Save Healthcare Workers Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3178 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3178

  To protect hospital personnel from violence, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 5, 2025

Ms. Dean of Pennsylvania (for herself and Mrs. Miller-Meeks) introduced
    the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the
                               Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

  To protect hospital personnel from violence, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Save Healthcare Workers Act''.

SEC. 2. PREVENTION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST HOSPITAL PERSONNEL.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The incidence of assault and intimidation against
        hospital employees poses a serious national problem.
            (2) The problem of assault and intimidation against
        hospital and health care employees preceded the COVID-19
        pandemic. According to an April 2020 Bureau of Labor Statistics
        report, the health care and social service industries
        experienced the highest rates of injuries caused by workplace
        violence and were 5 times as likely to suffer a workplace
        violence injury than workers overall in 2018. That report also
        found that the incidence rate for workplace violence against
        health care workers had steadily increased since 2011. The
        COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated this growing problem.
            (3) Workplace violence in hospitals inhibits hospital
        employees from performing their duties and thereby disrupts the
        delivery of health care services and leads to adverse patient
        outcomes. Violence towards hospital workers also has been
        associated with decreased productivity and quality of care,
        employee absenteeism, and increased employee turnover.
            (4) State and local authorities are now and will continue
        to be responsible for prosecuting the overwhelming majority of
        violent crimes in the United States, including assault and
        intimidation against hospital employees. These authorities can
        address the problem of assault and intimidation against
        hospital employees more effectively with greater Federal law
        enforcement involvement.
            (5) Existing Federal law is inadequate to address this
        problem.
            (6) Assault and intimidation against hospital employees
        substantially affects interstate commerce in many ways,
        including the following:
                    (A) Health care services are a significant part of
                the national economy. In 2023, expenditures on health
                care services accounted for 17.6 percent of the
                country's gross domestic product. Within health care,
                hospitals and health systems are economic pillars that
                create jobs and support economic growth across State
                lines.
                    (B) The health care market, and hospitals in
                particular, are heavily regulated by the Federal
                Government.
                    (C) Hospital revenue comes from interstate or
                Federal sources, such as out-of-State insurers or
                Medicare.
                    (D) Hospital employees who are victims of assault
                or intimidation are prevented from purchasing goods and
                services, obtaining or sustaining employment, or
                participating in other commercial activity.
                    (E) Facilities and instrumentalities of interstate
                commerce have been used in the commission of assault
                and intimidation against hospital employees.
                    (F) Assault and intimidation against hospital
                employees has been committed using articles that have
                traveled in interstate commerce.
            (7) In Summit Health, Ltd. v. Pinhas, 500 U.S. 322, 329-30
        (1991), the Supreme Court of the United States held that it is
        ``clear'' that hospitals are ``regularly'' engaged in
        interstate commerce, performing services for out-of-State
        patients and generating revenues from out-of-State sources.
            (8) In Taylor v. United States, 579 U.S.___(2016), the
        Supreme Court of the United States ruled that activities that
        affect commerce may be regulated so long as they substantially
        affect interstate commerce in the aggregate, even if their
        individual impact on interstate commerce is minimal. In
        addition, as the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth
        Circuit recognized in United States v. Hill, 927 F.3d 188 (4th
        Cir. 2019), Taylor and other Supreme Court decisions establish
        that when Congress may regulate an economic or commercial
        activity--as it may with respect to hospitals--it also may
        regulate violent conduct that interferes with or affects that
        activity. Accordingly, if individuals are engaged in ongoing
        economic or commercial activity subject to congressional
        regulation--as hospital employees are--then Congress also may
        prohibit violent crime that interferes with or affects such
        individuals' ongoing economic or commercial activity.
            (9) Federal jurisdiction over certain violent crimes
        against hospital employees enables Federal, State, and local
        authorities to work together as partners in the investigation
        and prosecution of such crimes.
            (10) The problem of assault and intimidation against
        hospital employees is serious, widespread, and interstate in
        nature as to warrant Federal assistance to hospitals to combat
        that activity.
    (b) Prohibition on Assault of Hospital Personnel in the Performance
of Duties.--
            (1) In general.--Chapter 7 of title 18, United States Code,
        is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 120. Assault of hospital personnel
    ``(a) In General.--Whoever knowingly assaults an individual
employed by a hospital, or an entity contracting with a hospital or
other medical facility, during the course of the performance of the
duties of such individual, and, as a result, interferes with the
performance of the duties of such individual or limits the ability of
such individual to perform such duties, shall be fined under this
title, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.
    ``(b) Enhanced Penalties.--
            ``(1) Acts involving dangerous weapons or acts that result
        in bodily injury.--Whoever, in the commission of any act
        described in subsection (a), uses a deadly or dangerous weapon
        or inflicts bodily injury, shall be fined under this title or
        imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.
            ``(2) Acts committed during emergency declarations.--
        Whoever commits any act described in subsection (a) during the
        period of a declaration of a public emergency for the area in
        which the act is committed shall be fined under this title or
        imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.
    ``(c) Affirmative Defense.--It shall be an affirmative defense to a
prosecution under this section that--
            ``(1) the defendant is a person with a physical, mental, or
        intellectual disability; and
            ``(2) the conduct of the defendant was a clear and direct
        manifestation of such disability.
    ``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Hospital.--The term `hospital' means any of the
        following medical facilities:
                    ``(A) A hospital (as defined in section 1861(e) of
                the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(e))).
                    ``(B) A long-term care hospital (as defined in
                section 1861(ccc) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(ccc))).
                    ``(C) A rehabilitation facility (as defined in
                section 1886(j)(1)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C.
                1395ww(j)(1)(A))).
                    ``(D) A cancer hospital (as described in section
                1886(d)(1)(B)(iii) of such Act (42 U.S.C.
                1395ww(d)(1)(B)(iii))).
                    ``(E) A children's hospital (as described in
                section 1886(d)(1)(B)(v) of such Act (42 U.S.C.
                1395ww(d)(1)(B)(v))).
                    ``(F) A critical access hospital (as defined in
                section 1861(mm)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C.
                1395x(mm)(1))).
                    ``(G) A rural emergency hospital (as defined in
                section 1861(kkk)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C.
                1395x(kkk)(2))).
            ``(2) Declaration of a public emergency.--The term
        `declaration of a public emergency' means any of the following:
                    ``(A) A public health emergency declared by the
                Secretary of Health and Human Services under section
                319 of the Public Health Service Act.
                    ``(B) An emergency or disaster declared by the
                President pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster
                Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.''.
            (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections for chapter
        7 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the
        end the following:

``120. Assault of hospital personnel.''.
    (c) Grants for the Protection of the Hospital Workforce Against
Violence.--Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of
1968 (34 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.) is amended by inserting after part OO
the following:

  ``PART PP--GRANT PROGRAM FOR HOSPITAL WORKFORCE SAFETY AND SECURITY

``SEC. 3061. GRANT AUTHORIZATION.

    ``(a) In General.--The Attorney General may make grants under this
part to hospitals for the purpose of carrying out programs to reduce
the incidence of violence at hospitals, including violence or
intimidation against hospital personnel in the performance of their
duties.
    ``(b) Use of Funds.--A grant awarded under this part shall be used
to reduce the incidence of violence at hospitals through programs that
may include one or more of the following:
            ``(1) Training hospital personnel to prevent violence or
        intimidation against others or themselves, including de-
        escalation training and specialized training in responding to
        mental health crises.
            ``(2) Coordination with State and local law enforcement.
            ``(3) Placement and use of hospital access control
        technologies, video surveillance, metal detection, panic
        buttons, status alert systems, restricted access capabilities,
        and safe patient and staff rooms, and other violence-prevention
        tools or measures.
            ``(4) Any other measures that the Attorney General
        determines may provide a significant improvement in--
                    ``(A) training for violence prevention at
                hospitals; and
                    ``(B) protection against violence and intimidation
                of hospital personnel.
    ``(c) Preferential Consideration in Awarding Grants.--In awarding
grants under this part, the Attorney General shall give preferential
consideration, if feasible, to an application from a hospital that--
            ``(1) has a demonstrated need for improved security;
            ``(2) has a demonstrated need for financial assistance; and
            ``(3) has evidenced the ability to make the improvements
        for which the grant amounts are sought.
    ``(d) Equitable Distribution of Grant Funds.--In awarding grants
under this part, the Attorney General shall ensure, to the extent
practicable, an equitable geographic distribution among the regions of
the United States and among urban, suburban, and rural areas.
    ``(e) Administrative Costs.--Not more than 2 percent of a grant
made under this part may be used for costs incurred to administer such
grant.

``SEC. 3062. APPLICATIONS.

    ``(a) In General.--To request a grant under this part, the chief
executive of a hospital shall submit an application to the Attorney
General at such time, in such form, and containing such information as
the Attorney General may reasonably require.
    ``(b) Requirements.--Each application under this section shall
include--
            ``(1) a detailed explanation of--
                    ``(A) the intended uses of funds provided under the
                grant; and
                    ``(B) how the activities funded under the grant
                will satisfy the purpose of this part;
            ``(2) an assurance that the applicant shall maintain and
        report such programmatic and financial data, records, and
        information as the Attorney General may reasonably require; and
            ``(3) a certification, made in a form acceptable to the
        Attorney General, that--
                    ``(A) the programs to be funded by the grant meet
                all the requirements of this part;
                    ``(B) all the information contained in the
                application is correct; and
                    ``(C) the applicant will comply with all provisions
                of this part and all other applicable Federal laws.
    ``(c) Guidelines.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this part, the Attorney General shall promulgate
guidelines to implement this section.

``SEC. 3063. ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS; GRANT ACCOUNTABILITY.

    ``(a) Annual Report.--Not later than 90 days after the end of the
fiscal year for which funding for grants under this part is made
available, the Attorney General shall submit to Congress a report
regarding the activities carried out under this part. Each such report
shall include, for the preceding fiscal year, the number of grants
funded under this part, the amount of funds provided under those
grants, and the activities for which those grant funds were used.
    ``(b) Grant Accountability.--Section 3026 (relating to grant
accountability) shall apply to grants awarded by Attorney General under
this part. For purposes of the preceding sentence, any references in
section 3026 to part LL shall be considered references to part PP.

``SEC. 3064. DEFINITION.

    ``For purposes of this part, the term `hospital' has the meaning
given such term in section 120(d)(1) of title 18, United States Code.

``SEC. 3065. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``There are authorized to be appropriated $25,000,000 for each of
fiscal years 2025 through 2034 to carry out this part. Funds
appropriated for a fiscal year pursuant to the preceding sentence shall
remain available until expended.''.
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