I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1929 

To provide relief for the shortage of nurses in the United States, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 13, 2011 

Mr. SENSENBRENNER (for himself and Mr. POLIS) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 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 provide relief for the shortage of nurses in the United 

States, 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 ‘‘Emergency Nursing 

5 Supply Relief Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. NURSING SHORTAGE RELIEF. 

7 (a) INCREASING VISA NUMBERS.—Section 106 of the 

8 American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century 


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1 Act of 2000 (Public Law 106–313; 8 U.S.C. 1153 note) 

2 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(e) VISA SHORTAGE RELIEF FOR NURSES.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

5 for petitions filed any time prior to September 30, 

6 2014, for employment-based immigrants (and their 

7 family members accompanying or following to join 

8 under section 203(d) of the Immigration and Na9 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(d))), which are or have 

10 been approved based on Schedule A, Group I as de11 fined in section 656.5 of title 20, Code of Federal 

12 Regulations, as promulgated by the Secretary of 

13 Labor, the numerical limitations set forth in sections 

14 201(d) and 202(a) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(d) 

15 and 1152(a)) shall not apply. 

16 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF VISAS.—The 

17 Secretary of State may not issue more than 20,000 

18 immigrant visa numbers in any one fiscal year (plus 

19 any available visa numbers under this paragraph not 

20 used during the preceding fiscal year) to principal 

21 beneficiaries of petitions pursuant to paragraph (1). 

22 ‘‘(3) EXPEDITED REVIEW.—The Secretary of 

23 Homeland Security shall provide a process for re24 viewing and acting upon petitions with respect to 

25 immigrants described in paragraph (1) not later 


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1 than 30 days after the date on which a completed 

2 petition has been filed. 

3 ‘‘(f) FEE FOR USE OF VISAS UNDER SUBSECTION

4 (a).— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 

6 Security shall impose a fee upon each petitioning 

7 employer who uses a visa provided under subsection 

8 (e) to provide employment for an alien as a profes9 sional nurse, except that— 

10 ‘‘(A) such fee shall be in the amount of 

11 $1,500 for each such alien nurse (but not for 

12 dependents accompanying or following to join 

13 who are not professional nurses); and 

14 ‘‘(B) no fee shall be imposed for the use of 

15 such visas if the employer demonstrates to the 

16 Secretary that— 

17 ‘‘(i) the employer is a health care fa18 cility that is located in a county or parish 

19 that received individual and public assist20 ance pursuant to Major Disaster Declara21 tion number 1603 or 1607; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) the employer is a health care fa23 cility that has been designated as a Health 

24 Professional Shortage Area facility by the 

25 Secretary of Health and Human Services 


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1 as defined in section 332 of the Public 

2 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254e). 

3 ‘‘(2) FEE COLLECTION.—A fee imposed by the 

4 Secretary of Homeland Security pursuant to para5 graph (1) shall be collected by the Secretary as a 

6 condition of approval of an application for adjust7 ment of status by the beneficiary of a petition or by 

8 the Secretary of State as a condition of issuance of 

9 a visa to such beneficiary.’’. 

10 (b) CAPITATION GRANTS TO INCREASE THE NUM11 BER OF NURSING FACULTY AND STUDENTS; DOMESTIC

12 NURSING ENHANCEMENT ACCOUNT.—Part D of title VIII 

13 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 296p et seq.) 

14 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 832. CAPITATION GRANTS. 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose described in 

17 subsection (b), the Secretary, acting through the Health 

18 Resources and Services Administration, shall award a 

19 grant each fiscal year in an amount determined in accord20 ance with subsection (c) to each eligible school of nursing 

21 that submits an application in accordance with this sec22 tion. 

23 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—A funding agreement for a grant 

24 under this section is that the eligible school of nursing 

25 involved will expend the grant to increase the number of 


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1 nursing faculty and students at the school, including by 

2 hiring new faculty, retaining current faculty, purchasing 

3 educational equipment and audiovisual laboratories, en4 hancing clinical laboratories, repairing and expanding in5 frastructure, or recruiting students. 

6 ‘‘(c) GRANT COMPUTATION.— 

7 ‘‘(1) AMOUNT PER STUDENT.—Subject to para8 graph (2), the amount of a grant to an eligible 

9 school of nursing under this section for a fiscal year 

10 shall be the total of the following: 

11 ‘‘(A) $1,800 for each full-time or part-time 

12 student who is enrolled at the school in a grad13 uate program in nursing that— 

14 ‘‘(i) leads to a master’s degree, a doc15 toral degree, or an equivalent degree; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) prepares individuals to serve as 

17 faculty through additional course work in 

18 education and ensuring competency in an 

19 advanced practice area. 

20 ‘‘(B) $1,405 for each full-time or part-time 

21 student who— 

22 ‘‘(i) is enrolled at the school in a pro23 gram in nursing leading to a bachelor of 

24 science degree, a bachelor of nursing de25 gree, a graduate degree in nursing if such 


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1 program does not meet the requirements of 

2 subparagraph (A), or an equivalent degree; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(ii) has not more than 3 years of 

5 academic credits remaining in the pro6 gram. 

7 ‘‘(C) $966 for each full-time or part-time 

8 student who is enrolled at the school in a pro9 gram in nursing leading to an associate degree 

10 in nursing or an equivalent degree. 

11 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—In calculating the amount 

12 of a grant to a school under paragraph (1), the Sec13 retary may not make a payment with respect to a 

14 particular student— 

15 ‘‘(A) for more than 2 fiscal years in the 

16 case of a student described in paragraph (1)(A) 

17 who is enrolled in a graduate program in nurs18 ing leading to a master’s degree or an equiva19 lent degree; 

20 ‘‘(B) for more than 4 fiscal years in the 

21 case of a student described in paragraph (1)(A) 

22 who is enrolled in a graduate program in nurs23 ing leading to a doctoral degree or an equiva24 lent degree; 


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1 ‘‘(C) for more than 3 fiscal years in the 

2 case of a student described in paragraph 

3 (1)(B); or 

4 ‘‘(D) for more than 2 fiscal years in the 

5 case of a student described in paragraph 

6 (1)(C). 

7 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBILITY.—In this section, the term ‘eligible 

8 school of nursing’ means a school of nursing that— 

9 ‘‘(1) is accredited by a nursing accrediting 

10 agency recognized by the Secretary of Education; 

11 ‘‘(2) has a passage rate on the National Council 

12 Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses of not 

13 less than 80 percent for each of the 3 academic 

14 years preceding submission of the grant application; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(3) has a graduation rate (based on the num17 ber of students in a class who graduate relative to, 

18 for a baccalaureate program, the number of students 

19 who were enrolled in the class at the beginning of 

20 junior year or, for an associate degree program, the 

21 number of students who were enrolled in the class 

22 at the end of the first year) of not less than 80 per23 cent for each of the 3 academic years preceding sub24 mission of the grant application. 


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1 ‘‘(e) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary may award a 

2 grant under this section to an eligible school of nursing 

3 only if the school gives assurances satisfactory to the Sec4 retary that, for each academic year for which the grant 

5 is awarded, the school will comply with the following: 

6 ‘‘(1) The school will maintain a passage rate on 

7 the National Council Licensure Examination for 

8 Registered Nurses of not less than 80 percent. 

9 ‘‘(2) The school will maintain a graduation rate 

10 (as described in subsection (d)(3)) of not less than 

11 80 percent. 

12 ‘‘(3)(A) Subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C), 

13 the first-year enrollment of full-time nursing stu14 dents in the school will exceed such enrollment for 

15 the preceding academic year by 5 percent or 5 stu16 dents, whichever is greater. 

17 ‘‘(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to the 

18 first academic year for which a school receives a 

19 grant under this section. 

20 ‘‘(C) With respect to any academic year, the 

21 Secretary may waive application of subparagraph 

22 (A) if— 

23 ‘‘(i) the physical facilities at the school in24 volved limit the school from enrolling additional 

25 students; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the school has increased enrollment in 

2 the school (as described in subparagraph (A)) 

3 for each of the 2 preceding academic years. 

4 ‘‘(4) Not later than 1 year after receiving a 

5 grant under this section, the school will formulate 

6 and implement a plan to accomplish at least 2 of the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(A) Establishing or significantly expand9 ing an accelerated baccalaureate degree nursing 

10 program designed to graduate new nurses in 12 

11 to 18 months. 

12 ‘‘(B) Establishing cooperative intradisci13 plinary education among schools of nursing 

14 with a view toward shared use of technological 

15 resources, including information technology. 

16 ‘‘(C) Establishing cooperative interdiscipli17 nary training between schools of nursing and 

18 schools of allied health, medicine, dentistry, os19 teopathy, optometry, podiatry, pharmacy, public 

20 health, or veterinary medicine, including train21 ing for the use of the interdisciplinary team ap22 proach to the delivery of health services. 

23 ‘‘(D) Integrating core competencies on evi24 dence-based practice, quality improvements, and 

25 patient-centered care. 


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1 ‘‘(E) Increasing admissions, enrollment, 

2 and retention of qualified individuals who are 

3 financially disadvantaged. 

4 ‘‘(F) Increasing enrollment of minority and 

5 diverse student populations. 

6 ‘‘(G) Increasing enrollment of new grad7 uate baccalaureate nursing students in graduate 

8 programs that educate nurse faculty members. 

9 ‘‘(H) Developing post-baccalaureate resi10 dency programs to prepare nurses for practice 

11 in specialty areas where nursing shortages are 

12 most severe. 

13 ‘‘(I) Increasing integration of geriatric con14 tent into the core curriculum. 

15 ‘‘(J) Partnering with economically dis16 advantaged communities to provide nursing 

17 education. 

18 ‘‘(K) Expanding the ability of nurse man19 aged health centers to provide clinical education 

20 training sites to nursing students. 

21 ‘‘(5) The school will submit an annual report to 

22 the Secretary that includes updated information on 

23 the school with respect to student enrollment, stu24 dent retention, graduation rates, passage rates on 

25 the National Council Licensure Examination for 


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1 Registered Nurses, the number of graduates em2 ployed as nursing faculty or nursing care providers 

3 within 12 months of graduation, and the number of 

4 students who are accepted into graduate programs 

5 for further nursing education. 

6 ‘‘(6) The school will allow the Secretary to 

7 make on-site inspections, and will comply with the 

8 Secretary’s requests for information, to determine 

9 the extent to which the school is complying with the 

10 requirements of this section. 

11 ‘‘(f) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall 

12 evaluate the results of grants under this section and sub13 mit to Congress— 

14 ‘‘(1) not later than 18 months after the date of 

15 the enactment of this section, an interim report on 

16 such results; and 

17 ‘‘(2) not later than September 30, 2012, a final 

18 report on such results. 

19 ‘‘(g) APPLICATION.—An eligible school of nursing 

20 seeking a grant under this section shall submit an applica21 tion to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 

22 containing such information and assurances as the Sec23 retary may require. 

24 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In ad25 dition to the amounts in the Domestic Nursing EnhanceVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:50 May 27, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1929.IH H1929

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1 ment Account, established under section 833, there are 

2 authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec3 essary to carry out this section. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 833. DOMESTIC NURSING ENHANCEMENT ACCOUNT. 

5 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

6 general fund of the Treasury a separate account which 

7 shall be known as the ‘Domestic Nursing Enhancement 

8 Account’. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 

9 there shall be deposited as offsetting receipts into the ac10 count all fees collected under section 106(f) of the Amer11 ican Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act of 

12 2000 (Public Law 106–313; 8 U.S.C. 1153 note). Nothing 

13 in this subsection shall prohibit the depositing of other 

14 moneys into the account established under this section. 

15 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts collected under sec16 tion 106(f) of the American Competitiveness in the Twen17 ty-first Century Act of 2000, and deposited into the ac18 count established under subsection (a) shall be used by 

19 the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out 

20 section 832. Such amounts shall be available for obligation 

21 only to the extent, and in the amount, provided in advance 

22 in appropriations Acts. Such amounts are authorized to 

23 remain available until expended.’’. 

24 (c) GLOBAL HEALTH CARE COOPERATION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Immigration 

2 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.) is 

3 amended by inserting after section 317 the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 317A. TEMPORARY ABSENCE OF ALIENS PROVIDING 

6 HEALTH CARE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro8 vision of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security 

9 shall allow an eligible alien and the spouse or child of such 

10 alien to reside in a candidate country during the period 

11 that the eligible alien is working as a physician or other 

12 health care worker in a candidate country. During such 

13 period the eligible alien and such spouse or child shall be 

14 considered— 

15 ‘‘(1) to be physically present and residing in the 

16 United States for purposes of naturalization under 

17 section 316(a); and 

18 ‘‘(2) to meet the continuous residency require19 ments under section 316(b). 

20 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 ‘‘(1) CANDIDATE COUNTRY.—The term ‘can22 didate country’ means a country that the Secretary 

23 of State determines to be— 

24 ‘‘(A) eligible for assistance from the Inter25 national Development Association, in which the 


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1 per capita income of the country is equal to or 

2 less than the historical ceiling of the Inter3 national Development Association for the appli4 cable fiscal year, as defined by the International 

5 Bank for Reconstruction and Development; 

6 ‘‘(B) classified as a lower middle income 

7 country in the then most recent edition of the 

8 World Development Report for Reconstruction 

9 and Development published by the International 

10 Bank for Reconstruction and Development and 

11 having an income greater than the historical 

12 ceiling for International Development Associa13 tion eligibility for the applicable fiscal year; or 

14 ‘‘(C) qualified to be a candidate country 

15 due to special circumstances, including natural 

16 disasters or public health emergencies. 

17 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ALIEN.—The term ‘eligible 

18 alien’ means an alien who— 

19 ‘‘(A) has been lawfully admitted to the 

20 United States for permanent residence; and 

21 ‘‘(B) is a physician or other healthcare 

22 worker. 

23 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary of Homeland 

24 Security shall consult with the Secretary of State in car25 rying out this section. 


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1 ‘‘(d) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary of State shall 

2 publish— 

3 ‘‘(1) not later than 180 days after the date of 

4 the enactment of this section, a list of candidate 

5 countries; 

6 ‘‘(2) an updated version of the list required by 

7 paragraph (1) not less often than once each year; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(3) an amendment to the list required by 

10 paragraph (1) at the time any country qualifies as 

11 a candidate country due to special circumstances 

12 under subsection (b)(1)(C).’’. 

13 (2) RULEMAKING.— 

14 (A) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 180 

15 days after the date of the enactment of this 

16 Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 

17 promulgate regulations to carry out the amend18 ments made by this subsection. 

19 (B) CONTENT.—The regulations promul20 gated pursuant to paragraph (1) shall— 

21 (i) permit an eligible alien (as defined 

22 in section 317A of the Immigration and 

23 Nationality Act, as added by paragraph 

24 (1)) and the spouse or child of the eligible 

25 alien to reside in a foreign country to work 


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1 as a physician or other healthcare worker 

2 as described in subsection (a) of such sec3 tion 317A for not less than a 12-month pe4 riod and not more than a 24-month period, 

5 and shall permit the Secretary to extend 

6 such period for an additional period not to 

7 exceed 12 months, if the Secretary deter8 mines that such country has a continuing 

9 need for such a physician or other 

10 healthcare worker; 

11 (ii) provide for the issuance of docu12 ments by the Secretary to such eligible 

13 alien, and such spouse or child, if appro14 priate, to demonstrate that such eligible 

15 alien, and such spouse or child, if appro16 priate, is authorized to reside in such 

17 country under such section 317A; and 

18 (iii) provide for an expedited process 

19 through which the Secretary shall review 

20 applications for such an eligible alien to re21 side in a foreign country pursuant to sub22 section (a) of such section 317A if the Sec23 retary of State determines a country is a 

24 candidate country pursuant to subsection 

25 (b)(1)(C) of such section 317A. 


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1 (3) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND2 MENTS.— 

3 (A) DEFINITION.—Section 

4 101(a)(13)(C)(ii) of the Immigration and Na5 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(13)(C)(ii)) is 

6 amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘except in the case of an eligible alien, or the 

8 spouse or child of such alien, who is authorized 

9 to be absent from the United States under sec10 tion 317A,’’. 

11 (B) DOCUMENTARY REQUIREMENTS.—Sec12 tion 211(b) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1181(b)) is 

13 amended by inserting ‘‘, including an eligible 

14 alien authorized to reside in a foreign country 

15 under section 317A and the spouse or child of 

16 such eligible alien, if appropriate,’’ after 

17 ‘‘101(a)(27)(A),’’. 

18 (C) INELIGIBLE ALIENS.—Section 

19 212(a)(7)(A)(i)(I) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 

20 1182(a)(7)(A)(i)(I)) is amended by inserting 

21 ‘‘other than an eligible alien authorized to re22 side in a foreign country under section 317A 

23 and the spouse or child of such eligible alien, if 

24 appropriate,’’ after ‘‘Act,’’. 


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1 (D) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of 

2 contents of such Act is amended by inserting 

3 after the item relating to section 317 the fol4 lowing: 

‘‘Sec. 317A. Temporary absence of aliens providing health care in developing 

countries.’’. 

5 (4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

6 There are authorized to be appropriated to U.S. 

7 Citizenship and Immigration Services such sums as 

8 may be necessary to carry out this subsection and 

9 the amendments made by this subsection. 

10 (d) ATTESTATION BY HEALTH CARE WORKERS.— 

11 (1) ATTESTATION REQUIREMENT.—Section 

12 212(a)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

13 U.S.C. 1182(a)(5)) is amended by adding at the end 

14 the following: 

15 ‘‘(E) HEALTH CARE WORKERS WITH

16 OTHER OBLIGATIONS.— 

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An alien who 

18 seeks to enter the United States for the 

19 purpose of performing labor as a physician 

20 or other health care worker is inadmissible 

21 unless the alien submits to the Secretary of 

22 Homeland Security or the Secretary of 

23 State, as appropriate, an attestation that 

24 the alien is not seeking to enter the United 


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1 States for such purpose during any period 

2 in which the alien has an outstanding obli3 gation to the government of the alien’s 

4 country of origin or the alien’s country of 

5 residence. 

6 ‘‘(ii) OBLIGATION DEFINED.—In this 

7 subparagraph, the term ‘obligation’ means 

8 an obligation incurred as part of a valid, 

9 voluntary individual agreement in which 

10 the alien received financial assistance to 

11 defray the costs of education or training to 

12 qualify as a physician or other health care 

13 worker in consideration for a commitment 

14 to work as a physician or other health care 

15 worker in the alien’s country of origin or 

16 the alien’s country of residence. 

17 ‘‘(iii) WAIVER.—The Secretary of 

18 Homeland Security may waive a finding of 

19 inadmissibility under clause (i) if the Sec20 retary determines that— 

21 ‘‘(I) the obligation was incurred 

22 by coercion or other improper means; 

23 ‘‘(II) the alien and the govern24 ment of the country to which the alien 

25 has an outstanding obligation have 


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1 reached a valid, voluntary agreement, 

2 pursuant to which the alien’s obliga3 tion has been deemed satisfied, or the 

4 alien has shown to the satisfaction of 

5 the Secretary that the alien has been 

6 unable to reach such an agreement 

7 because of coercion or other improper 

8 means; or 

9 ‘‘(III) the obligation should not 

10 be enforced due to other extraordinary 

11 circumstances, including undue hard12 ship that would be suffered by the 

13 alien in the absence of a waiver.’’. 

14 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION.— 

15 (A) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment 

16 made by paragraph (1) shall take effect on the 

17 date that is 180 days after the date of the en18 actment of this Act. 

19 (B) APPLICATION BY THE SECRETARY.— 

20 Not later than the effective date described in 

21 subparagraph (A), the Secretary of Homeland 

22 Security shall begin to carry out subparagraph 

23 (E) of section 212(a)(5) of the Immigration 

24 and Nationality Act, as added by paragraph 

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1 tion and the granting of a waiver described in 

2 clause (iii) of such subparagraph (E), regard3 less of whether regulations to implement such 

4 subparagraph have been promulgated. 

5 SEC. 3. NURSE TRAINING AND RETENTION DEMONSTRA6 TION GRANT ACT OF 2008. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find8 ings: 

9 (1) America’s healthcare system depends on an 

10 adequate supply of trained nurses to deliver quality 

11 patient care. 

12 (2) Over the next 15 years, this shortage is ex13 pected to grow significantly. The Health Resources 

14 and Services Administration has projected that by 

15 2020, there will be a shortage of nurses in every 

16 State and that overall only 64 percent of the de17 mand for nurses will be satisfied, with a shortage of 

18 1,016,900 nurses nationally. 

19 (3) To avert such a shortage, today’s network 

20 of healthcare workers should have access to edu21 cation and support from their employers to partici22 pate in educational and training opportunities. 

23 (4) With the appropriate education and sup24 port, incumbent healthcare workers and incumbent 

25 bedside nurses are untapped sources which can meet 


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1 these needs and address the nursing shortage and 

2 provide quality care as the American population 

3 ages. 

4 (b) PURPOSES OF GRANT PROGRAM.—It is the pur5 pose of this section to authorize grants to— 

6 (1) address the projected shortage of nurses by 

7 funding comprehensive programs to create a career 

8 ladder to nursing (including Certified Nurse Assist9 ants, Licensed Practical Nurses, Licensed Vocational 

10 Nurses, and Registered Nurses) for incumbent ancil11 lary healthcare workers; 

12 (2) increase the capacity for educating nurses 

13 by increasing both nurse faculty and clinical oppor14 tunities through collaborative programs between 

15 staff nurse organizations, healthcare providers, and 

16 accredited schools of nursing; and 

17 (3) provide training programs through edu18 cation and training organizations jointly adminis19 tered by healthcare providers and healthcare labor 

20 organizations or other organizations representing 

21 staff nurses and frontline healthcare workers, work22 ing in collaboration with accredited schools of nurs23 ing and academic institutions. 

24 (c) GRANTS.—Not later than 6 months after the date 

25 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor (referred 


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1 to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall establish a 

2 partnership grant program to award grants to eligible en3 tities to carry out comprehensive programs to provide edu4 cation to nurses and create a pipeline to nursing for in5 cumbent ancillary healthcare workers who wish to advance 

6 their careers, and to otherwise carry out the purposes of 

7 this section. 

8 (d) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to receive a 

9 grant under this section an entity shall— 

10 (1) be— 

11 (A) a healthcare entity that is jointly ad12 ministered by a healthcare employer and a labor 

13 union representing the healthcare employees of 

14 the employer and that carries out activities 

15 using labor management training funds as pro16 vided for under section 302 of the Labor-Man17 agement Relations Act, 1947 (18 U.S.C. 

18 186(c)(6)); 

19 (B) an entity that operates a training pro20 gram that is jointly administered by— 

21 (i) one or more healthcare providers 

22 or facilities, or a trade association of 

23 healthcare providers; and 

24 (ii) one or more organizations which 

25 represent the interests of direct care 


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1 healthcare workers or staff nurses and in 

2 which the direct care healthcare workers or 

3 staff nurses have direct input as to the 

4 leadership of the organization; or 

5 (C) a State training partnership program 

6 that consists of non-profit organizations that 

7 include equal participation from industry, in8 cluding public or private employers, and labor 

9 organizations including joint labor-management 

10 training programs, and which may include rep11 resentatives from local governments, worker in12 vestment agency one-stop career centers, com13 munity based organizations, community col14 leges, and accredited schools of nursing; and 

15 (2) submit to the Secretary an application at 

16 such time, in such manner, and containing such in17 formation as the Secretary may require. 

18 (e) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR HEALTHCARE

19 EMPLOYER DESCRIBED IN SUBSECTION (d).—To be eligi20 ble for a grant under this section, a healthcare employer 

21 described in subsection (d) shall demonstrate— 

22 (1) an established program within their facility 

23 to encourage the retention of existing nurses; 


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1 (2) it provides wages and benefits to its nurses 

2 that are competitive for its market or that have been 

3 collectively bargained with a labor organization; and 

4 (3) support for programs funded under this sec5 tion through 1 or more of the following: 

6 (A) The provision of paid leave time and 

7 continued health coverage to incumbent 

8 healthcare workers to allow their participation 

9 in nursing career ladder programs, including 

10 Certified Nurse Assistants, Licensed Practical 

11 Nurses, Licensed Vocational Nurses, and Reg12 istered Nurses. 

13 (B) Contributions to a joint labor-manage14 ment or other jointly administered training 

15 fund which administers the program involved. 

16 (C) The provision of paid release time, in17 centive compensation, or continued health cov18 erage to staff nurses who desire to work full- or 

19 part-time in a faculty position. 

20 (D) The provision of paid release time for 

21 staff nurses to enable them to obtain a bachelor 

22 of science in nursing degree, other advanced 

23 nursing degrees, specialty training, or certifi24 cation program. 


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1 (E) The payment of tuition assistance to 

2 incumbent healthcare workers. 

3 (f) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.— 

4 (1) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may not 

6 make a grant under this section unless the ap7 plicant involved agrees, with respect to the costs 

8 to be incurred by the applicant in carrying out 

9 the program under the grant, to make available 

10 non-Federal contributions (in cash or in kind 

11 under subparagraph (B)) toward such costs in 

12 an amount equal to not less than $1 for each 

13 $1 of Federal funds provided in the grant. Such 

14 contributions may be made directly or through 

15 donations from public or private entities, or 

16 may be provided through the cash equivalent of 

17 paid release time provided to incumbent worker 

18 students. 

19 (B) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF NON20 FEDERAL CONTRIBUTION.—Non-Federal con21 tributions required in subparagraph (A) may be 

22 in cash or in kind (including paid release time), 

23 fairly evaluated, including equipment or services 

24 (and excluding indirect or overhead costs). 


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1 (C) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.— 

2 Funds made available under this section shall 

3 supplement, and not supplant, resources dedi4 cated by an entity, or other Federal, State, or 

5 localfunds available to carry out activities de6 scribed in this section. 

7 (2) REQUIRED COLLABORATION.—Entities car8 rying out or overseeing programs carried out with 

9 assistance provided under this section shall dem10 onstrate collaboration with accredited schools of 

11 nursing which may include community colleges and 

12 other academic institutions providing associate, 

13 bachelor’s, or advanced nursing degree programs or 

14 specialty training or certification programs. 

15 (g) ACTIVITIES.—Amounts awarded to an entity 

16 under a grant under this section shall be used for the fol17 lowing: 

18 (1) To carry out programs that provide edu19 cation and training to establish nursing career lad20 ders to educate incumbent healthcare workers to be21 come nurses (including Certified Nurse Assistants, 

22 Licensed Practical Nurses, Licensed Vocational 

23 Nurses, and Registered Nurses). Such programs 

24 shall include one or more of the following: 


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1 (A) Preparing incumbent workers to return 

2 to the classroom through English as a second 

3 language education, GED education, precollege 

4 counseling, college preparation classes, and sup5 port with entry level college classes that are a 

6 prerequisite to nursing. 

7 (B) Providing tuition assistance with pref8 erence for dedicated cohort classes in commu9 nity colleges, universities, accredited schools of 

10 nursing with supportive services including tu11 toring and counseling. 

12 (C) Providing assistance in preparing for 

13 and meeting all nursing licensure tests and re14 quirements. 

15 (D) Carrying out orientation and 

16 mentorship programs that assist newly grad17 uated nurses in adjusting to working at the 

18 bedside to ensure their retention post gradua19 tion, and ongoing programs to support nurse 

20 retention. 

21 (E) Providing stipends for release time and 

22 continued healthcare coverage to enable incum23 bent healthcare workers to participate in these 

24 programs. 


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1 (2) To carry out programs that assist nurses in 

2 obtaining advanced degrees and completing specialty 

3 training or certification programs and to establish 

4 incentives for nurses to assume nurse faculty posi5 tions on a part-time or full-time basis. Such pro6 grams shall include one or more of the following: 

7 (A) Increasing the pool of nurses with ad8 vanced degrees who are interested in teaching 

9 by funding programs that enable incumbent 

10 nurses to return to school. 

11 (B) Establishing incentives for advanced 

12 degree bedside nurses who wish to teach in 

13 nursing programs so they can obtain a leave 

14 from their bedside position to assume a full- or 

15 part-time position as adjunct or full time fac16 ulty without the loss of salary or benefits. 

17 (C) Collaboration with accredited schools 

18 of nursing which may include community col19 leges and other academic institutions providing 

20 associate, bachelor’s, or advanced nursing de21 gree programs, or specialty training or certifi22 cation programs, for nurses to carry out innova23 tive nursing programs which meet the needs of 

24 bedside nursing and healthcare providers. 


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1 (h) PREFERENCE.—In awarding grants under this 

2 section the Secretary shall give preference to programs 

3 that— 

4 (1) provide for improving nurse retention; 

5 (2) provide for improving the diversity of the 

6 new nurse graduates to reflect changes in the demo7 graphics of the patient population; 

8 (3) provide for improving the quality of nursing 

9 education to improve patient care and safety; 

10 (4) have demonstrated success in upgrading in11 cumbent healthcare workers to become nurses or 

12 which have established effective programs or pilots 

13 to increase nurse faculty; or 

14 (5) are modeled after or affiliated with such 

15 programs described in paragraph (4). 

16 (i) EVALUATION.— 

17 (1) PROGRAM EVALUATIONS.—An entity that 

18 receives a grant under this section shall annually 

19 evaluate, and submit to the Secretary a report on, 

20 the activities carried out under the grant and the 

21 outcomes of such activities. Such outcomes may in22 clude— 

23 (A) an increased number of incumbent 

24 workers entering an accredited school of nurs25 ing and in the pipeline for nursing programs; 


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1 (B) an increasing number of graduating 

2 nurses and improved nurse graduation and li3 censure rates; 

4 (C) improved nurse retention; 

5 (D) an increase in the number of staff 

6 nurses at the healthcare facility involved; 

7 (E) an increase in the number of nurses 

8 with advanced degrees in nursing; 

9 (F) an increase in the number of nurse 

10 faculty; 

11 (G) improved measures of patient quality 

12 as determined by the Secretary; and 

13 (H) an increase in the diversity of new 

14 nurse graduates relative to the patient popu15 lation. 

16 (2) GENERAL REPORT.—Not later than Sep17 tember 30, 2013, the Secretary of Labor shall, using 

18 data and information from the reports received 

19 under paragraph (1), submit to Congress a report 

20 concerning the overall effectiveness of the grant pro21 gram carried out under this section. 

22 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

23 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

24 for fiscal years 2012, 2013, and 2014, such sums as may 

25 be necessary. Funds appropriated under this subsection 


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1 shall remain available until expended without fiscal year 

2 limitation. 

3 SEC. 4. COLLECTION OF DATA AND REPORTS TO CONGRESS 

4 ON FOREIGN-TRAINED NURSES NEWLY AD5 MITTED TO THE UNITED STATES EACH FIS6 CAL YEAR. 

7 (a) REQUIREMENT TO COLLECT DATA.—With re8 spect to each fiscal year, beginning with fiscal year 2011, 

9 the Secretary of Homeland Security shall collect the fol10 lowing data for each alien that acquires the status of a 

11 lawful permanent resident or a temporary alien worker 

12 (including as a temporary professional worker under the 

13 North American Free Trade Agreement) during that fiscal 

14 year for employment as a professional nurse: 

15 (1) The country of residence and country of na16 tionality of the alien at the time such status is ac17 quired. 

18 (2) The country or countries in which the alien 

19 received the professional education and training to 

20 be licensed as a nurse. 

21 (3) The name and address of the petitioning 

22 employer. 

23 (4) The name and and address of any recruit24 ing agency used by the petitioning employer with reVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:50 May 27, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1929.IH H1929

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1 spect to the recruitment, processing or preparation 

2 of the alien for the employment involved. 

3 (5) The processing time for review and action 

4 on the petition with respect to each such aliens. 

5 (b) RESEARCH OF DATA FROM PRIOR FISCAL

6 YEARS.— 

7 (1) With respect to the fiscal years 2006 

8 through 2010, the Secretary shall determine which 

9 of the data required to be collected pursuant to sub10 section (a) are available for retrieval in electronic 

11 databases maintained by the Secretary. 

12 (2) In preparing the report for fiscal year 2011 

13 mandated by this section, the Secretary shall include 

14 a summary of all such available data for fiscal years 

15 2006 through 2010. 

16 (c) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall submit annual re17 ports aggregating the data collected under subsection (a), 

18 and, with respect to the report for fiscal year 2011, such 

19 additional data identified pursuant to subsection (b), 

20 along with such related information as the Secretary de21 termines to be appropriate, to the Committees on the Ju22 diciary of the House of Representatives and the Senate 

23 not later than 90 days after the end of each fiscal year. 

24 Such reports shall include— 


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1 (1) the aggregate number of aliens who ac2 quired a status described in subsection (a) during 

3 such fiscal year and subtotals of the status cat4 egories acquired; 

5 (2) subtotals within each status category for the 

6 data element collected pursuant to subsection (a); 

7 and 

8 (3) the average processing times for each dif9 ferent type of petition or application involved in the 

10 acquisition of status. 

11 (d) PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER.—The 

12 Secretary shall cause to have published in the Federal 

13 Register notice of the submittal to the Committees on the 

14 Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Senate 

15 of each report required under subsection (c) and of the 

16 availability to the public of each such report. 

Æ 


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