II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 522 

To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to award grants to establish, 

or expand upon, master’s degree or doctoral degree programs in orthotics 

and prosthetics, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 11, 2013 

Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, and Mr. HARKIN) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to award grants 

to establish, or expand upon, master’s degree or doctoral 

degree programs in orthotics and prosthetics, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wounded Warrior 

5 Workforce Enhancement Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ORTHOTICS AND PROSTHETICS EDUCATION IM7 PROVEMENT. 

8 (a) GRANTS REQUIRED.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans 

2 Affairs shall award grants to eligible institutions to 

3 enable the eligible institutions— 

4 (A) to establish a master’s degree or doc5 toral degree program in orthotics and pros6 thetics; or 

7 (B) to expand upon an existing master’s 

8 degree program in orthotics and prosthetics, in9 cluding by admitting more students, further 

10 training faculty, expanding facilities, or increas11 ing cooperation with the Department of Vet12 erans Affairs and the Department of Defense. 

13 (2) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give pri14 ority in the award of grants under this section to eli15 gible institutions that have entered into a partner16 ship with a medical center or clinic administered by 

17 the Department of Veterans Affairs or a facility ad18 ministered by the Department of Defense, including 

19 by providing clinical rotations at such medical cen20 ter, clinic, or facility. 

21 (3) GRANT AMOUNTS.—Grants awarded under 

22 this section shall be in amounts of not less than 

23 $1,000,000 and not more than $1,500,000. 

24 (b) REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

2 the date of the enactment of this Act and annually 

3 thereafter for two years, the Secretary shall issue a 

4 request for proposals from eligible institutions for 

5 grants under this section. 

6 (2) PROPOSALS.—An eligible institution that 

7 seeks the award of a grant under this section shall 

8 submit an application therefor to the Secretary at 

9 such time, in such manner, and accompanied by 

10 such information as the Secretary may require, in11 cluding— 

12 (A) demonstration of a willingness and 

13 ability to participate in a partnership described 

14 in subsection (a)(2); and 

15 (B) a commitment, and demonstration of 

16 an ability, to maintain an accredited orthotics 

17 and prosthetics education program after the 

18 end of the grant period. 

19 (c) GRANT USES.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible institution 

21 awarded a grant under this section shall use grant 

22 amounts to carry out any of the following: 

23 (A) Building new or expanding existing 

24 orthotics and prosthetics master’s or doctoral 

25 programs. 


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1 (B) Training doctoral candidates in fields 

2 related to orthotics and prosthetics to prepare 

3 them to instruct in orthotics and prosthetics 

4 programs. 

5 (C) Training faculty in orthotics and pros6 thetics education or related fields for the pur7 pose of instruction in orthotics and prosthetics 

8 programs. 

9 (D) Salary supplementation for faculty in 

10 orthotics and prosthetics education. 

11 (E) Financial aid that allows eligible insti12 tutions to admit additional students to study 

13 orthotics and prosthetics. 

14 (F) Funding faculty research projects or 

15 faculty time to undertake research in the areas 

16 of orthotics and prosthetics for the purpose of 

17 furthering their teaching abilities. 

18 (G) Renovation of buildings or minor con19 struction to house orthotics and prosthetics 

20 education programs. 

21 (H) Purchasing equipment for orthotics 

22 and prosthetics education. 

23 (2) LIMITATION ON CONSTRUCTION.—An eligi24 ble institution awarded a grant under this section 


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1 may use not more than 50 percent of the grant 

2 amount to carry out paragraph (1)(G). 

3 (3) ADMISSIONS PREFERENCE.—An eligible in4 stitution awarded a grant under this section shall 

5 give preference in admission to the orthotics and 

6 prosthetics master’s or doctoral programs to vet7 erans, to the extent practicable. 

8 (4) PERIOD OF USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible in9 stitution awarded a grant under this section may use 

10 the grant funds for a period of three years after the 

11 award of the grant. 

12 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 (1) The term ‘‘eligible institution’’ means an 

14 educational institution that offers an orthotics and 

15 prosthetics education program that— 

16 (A) is accredited by the National Commis17 sion on Orthotic and Prosthetic Education in 

18 cooperation with the Commission on Accredita19 tion of Allied Health Education Programs (re20 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘National Com21 mission’’); or 

22 (B) demonstrates an ability to meet the ac23 creditation requirements for orthotic and pros24 thetic education from the National Commission 


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1 if the institution receives a grant under this 

2 section. 

3 (2) The term ‘‘veteran’’ has the meaning given 

4 that term in section 101 of title 38, United States 

5 Code. 

6 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

8 appropriated for fiscal year 2014 for the Depart9 ment of Veterans Affairs, $15,000,000 to carry out 

10 this section. The amount so authorized to be appro11 priated shall remain available for obligation until 

12 September 30, 2016. 

13 (2) UNOBLIGATED AMOUNTS TO BE RETURNED

14 TO THE TREASURY.—Any amounts authorized to be 

15 appropriated by paragraph (1) that are not obligated 

16 by the Secretary as of September 30, 2016, shall be 

17 returned to the Treasury of the United States. 

18 SEC. 3. CENTER OF EXCELLENCE IN ORTHOTIC AND PROS19 THETIC EDUCATION. 

20 (a) GRANT FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF CENTER.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans 

22 Affairs shall award a grant to an eligible institution 

23 to enable the eligible institution to— 


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1 (A) establish the Center of Excellence in 

2 Orthotic and Prosthetic Education (hereafter in 

3 this section referred to as the ‘‘Center’’); and 

4 (B) enable the eligible institution to im5 prove orthotic and prosthetic outcomes for vet6 erans, members of the Armed Forces, and civil7 ians by conducting evidence-based research 

8 on— 

9 (i) the knowledge, skills, and training 

10 most needed by clinical professionals in the 

11 field of orthotics and prosthetics; and 

12 (ii) how to most effectively prepare 

13 clinical professionals to provide effective, 

14 high-quality orthotic and prosthetic care. 

15 (2) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give pri16 ority in the award of a grant under this section to 

17 an eligible institution that has in force, or dem18 onstrates the willingness and ability to enter into, a 

19 memoranda of understanding with the Department 

20 of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense, or 

21 other appropriate Government agency, or a coopera22 tive agreement with an appropriate private sector 

23 entity, which memorandum of understanding or co24 operative agreement provides for either, or both, of 

25 the following: 


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1 (A) The provision of resources, whether in 

2 cash or in kind, to the Center. 

3 (B) To assist the Center in research and 

4 the dissemination of the results of such re5 search. 

6 (3) GRANT AMOUNT.—The grant awarded 

7 under this section shall be in the amount of 

8 $5,000,000. 

9 (b) REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

11 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

12 shall issue a request for proposals from eligible insti13 tutions for a grant under this section. 

14 (2) PROPOSALS.—An eligible institution that 

15 seeks the award of the grant under this section shall 

16 submit an application therefor to the Secretary at 

17 such time, in such manner, and accompanied by 

18 such information as the Secretary may require. 

19 (c) GRANT USES.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The eligible institution 

21 awarded the grant under this section shall use the 

22 grant amount for purposes as follows: 

23 (A) To develop an agenda for orthotics and 

24 prosthetics education research. 


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1 (B) To fund research in the area of 

2 orthotics and prosthetics education. 

3 (C) To publish or otherwise disseminate 

4 research findings relating to orthotics and pros5 thetics education. 

6 (2) PERIOD OF USE OF FUNDS.—The eligible 

7 institution awarded the grant under this section may 

8 use the grant amount for a period of five years after 

9 the award of the grant. 

10 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 (1) The term ‘‘eligible institution’’ means an 

12 educational institution that— 

13 (A) has a robust research program; 

14 (B) offers an orthotics and prosthetics 

15 education program that is accredited by the Na16 tional Commission on Orthotic and Prosthetic 

17 Education in cooperation with the Commission 

18 on Accreditation of Allied Health Education 

19 Programs; 

20 (C) is well recognized in the field of 

21 orthotics and prosthetics education; and 

22 (D) has an established association with— 

23 (i) a medical center or clinic of the 

24 Department of Veterans Affairs; and 

25 (ii) a local rehabilitation hospital. 


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1 (2) The term ‘‘veteran’’ has the meaning given 

2 that term in section 101 of title 38, United States 

3 Code. 

4 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

5 authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2014 for the 

6 Department of Veterans Affairs, $5,000,000 to carry out 

7 this section. 

Æ 


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