,,iv  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,h4 ,,res4 #ajhd  ,,in ,,the ,,house    
,,of ,,representatives  ,august #ad1    
#bjbj,mr4 ,schiff 7for himself1 ,ms4    
,norton1 ,mr4 ,soto1 ,mr4 ,castro of    
,texas1 ,mr4 ,moulton1 ,mr4 ,mc,govern1 
,mr4 ,thompson of ,california1 ,ms4 ,lee
 of ,california1 and ,ms4 ,sherrill7    
submitted the following resolution2     
which was referred to the ,committee on 
,energy and ,commerce  ,,resolution     
,expressing support for the designation 
of ,august #g through #ad1 #bjbj1 as    
,world ,mask ,week1 and encouraging all 
,americans to wear appropriate face     
coverings to protect themselves and to  
protect older ,americans or others with 
health conditions that increase the     
risks of serious illness due to         
,,covid-#ai4  ,whereas cloth face       
coverings1 or nonmedical masks1 serve as
 a barrier to ,,sars-,co,v-#b-;carrying 
droplets1 helping to prevent the spread 
of ,,covid-#ai and save lives2 ,whereas 
a substantial portion of people infected

 with ,,sars-,co,v-#b are asymptomatic  
or presymptomatic and can transmit the  
virus to others when they do not know   
they are infected2 ,whereas research    
conducted long before the ,,covid-#ai   
pandemic has shown the utility of       
wearing masks in providing protection   
against the transmission of respiratory 
infections2 ,whereas various types of   
cloth masks1 including masks made of    
cotton1 gauze1 and other fabrics1       
reduced infection rates among health    
care workers and others during the      
,spanish ,flu pandemic of #aiah and the 
,manchurian plague of #aibj through     
#aiba1 and were used by health care     
workers and others to protect against   
tuberculosis in the #aicjs and #aidjs2  
,whereas a model projection of          
,,covid-#ai deaths by the ,institute for
 ,health ,metrics and ,evaluation at the
 ,university of ,washington showed if   
#ie percent of people in the ,united    
,states wore a mask in public spaces1   
nearly #cd1jjj fewer people would die   

from the disease2 ,whereas1 on ,april   
#c1 #bjbj1 the ,centers for ,disease    
,control and ,prevention recommended all
 individuals two years of age and older 
and medically able to wear a mask1 wear 
nonmedical1 cloth masks in public       
settings and when around people who     
don't live in their household2 ,whereas 
a survey conducted by the ,centers for  
,disease ,control and ,prevention from  
,may #aa through ,may #ac1 #bjbj1 found 
that #gf percent of adults support      
mask-wearing outside of the home2       
,whereas a study published by the       
,centers for ,disease ,control and      
,prevention on ,july #ag1 #bjbj1 found  
no secondary cases of ,,covid-#ai in    
#aci mask-wearing clients of two        
mask-wearing hair stylists with         
confirmed cases of ,,covid-#ai2 ,whereas
 to suppress ,,covid-#ai transmission1  
the ,world ,health ,organization advises
 governments to encourage the general   
public to use nonmedical cloth masks as 
part of a comprehensive disease control 

strategy in areas of widespread         
transmission2 ,whereas countries in     
,southeast ,asia with a strong          
mask-wearing culture like ,japan and the
 ,republic of ,south ,korea have been   
far more successful in controlling      
,,covid-#ai1 experiencing few cases and 
lower mortality levels without          
instituting severe restrictions on their
 populations2 ,whereas raising awareness
 about the effectiveness of everyone    
wearing cloth masks when in public would
 encourage the adoption of mask-wearing1
 help to prevent the spread of          
,,covid-#ai1 and save lives both at home
 and abroad2 ,whereas one recent        
economic analysis estimated that        
universal masking could save five       
percent of ,,gdp1 or one trillion       
dollars1 by making lockdowns unnecessary
 and getting people back to work        
earlier2 and ,whereas the ,centers for  
,disease ,control and ,prevention and   
the ,pandemic ,action ,network are      
partnering with more than #dj           

organizations to host ,world ,mask ,week
 from ,august #g through #ad1 #bjbj1 in 
an effort to increase the use of face   
coverings across the globe3 ,now1       
therefore1 be it ,that the ,house of    
,representatives-- 7#a7 supports the    
designation of ,world ,mask ,week2  7#b7
 encourages ,americans to wear          
appropriate face coverings in situations
 where social distancing is difficult or
 impossible1 particularly in indoor     
environments1 both to protect themselves
 and to protect older ,americans or     
others with health conditions that      
increase the risks of serious illness   
due to ,,covid-#ai2  7#c7 recognizes    
that mask-wearing should be coupled with
 other measures recommended by the      
,centers for ,disease ,control and      
,prevention and ,state and local public 
health agencies1 including frequent     
handwashing and physical distancing1 to 
further reduce the risk of ,,covid-#ai  
transmission2 and  7#d7 encourages      
following the consensus advice of public

 health experts to wear face coverings  
to meaningfully reduce transmission     
rates for ,,covid-#ai1 resulting in     
fewer deaths1 fewer ,americans made     
seriously ill1 and lower economic       
disruption4