# 116-hr-8245: The Dr. Joseph Costa Honoring Essential Americans Risking Their Safety Act of 2020

116-hr-8245, The Dr. Joseph Costa Honoring Essential Americans Risking Their Safety Act of 2020, is a 116th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Ruppersberger, C. A. Dutch [D-MD-2] (D-MD); status Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Education and Labor, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. (as of 2025-11-18).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-8245
- As of: 2025-11-18
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 116-hr-8245
- Congress: 116
- Title: The Dr. Joseph Costa Honoring Essential Americans Risking Their Safety Act of 2020
- Status: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Education and Labor, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- Introduced: 2020-09-14
- Sponsor: Rep. Ruppersberger, C. A. Dutch [D-MD-2] (D-MD)
- Cosponsors: 4
- Policy area: Health
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2025-11-18

## Summary

The Dr. Joseph Costa Honoring Essential Americans Risking Their Safety Act of 2020 This bill establishes a compensation program for, and registry to monitor the health of, certain individuals who worked in hospitals during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) emergency. It also establishes educational benefits for eligible individuals who provided care to residents of long-term care, skilled nursing, post-acute care, and other nursing facilities during the emergency. With respect to hospital workers, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must provide funds to hospitals in COVID-19 hot spots for supplemental payments for workers who provide direct care, which may include cleaning and other nonmedical activities, to COVID-19 patients during the emergency. Additionally, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) must develop a voluntary registry of physicians, nurses, and non-physician health care specialists who worked at a hospital or other care site during the emergency and must monitor the long-term health status of individuals on this registry who test positive for COVID-19. NIOSH must also make the registry available to public health researchers and may award grants to states to facilitate its development. With respect to the educational benefits, the Department of Education or HHS must repay or cancel a percentage of certain loans for each six-month period an individual works in a qualifying facility, subject to a maximum percentage cap. HHS must also provide eligible individuals with an educational grant, subject to certain conditions, to obtain post-secondary credentials for health care careers in nursing care facilities.

## Cosponsors (4)

- Del. San Nicolas, Michael F. Q. [D-GU-At Large] (D-GU), 2020-10-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Jackson Lee, Sheila [D-TX-18] (D-TX), 2020-10-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Haaland, Debra A. [D-NM-1] (D-NM), 2020-10-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Carson, André [D-IN-7] (D-IN), 2020-11-09T00:00:00.000Z

## Related bills

- 116-hr-8192: Making emergency supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, and for other purposes.
- 116-hr-8015: Delivering for America Act
- 116-hr-7308: RISE Act
- 116-hr-7197: RESTAURANTS Act of 2020
- 116-hr-7092: Great American Outdoors Act
- 116-hr-6902: Black History is American History Act

## Sources
- [116-hr-8245 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/8245)

## Related
- [116-hr-8192: Making emergency supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending Septemb…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-8192)
- [116-hr-8015: Delivering for America Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-8015)
- [116-hr-7308: RISE Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-7308)
- [116-hr-7197: RESTAURANTS Act of 2020](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-7197)
- [116-hr-7092: Great American Outdoors Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-7092)
- [116-hr-6902: Black History is American History Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-6902)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-8245 (as of 2025-11-18).