II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 246 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants to support 

schools of nursing in program enhancement and infrastructure modernization, increasing the number of nursing faculty and students, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 4, 2021 

Mr. MERKLEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants 

to support schools of nursing in program enhancement 

and infrastructure modernization, increasing the number 

of nursing faculty and students, 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 ‘‘Future Advancement 

5 of Academic Nursing Act’’ or the ‘‘FAAN Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. SUPPORT FOR NURSING EDUCATION AND THE FU2 TURE NURSING WORKFORCE. 

3 Part D of title VIII of the Public Health Service Act 

4 (42 U.S.C. 296p et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 832. NURSING EDUCATION ENHANCEMENT AND MOD7 ERNIZATION GRANTS IN UNDERSERVED 

8 AREAS. 

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

10 the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services 

11 Administration, may award grants to schools of nursing 

12 (as defined in section 801) for— 

13 ‘‘(1) increasing the number of faculty and stu14 dents at such schools in order to enhance the pre15 paredness of the United States for, and the ability 

16 of the United States to address and quickly respond 

17 to, public health emergencies declared under section 

18 319 and pandemics; or 

19 ‘‘(2) the enhancement and modernization of 

20 nursing education programs. 

21 ‘‘(b) PRIORITY.—In selecting grant recipients under 

22 this section, the Secretary shall give priority to schools of 

23 nursing that— 

24 ‘‘(1) are located in a medically underserved 

25 community; 


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1 ‘‘(2) are located in a health professional short2 age area as defined under section 332(a); or 

3 ‘‘(3) are institutions of higher education listed 

4 under section 371(a) of the Higher Education Act of 

5 1965. 

6 ‘‘(c) CONSIDERATION.—In awarding grants under 

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

8 ensure equitable distribution of awards among the geo9 graphic regions of the United States. 

10 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.—A school of nursing that re11 ceives a grant under this section may use the funds award12 ed through such grant for activities that include— 

13 ‘‘(1) enhancing enrollment and retention of stu14 dents at such school, with a priority for students 

15 from disadvantaged backgrounds (including racial or 

16 ethnic groups underrepresented in the nursing work17 force), individuals from rural and underserved areas, 

18 low-income individuals, and first generation college 

19 students (as defined in section 402A(h)(3) of the 

20 Higher Education Act of 1965); 

21 ‘‘(2) creating, supporting, or modernizing edu22 cational programs and curriculum at such school; 

23 ‘‘(3) retaining current faculty, and hiring new 

24 faculty, with an emphasis on faculty from racial or 


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1 ethnic groups who are underrepresented in the nurs2 ing workforce; 

3 ‘‘(4) modernizing infrastructure at such school, 

4 including audiovisual or other equipment, personal 

5 protective equipment, simulation and augmented re6 ality resources, telehealth technologies, and virtual 

7 and physical laboratories; 

8 ‘‘(5) partnering with a health care facility, 

9 nurse-managed health clinic, community health cen10 ter, or other facility that provides health care in 

11 order to provide educational opportunities for the 

12 purpose of establishing or expanding clinical edu13 cation; 

14 ‘‘(6) enhancing and expanding nursing pro15 grams that prepare nurse researchers and scientists; 

16 ‘‘(7) establishing nurse-led intradisciplinary and 

17 interprofessional educational partnerships; and 

18 ‘‘(8) other activities that the Secretary deter19 mines further the development, improvement, and 

20 expansion of schools of nursing. 

21 ‘‘(e) REPORTS FROM ENTITIES.—Each school of 

22 nursing awarded a grant under this section shall submit 

23 an annual report to the Secretary on the activities con24 ducted under such grant, and other information as the 

25 Secretary may require. 


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1 ‘‘(f) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 5 years 

2 after the date of the enactment of this section, the Sec3 retary shall submit to the Committee on Health, Edu4 cation, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Com5 mittee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Rep6 resentatives a report that provides a summary of the ac7 tivities and outcomes associated with grants made under 

8 this section. Such report shall include— 

9 ‘‘(1) a list of schools of nursing receiving grants 

10 under this section, including the primary geographic 

11 location of any school of nursing that was improved 

12 or expanded through such a grant; 

13 ‘‘(2) the total number of students who are en14 rolled at or who have graduated from any school of 

15 nursing that was improved or expanded through a 

16 grant under this section, which such statistic shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) to the extent such information is 

18 available, be deidentified and disaggregated by 

19 race, ethnicity, age, sex, geographic region, dis20 ability status, and other relevant factors; and 

21 ‘‘(B) include an indication of the number 

22 of such students who are from racial or ethnic 

23 groups underrepresented in the nursing work24 force, such students who are from rural or un25 derserved areas, such students who are low-inVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S246.IS S246

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1 come students, and such students who are first 

2 generation college students (as defined in sec3 tion 402A(h)(3) of the Higher Education Act of 

4 1965); 

5 ‘‘(3) to the extent such information is available, 

6 the effects of the grants awarded under this section 

7 on retaining and hiring of faculty, including any in8 crease in diverse faculty, the number of clinical edu9 cation partnerships, the modernization of nursing 

10 education infrastructure, and other ways this section 

11 helps address and quickly respond to public health 

12 emergencies and pandemics; 

13 ‘‘(4) recommendations for improving the grants 

14 awarded under this section; and 

15 ‘‘(5) any other considerations as the Secretary 

16 determines appropriate. 

17 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To 

18 carry out this section, there is authorized to be appro19 priated $1,000,000,000 to remain available until ex20 pended.’’. 

21 SEC. 3. STRENGTHENING NURSE EDUCATION. 

22 The heading of part D of title VIII of the Public 

23 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 296p et seq.) is amended 

24 by striking ‘‘BASIC’’. 

Æ 


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