A bill to amend title VIII of the Public Health Service Act to expand the nurse student loan program, to establish grant programs to address the nursing shortage, to amend title VII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for a nurse faculty pilot project, and for other purposes.

Summary: Nursing Education Opportunities Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to include accelerated degree nursing students who pursue a second baccalaureate degree or a master's degree as an entry level nursing degree as eligible for financial assistance through nursing programs in the Act, including the Nursing Student Loan Program. Raises the yearly loan amounts available to all nursing students through that Program. Modifies the definition of "collegiate school of nursing" to include accelerated nursing degree programs.

Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in the case of a nurse faculty shortage, to obligate more than 10% of traineeships for individuals in doctoral degree programs.

Directs the Secretary to award grants to: (1) eligible entities to establish doctoral nursing degree programs, giving priority to such entities located in states in which there are no such programs; and (2) partnerships of eligible entities to establish doctoral nursing consortia to enhance and expand the availability of doctoral nurse faculty and education by enabling the partners to share doctoral faculty and programmatic resources.

Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary to award grants to partnerships composed of an accredited nursing school at an institution of higher education and a hospital or health facility to establish up to five pilot projects to enable such hospital or facility to retain its staff of experienced nurses while providing a mechanism to have these individuals become, through an accelerated nursing education program, faculty members of an accredited nursing school.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Nursing Education Opportunities 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The American Hospital Association reported in July 2007 
        that United States hospitals need approximately 116,000 
        registered nurses to fill vacant positions nationwide.
            (2) To address the shortage of qualified nurses, schools of 
        nursing have developed accelerated, second-baccalaureate degree 
        programs in nursing. In 2005, these programs graduated 3,769 
        students. The number of accelerated degree graduates in 2006 
        was 5,236. This is an additional 1,467 nursing graduates in 1 
        year.
            (3) Despite the nurse shortage and efforts to increase the 
        pool of qualified nurses, schools of nursing struggle to 
        increase student capacity. According to the American 
        Association of Colleges of Nursing (referred to in this Act as 
        the ``AACN''), United States nursing schools turned away nearly 
        43,000 qualified applicants in 2006 primarily due to an 
        insufficient number of faculty.
            (4) The AACN reported in July 2006, a total of 637 faculty 
        vacancies at 329 nursing schools with baccalaureate or graduate 
        programs, or both, across the Nation. Besides the vacancies, 
        schools cited the need to create an additional 55 faculty 
        positions to accommodate student demand. Most of the vacancies 
        (53.7 percent) were faculty positions requiring a doctoral 
        degree.
            (5) In 2007, the Association of Academic Health Centers 
        surveyed chief executive officers (CEOs) from academic health 
        centers regarding faculty shortages across various health 
        professions. The CEOs rated the nursing faculty shortage as the 
        most severe of all health professions with 81 percent noting 
        the nursing faculty shortage as a problem.
            (6) The average ages of doctorally-prepared nurse faculty 
        holding the ranks of professor, associate professor, and 
        assistant professor are 58.6, 55.8, and 51.6 years, 
        respectively. Considering the average age of nurse faculty at 
        retirement is 62.5 years, a wave of nurse faculty retirements 
        is expected in the next decade.
            (7) Master's and doctoral programs in nursing are not 
        producing a large enough pool of potential nurse educators to 
        meet the demand. In 2006, the AACN found that graduations from 
        doctoral nursing programs were up by only 1.4 percent from the 
        previous academic year.
            (8) Nurses are vital to the Nation's health care delivery 
        system. Due to the nurse shortage, patient safety and quality 
        of care are at risk. Given the findings described in paragraphs 
        (1) through (7), measures must be taken to address the nurse 
        shortage and nursing faculty shortage.

SEC. 3. NURSING STUDENT LOAN PROGRAM.

    Title VIII of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 296 et seq.) 
is amended--
            (1) in section 835(b)(4), by inserting ``(including a 
        student in an accelerated nursing degree program who is 
        pursuing a second baccalaureate degree or a master's degree as 
        an entry level nursing degree)'' after ``graduate degree in 
        nursing''; and
            (2) in section 836--
                    (A) in subsection (a)--
                            (i) by striking ``$2,500'' and inserting 
                        ``$4,400'';
                            (ii) by striking ``$4,000'' and inserting 
                        ``$7,000''; and
                            (iii) by striking ``$13,000'' and inserting 
                        ``$22,900''; and
                    (B) in subsection (b)--
                            (i) in paragraph (1), by inserting 
                        ``(including a student in an accelerated 
                        nursing degree program who is pursuing a second 
                        baccalaureate degree or a master's degree as an 
                        entry level nursing degree)'' after ``graduate 
                        degree in nursing''; and
                            (ii) in paragraph (2), by inserting 
                        ``(including a student in an accelerated 
                        nursing degree program who is pursuing a second 
                        baccalaureate degree)'' after ``equivalent 
                        degree''.

SEC. 4. ACCELERATED NURSING DEGREE PROGRAMS.

    Section 801(3) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 296(3)) 
is amended by inserting ``(including an accelerated nursing degree 
program)'' before ``and including''.

SEC. 5. ADVANCED EDUCATION NURSING GRANTS.

    Section 811(f)(2) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
296j(f)(2)) is amended by striking the period at the end and inserting 
``, except in the case of a nurse faculty shortage, the Secretary may, 
in the Secretary's discretion, obligate more than 10 percent of such 
traineeships for individuals in doctoral degree programs.''.

SEC. 6. GRANT PROGRAM FOR DOCTORAL NURSING PROGRAMS.

    Part D of title VIII of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
296p et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 832. GRANT PROGRAM FOR DOCTORAL NURSING PROGRAMS.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall award grants to eligible 
entities to enable the eligible entities to establish doctoral nursing 
degree programs.
    ``(b) Eligible Entity.--In this section, the term `eligible entity' 
means an entity that is 1 of the `eligible entities' as such term is 
defined in section 801.
    ``(c) Application.--An eligible entity that desires a grant under 
this section shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, 
in such manner, and accompanied by such information as the Secretary 
may require.
    ``(d) Selection of Grant Recipients.--Not later than 6 months after 
the date of enactment of the Nursing Education Opportunities Act, the 
Secretary shall establish requirements and procedures for the 
administration of grants under this section and procedures for 
selecting grant recipients. In awarding grants under this section, the 
Secretary shall consider the following:
            ``(1) Doctoral nursing program distribution.--Providing 
        priority to eligible entities located in States in which there 
        are no doctoral nursing degree programs.
            ``(2) Geographic distribution.--Providing an equitable 
        geographic distribution of such grants.
            ``(3) Rural and urban areas.--Distributing such grants to 
        rural and urban areas.
            ``(4) Prior experience or exceptional programs.--Whether 
        the eligible entity has demonstrated--
                    ``(A) prior experience in, or exceptional programs 
                for, the preparation of baccalaureate prepared nurses 
                or master's prepared nurses; and
                    ``(B) an interest in establishing a doctoral 
                nursing degree program.
    ``(e) Grant Amount.--Each grant awarded under this section shall be 
equal to not more than $2,000,000.
    ``(f) Grant Duration.--A grant awarded under this section shall be 
for a period of not more than 5 years.
    ``(g) Use of Funds.--An eligible entity that receives a grant under 
this section shall use the grant funds to establish a doctoral nursing 
degree program, including--
            ``(1) hiring administrators, faculty, and staff;
            ``(2) retaining current faculty;
            ``(3) developing doctoral curriculum;
            ``(4) repairing and expanding infrastructures;
            ``(5) purchasing educational equipment;
            ``(6) developing and enhancing clinical laboratories;
            ``(7) recruiting students;
            ``(8) establishing technology infrastructures; and
            ``(9) other investments determined necessary by the 
        eligible entity for the development of a doctoral nursing 
        degree program.
    ``(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section not more than $40,000,000 for 
fiscal year 2008 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 4 
succeeding fiscal years.''.

SEC. 7. DOCTORAL NURSING CONSORTIA PILOT PROJECT.

    Part D of title VIII of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
296p et seq.), as amended by section 6, is further amended by adding at 
the end the following:

``SEC. 833. DOCTORAL NURSING CONSORTIA PILOT PROJECT.

    ``(a) Purpose.--The purpose of the pilot project under this section 
is to provide grants to partnerships of eligible entities to establish 
consortia to enhance and expand the availability of doctoral nurse 
faculty and education by enabling the partners involved to share 
doctoral faculty and programmatic resources so that the nursing faculty 
shortage does not further inhibit the preparation of future nurses or 
nurse faculty.
    ``(b) In General.--The Secretary shall award grants to partnerships 
of eligible entities to enable the partnerships to establish doctoral 
nursing consortia.
    ``(c) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Doctoral nursing consortium.--The term `doctoral 
        nursing consortium' means a partnership that includes 2 or more 
        of--
                    ``(A) eligible entities within the same State;
                    ``(B) eligible entities within different States; or
                    ``(C) eligible entities establishing a doctoral 
                nursing program.
            ``(2) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 832(b).
    ``(d) Application.--A partnership of eligible entities that desires 
a grant under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary 
at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as 
the Secretary may require. Such partnership may apply for a grant under 
this section each year of the pilot project.
    ``(e) Selection.--Not later than 6 months after the date of 
enactment of the Nursing Education Opportunities Act, the Secretary 
shall establish requirements and procedures for the administration of 
grants under this section and procedures for selecting grant 
recipients.
    ``(f) Consideration in Making Awards.--In awarding grants under 
this section, the Secretary shall consider the following:
            ``(1) Prior experience or exceptional programs.--Eligible 
        entities that have demonstrated prior experience in, or 
        exceptional programs for, the preparation of--
                    ``(A) doctorally prepared nursing faculty and 
                nursing researchers; and
                    ``(B) baccalaureate prepared nurses or master's 
                prepared nurses.
            ``(2) Geographic distribution.--Providing an equitable 
        geographic distribution of such grants.
            ``(3) Rural and urban areas.--Distributing such grants to 
        rural and urban areas.
            ``(4) New grantees.--Awarding grants to eligible entities 
        that have not previously received a grant under this section.
    ``(g) Grant Amount.--The Secretary shall determine the amount of 
each grant awarded under this section based on the purpose of this 
section, which amount shall not be more than $500,000.
    ``(h) Use of Funds.--A partnership of eligible entities that 
receives a grant under this section shall use the grant funds to 
establish a doctoral nursing consortium that shall share doctoral 
faculty and programmatic resources, such as--
            ``(1) establishing technology infrastructures;
            ``(2) developing shared doctoral curriculum;
            ``(3) hiring faculty and staff;
            ``(4) retaining current faculty;
            ``(5) providing travel stipends for nursing faculty who 
        agree to teach nursing courses at another eligible entity 
        within the doctoral nursing consortium;
            ``(6) providing scholarships for post-doctoral fellows who 
        agree to teach a nursing course within the nursing doctoral 
        consortium;
            ``(7) providing collaborative networks for nursing 
        research; and
            ``(8) other investments determined necessary by the 
        eligible entities for use within the doctoral nursing 
        consortium.
    ``(i) Grant Duration.--The pilot project under this section shall 
be for a period of not more than 5 years.
    ``(j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section not more than $10,000,000 for 
fiscal year 2008 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 4 
succeeding fiscal years.''.

SEC. 8. NURSE FACULTY PILOT PROJECT.

    Title VII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1133 et 
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

                 ``PART F--NURSE FACULTY PILOT PROJECT

``SEC. 781. PURPOSES.

    ``The purposes of this part are to create a pilot program--
            ``(1) to provide scholarships to qualified nurses in 
        pursuit of an advanced degree with the goal of becoming faculty 
        members in an accredited nursing program; and
            ``(2) to provide grants to partnerships between accredited 
        schools of nursing and hospitals or health facilities to fund 
        release time for qualified nurse employees, so that those 
        employees can earn a salary while obtaining an advanced degree 
        in nursing with the goal of becoming nurse faculty.

``SEC. 782. ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED.

    ``(a) Competitive Grants Authorized.--The Secretary may, on a 
competitive basis, award grants to, and enter into contracts and 
cooperative agreements with, partnerships composed of an accredited 
school of nursing at an institution of higher education and a hospital 
or health facility to establish not more than 5 pilot projects to 
enable such hospital or health facility to retain its staff of 
experienced nurses while providing a mechanism to have these 
individuals become, through an accelerated nursing education program, 
faculty members of an accredited school of nursing.
    ``(b) Duration; Evaluation and Dissemination.--
            ``(1) Duration.--Grants under this part shall be awarded 
        for a period of 3 to 5 years.
            ``(2) Mandatory evaluation and dissemination.--Grants under 
        this part shall be primarily used for evaluation, and 
        dissemination to other institutions of higher education, of the 
        information obtained through the activities described in 
        section 781(2).
    ``(c) Considerations in Making Awards.--In awarding grants and 
entering into contracts and cooperative agreements under this section, 
the Secretary shall consider the following:
            ``(1) Geographic distribution.--Providing an equitable 
        geographic distribution of such grants.
            ``(2) Rural and urban areas.--Distributing such grants to 
        urban and rural areas.
            ``(3) Range and type of institution.--Ensuring that the 
        activities to be assisted are developed for a range of types 
        and sizes of institutions of higher education.
            ``(4) Prior experience or exceptional programs.--
        Institutions of higher education with demonstrated prior 
        experience in providing advanced nursing education programs to 
        prepare nurses interested in pursuing a faculty role.
    ``(d) Uses of Funds.--Funds made available by grant, contract, or 
cooperative agreement under this part may be used--
            ``(1) to develop a new national demonstration initiative to 
        align nursing education with the emerging challenges of 
        healthcare delivery; and
            ``(2) for any 1 or more of the following innovations in 
        educational programs:
                    ``(A) To develop a clinical simulation laboratory 
                in a hospital, health facility, or accredited school of 
                nursing.
                    ``(B) To purchase distance learning technologies.
                    ``(C) To fund release time for qualified nurses 
                enrolled in the graduate nursing program.
                    ``(D) To provide for faculty salaries.
                    ``(E) To collect and analyze data on educational 
                outcomes.

``SEC. 783. APPLICATIONS.

    ``Each partnership desiring to receive a grant, contract, or 
cooperative agreement under this part shall submit an application to 
the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such 
information as the Secretary may require. Each application shall 
include assurances that--
            ``(1) the individuals enrolled in the program will be 
        qualified nurses in pursuit of a master's or doctoral degree in 
        nursing and have a contractual obligation with the hospital or 
        health facility that is in partnership with the institution of 
        higher education;
            ``(2) the hospital or health facility of employment would 
        be the clinical site for the accredited school of nursing 
        program;
            ``(3) individuals will also maintain their employment on a 
        part time basis to the hospital or health facility that allowed 
        them to participate in the program, and will receive an income 
        from the hospital or health facility, as a part time employee, 
        and release times or flexible schedules to accommodate the 
        individuals' class schedules; and
            ``(4) upon completion of the program, an individual agrees 
        to teach for 2 years in an accredited school of nursing for 
        each year of support the individual received under this 
        program.

``SEC. 784. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``There are authorized to be appropriated for this part not more 
than $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 and such sums as may be necessary 
for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.

``SEC. 785. DEFINITION.

    ``For purposes of this part, the term `health facility' means an 
Indian Health Service health service center, a Native Hawaiian health 
center, a hospital, a Federally qualified health center, a rural health 
clinic, a nursing home, a home health agency, a hospice program, a 
public health clinic, a State or local department of public health, a 
skilled nursing facility, or ambulatory surgical center.''.