determination and   
,education ,assistance ,act 7#be        
,u4,s4,c4 #ecjd77 and ,urban ,indian    
organizations 7as defined in section #d 
of the ,indian ,health ,care            
,improvement ,act 7#be ,u4,s4,c4        
#afjc774  7e7 ,authorization of         
appropriations ,there are authorized to 
be appropriated such sums as may be     
necessary to carry out this section1 to 
be derived exclusively from unobligated 
amounts in the ,public ,health and      
,social ,emergency ,fund4