S. 5027: Secure Data and Privacy for Contact Tracing Act of 2020
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S. 5027: Secure Data and Privacy for Contact Tracing Act of 2020
116th Congress · introduced 2020-12-16 · Health · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
federal
Follow this bill, step by step
- Where it came from: introduced 2020-12-16 · official record
- Who proposed it: Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI] · what a sponsor is
- What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
- Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
- If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.
Official title
Secure Data and Privacy for Contact Tracing Act of 2020
Plain summary
Secure Data and Privacy for Contact Tracing Act of 2020 This bill requires the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to award grants to public health agencies in states, tribes, and territories to incorporate digital contact tracing technology in COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) contact tracing programs. This technology must meet requirements with respect to contact tracing functions, data security and privacy, and voluntary use. Grantees that develop or procure technology that does not meet these requirements lose eligibility for this funding and future funding for COVID-19 contact tracing technology. Furthermore, as a condition of receiving funding, grantees must (1) undertake an independent security assessment, and (2) develop a plan that delineates how the technology augments existing COVID-19 contact tracing and response efforts and addresses interoperability and protections to limit access to the data. In addition, the bill expressly applies federal privacy standards for the use and disclosure of personal health information by health care providers, health plans, health clearinghouses, and their business associates to contact tracing technology and its use. Current law provides an exception to these standards for personal health information used by, or disclosed to, a public health authority that is legally authorized to collect the information. The bill also prohibits the use of data derived from the contact tracing technology in legal proceedings or for immigration enforcement. The Government Accountability Office must evaluate this program.
Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.
What a vote does
A “Yea” vote
If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.
A “Nay” vote
If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.
PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).
What does this mean? (plain words)
Official text
Secure Data and Privacy for Contact Tracing Act of 2020
Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
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Alternatives
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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes
Officials and money
Sponsor: Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI] · 1 cosponsors
Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.
Cosponsors on this site
Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)
Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI] reported raising $1.8 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.
No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.
Words on this page, explained (3)
- Authorization
- A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
- Bill
- A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
- Securities
- Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.
Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.
Sources
- Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
- Congress.gov
- Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-116s5027.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/116/s>
Record fed-us-cong116-s5027 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116