I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2332 

To amend the Peace Corps Act and the National and Community Service 

Trust Act to increase the affordability of medical education. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 7, 2009 

Mr. MCMAHON (for himself, Mr. SARBANES, and Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 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 

A BILL 

To amend the Peace Corps Act and the National and Community Service Trust Act to increase the affordability 

of medical education. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Future Physicians 

5 Serving America Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
2 

•HR 2332 IH

1 (1) A predicted shortage of 124,000 physicians 

2 by 2025 will affect all medical specialties. 

3 (2) An aging and growing population will in4 crease demand on all health professionals. 

5 (3) Median debt of $155,000 for medical school 

6 graduates poses a significant hardship for new phy7 sicians and places a strain on the health care sys8 tem. 

9 (4) Providing members of the Peace Corps and 

10 AmeriCorps with support for medical education is 

11 consistent with the values of these programs and the 

12 United States. 

13 (5) Increasing medical school enrollment of 

14 members of the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps will 

15 improve the supply, distribution, diversity, and qual16 ity of physicians in the health care workforce by— 

17 (A) providing low-income individuals with 

18 the opportunity to attend medical school at a 

19 lower cost; 

20 (B) lowering the overall cost of medical 

21 school and the debt burden of medical school 

22 graduates; 

23 (C) increasing the cultural diversity of 

24 medical schools and the physician workforce; 

25 and 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
3 

•HR 2332 IH

1 (D) increasing the number of physicians 

2 with a demonstrated interest in rural and inner 

3 city populations. 

4 SEC. 3. PROVIDING EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE TO PEACE 

5 CORPS VOLUNTEERS. 

6 (a) MEDICAL EDUCATION ASSISTANCE BENEFITS.— 

7 Section 5 of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2504) is 

8 amended by adding at the end the following new sub9 section: 

10 ‘‘(o) For each year of service, as defined under sec11 tion 26(e), a volunteer who is accepted for enrollment, or 

12 enrolled, in a course of study or program at any accredited 

13 public or nonprofit private hospital, school of medicine or 

14 osteopathic medicine within the United States for the pur15 pose of undergraduate medical education shall be granted 

16 tuition assistance for a maximum of two years. The Presi17 dent shall determine the amount of such assistance, to be 

18 not less than 50 percent but not more than 100 percent 

19 of the cost of such tuition incurred by such volunteer.’’. 

20 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—Section 15 of the Peace Corps 

21 Act (22 U.S.C. 2514) is amended by adding at the end 

22 the following new subsection: 

23 ‘‘(e) Funds made available for the purposes of this 

24 Act may be used for tuition assistance in accordance with 

25 subsection (o) of section 5, if the volunteer described in 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
4 

•HR 2332 IH

1 such subsection is accepted for enrollment, or remains en2 rolled full-time in a course of study or program described 

3 in such subsection within three years of the completion 

4 of service by such volunteer.’’. 

5 SEC. 4. PROVIDING EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE TO 

6 AMERICORPS VOLUNTEERS. 

7 Section 147 of the National and Community Service 

8 Trust Act (42 U.S.C. 12603), as amended by the Serve 

9 America Act, is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing new paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(f) AMOUNT FOR NATIONAL SERVICE FOR INDIVID12 UALS ENTERING THE STUDY OF MEDICINE.— 

13 ‘‘(1) FULL-TIME VOLUNTEERS.—Except as pro14 vided in subsection (c), an individual described in 

15 section 146(a) who successfully completes a required 

16 term of full-time national service in an approved na17 tional service position and enters a course of study 

18 or program at any accredited public or nonprofit pri19 vate hospital, school of medicine or osteopathic med20 icine within the United States for the purpose of un21 dergraduate medical education shall receive a na22 tional service educational award having a value, for 

23 each of not more than 2 of such terms of service, 

24 equal to no less than 50 percent, nor to exceed 100 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
5 

•HR 2332 IH

1 percent of the cost of tuition incurred by such indi2 vidual. 

3 ‘‘(2) PART-TIME VOLUNTEERS.—Except as pro4 vided in subsection (c), an individual described in 

5 section 146(a) who successfully completes a required 

6 term of part-time national service in an approved 

7 national service position and enters a course of 

8 study or program at any accredited public or non9 profit private hospital, school of medicine or osteo10 pathic medicine within the United States for the 

11 purpose of undergraduate medical education shall 

12 receive a national service educational award having 

13 a value, for each of not more than 2 of such terms 

14 of service, equal to 50 percent of value of the na15 tional service educational award determined under 

16 paragraph (1).’’. 

Æ 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS