United States HR 2999: Direct CARE Opportunity Act

Bill Text

I 
117THCONGRESS 
1
STSESSION 
H. R. 2999 
To award grants for the recruitment, retention, and advancement of direct 
care workers. 
IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  
MAY4, 2021 
Mr.  S
COTTof  Virginia  (for  himself,  Ms.  WILD,  and  Mrs.  LEEof  Nevada)  in-
troduced  the  following  bill;  which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Edu-
cation  and  Labor,  and  in  addition  to  the  Committee  on  Energy  and  Com-
merce,  for  a  period  to  be  subsequently  determined  by  the  Speaker,  in  
each  case  for  consideration  of  such  provisions  as  fall  within  the  jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned 
A  BILL  
To award grants for the recruitment, retention, and 
advancement of direct care workers. 
Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa-1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
This  Act  may  be  cited  as  the  ‘‘Direct  Creation,  Ad-4
vancement,  and  Retention  of  Employment  Opportunity  5
Act’’ or the ‘‘Direct CARE Opportunity Act’’. 6
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 7
Congress finds the following: 8
VerDate Sep 11 2014     23:37 Jun 18, 2021    Jkt 019200    PO 00000    Frm 00001    Fmt 6652    Sfmt 6201    E:\BILLS\H2999.IH    H2999
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS

2 
•HR  2999  IH
(1)   Nearly   20,000,000   adults   in   the   United   1
States  require  assistance  completing  self-care  and  2
other  daily  tasks  due  to  physical,  cognitive,  develop-3
mental,  or  behavioral  conditions.  This  number  in-4
cludes  about  17,000,000  individuals  living  in  the  5
community,  1,500,000  residing  in  nursing  homes,  6
and  nearly  1,000,000  in  residential  care.  The  num-7
ber  of  people  needing  this  type  of  assistance  is  ex-8
pected  to  rise  as  the  percentage  of  the  population  9
that  is  over  age  65  increases  dramatically  in  the  10
coming decades. 11
(2)  The  assistance  of  direct  care  workers  allows  12
older  individuals  and  individuals  with  disabilities  to  13
live  with  dignity  and  safety,  and  to  exercise  their  14
right  to  live  independently  in  their  own  homes  and  15
communities,  in  keeping  with  what  is  most  appro-16
priate  for  their  needs  and  preferences.  Older  individ-17
uals  and  individuals  with  disabilities  may  also  par-18
ticipate  in  the  direct  care  workforce,  further  sup-19
porting their ability to live independently. 20
(3)  According  to  PHI,  direct  care  workers  pro-21
vide  most  of  the  paid,  hands-on  care  for  older  indi-22
viduals and individuals with disabilities. 23
(4)  From  2014  to  2024,  home  care  occupations  24
are  projected  to  add  more  jobs  than  any  other  single  25
VerDate Sep 11 2014     23:37 Jun 18, 2021    Jkt 019200    PO 00000    Frm 00002    Fmt 6652    Sfmt 6201    E:\BILLS\H2999.IH    H2999
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS

3 
•HR  2999  IH
occupation,  with  an  additional  633,100  new  jobs.  1
Home  care  is  also  among  the  top  10  fastest-growing  2
occupations,  and  with  the  projected  growth  in  the  3
population  over  age  65,  this  may  underestimate  the  4
number  of  home  care  workers  that  will  be  needed  to  5
provide care for this growing population. 6
(5)  Many  direct  care  workers  lack  access  to  a  7
career  pathway  or  advanced  training  opportunities.  8
This  limits  their  ability  to  build  competency  and  ex-9
pertise  in  their  field  that,  when  gained,  may  lead  to  10
an  increase  in  their  earning  capacity.  According  to  11
PHI,  more  than  half  of  home  care  workers  have  12
completed  no  formal  education  beyond  high  school,  13
making  high-quality,  transferable  training  essential  14
to success on the job. 15
(6)  As  of  2018,  the  median  wage  for  direct  care  16
workers  is  $12.27  per  hour  and  wages  and  earnings  17
for  home  care  workers  are  even  lower  in  rural  areas.  18
Because  of  low  wages,  variable  work  hours,  and  the  19
inability  to  access  workplace-based  benefits,  44  per-20
cent  of  such  workers  live  in  low-income  households,  21
and  15  percent  of  the  workers  from  such  households  22
live  below  the  poverty  line.  Nearly  half  of  direct  care  23
workers  rely  on  some  form  of  public  assistance  to  24
support themselves and their families. 25
VerDate Sep 11 2014     23:37 Jun 18, 2021    Jkt 019200    PO 00000    Frm 00003    Fmt 6652    Sfmt 6201    E:\BILLS\H2999.IH    H2999
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS

4 
•HR  2999  IH
(7)  According  to  PHI,  the  direct  care  workforce  1
is  primarily  comprised  of  low  income  women  and  2
people  of  color.  Approximately  9  in  10  direct  care  3
workers  are  women,  more  than  half  are  women  of  4
color,  and  one  quarter  of  direct  care  workers  are  im-5
migrants. 6
(8)  The  direct  care  workforce  is  plagued  with  7
high  turnover,  low  job