II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4238 

To amend title III of the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary 

of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of 

the Health Resources and Services Administration, to award grants to 

eligible entities to carry out construction or modernization projects designed to strengthen and increase capacity within the specialized pediatric 

health care infrastructure, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 2, 2024 

Mr. PADILLA (for himself and Mr. CASEY) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend title III of the Public Health Service Act to 

direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources 

and Services Administration, to award grants to eligible 

entities to carry out construction or modernization 

projects designed to strengthen and increase capacity 

within the specialized pediatric health care infrastructure, and for other purposes. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pediatric Access to 

3 Critical Health Care Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. PEDIATRIC HEALTH CARE CAPACITY GRANTS. 

5 Part D of title III of the Public Health Service Act 

6 (42 U.S.C. 254b et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

7 the following: 

8 ‘‘Subpart XIII—Pediatric Health Care Capacity 

9 ‘‘SEC. 340J. PEDIATRIC HEALTH CARE CAPACITY GRANTS. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 

11 the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services 

12 Administration, shall award grants to eligible entities to 

13 carry out construction or modernization projects designed 

14 to strengthen and increase capacity within pediatric health 

15 care infrastructure. 

16 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to receive 

17 a grant under subsection (a), an entity shall be a— 

18 ‘‘(1) children’s hospital; 

19 ‘‘(2) a facility that is eligible to receive funds 

20 under section 340E; or 

21 ‘‘(3) a nonprofit medical facility that predomi22 nantly treats individuals under the age of 21. 

23 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity selected to 

24 receive a grant under subsection (a) may use funds re25 ceived through the grant for— 


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1 ‘‘(1) expanding pediatric critical health care in2 frastructure, including the expansion, renovation, re3 modeling, and alteration of existing buildings (but 

4 not including the cost of acquisition of land or off5 site improvements); 

6 ‘‘(2) maintaining and enhancing pediatric emer7 gency preparedness; 

8 ‘‘(3) increasing the training, development, and 

9 retention of the pediatric health care workforce; 

10 ‘‘(4) upgrading digital health infrastructure, in11 cluding upgrades related to preventing and address12 ing cybersecurity threats; 

13 ‘‘(5) building additional patient care capacity to 

14 expand access to care; and 

15 ‘‘(6) other activities related to strengthening 

16 and increasing capacity within the pediatric health 

17 care infrastructure, as determined by the Secretary. 

18 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity seeking a 

19 grant under subsection (a) shall submit to the Secretary 

20 an application, at such time, in such manner, and con21 taining such information as the Secretary may require, in22 cluding— 

23 ‘‘(1) a description of the activities described in 

24 subsection (c) that the entity plans to carry out; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) such documentation as may be necessary 

2 to demonstrate, to the Secretary’s satisfaction, the 

3 estimated cost of the project for which the grant is 

4 made. 

5 ‘‘(e) CONSIDERATIONS.—In awarding grants under 

6 this section, the Secretary, to the extent practicable, may 

7 ensure equitable distribution of awards among the geo8 graphical regions of the United States. 

9 ‘‘(f) PRIORITY.—In selecting eligible entities to re10 ceive a grant under subsection (a), the Secretary shall give 

11 priority to eligible entities— 

12 ‘‘(1) with respect to which over 60 percent of 

13 the patients served are receiving medical assistance 

14 under a State plan (or a waiver of such plan) under 

15 title XIX of the Social Security Act or child health 

16 assistance under a State child health plan (or a 

17 waiver of such plan) under title XXI of such Act; or 

18 ‘‘(2) that primarily serve children from diverse 

19 and traditionally underserved populations, including 

20 racial and ethnic minorities. 

21 ‘‘(g) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Funds pro22 vided under this section shall be used to supplement, and 

23 not supplant, Federal and non-Federal funds available for 

24 carrying out the activities described in this section. 


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1 ‘‘(h) MATCHING FUNDS.—An eligible entity receiving 

2 a grant under this section shall provide funds from sources 

3 other than funds provided through such grant in an 

4 amount that is at least equal to 50 percent of the amount 

5 of such grant. 

6 ‘‘(i) REPORTING.— 

7 ‘‘(1) REPORTS FROM GRANTEES.—Following 

8 project completion, each entity awarded a grant 

9 under this section shall submit a report to the Sec10 retary on the activities conducted under such grant, 

11 and other information as the Secretary may require. 

12 ‘‘(2) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 

13 September 30, 2026, and every 5 years thereafter, 

14 the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on En15 ergy and Commerce of the House of Representatives 

16 and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 

17 and Pensions of the Senate a report on the activities 

18 conducted through the grant program under this 

19 section, and the outcomes of such projects. Such re20 ports shall include— 

21 ‘‘(A) the number of projects supported by 

22 the grants under subsection (a); 

23 ‘‘(B) an overview of the impact, if any, of 

24 such projects on pediatric health care infraVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Jun 01, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4238.IS S4238

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1 structure, including any impact on access to 

2 health care for pediatric populations; 

3 ‘‘(C) recommendations for improving the 

4 grant program under this section; and 

5 ‘‘(D) any other considerations as the Sec6 retary determines appropriate. 

7 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

8 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

9 $600,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 

10 2033.’’. 

Æ 


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