I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4166 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to make certain improvements in 

the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs relating 

to educational assistance for health professionals, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 1, 2009 

Mr. RODRIGUEZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, 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 amend title 38, United States Code, to make certain 

improvements in the laws administered by the Secretary 

of Veterans Affairs relating to educational assistance 

for health professionals, 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 ‘‘Veterans Health Pro5 fessionals Educational Assistance Act of 2009’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF HEALTH PROFESSIONALS 

2 EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE SCHOLARSHIP 

3 PROGRAM. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7618 of title 38, United 

5 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘December 31, 1998’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2014’’. 

7 (b) EXPANSION OF ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.— 

8 Section 7612(b)(2) is amended by striking ‘‘(under sec9 tion’’ and all that follows through ‘‘or vocational nurse.’’ 

10 and inserting the following: ‘‘as an appointee under para11 graph (1) or (3) of section 7401 of this title.’’. 

12 (c) ADDITIONAL PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—Sub13 chapter II of chapter 76 of title 38, United States Code, 

14 as amended by subsections (a) and (b), is further amend15 ed— 

16 (1) by redesignating section 7618 as section 

17 7619; and 

18 (2) by inserting after section 7617 the following 

19 new section: 

20 ‘‘§ 7618. Additional program requirements 

21 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM MODIFICATION.—Notwithstanding 

22 any provision of the subchapter, the Secretary shall carry 

23 out this subchapter by modifying the Scholarship Program 

24 in such a manner that the program and hiring processes 

25 are designed to fully employ scholarship program grad26 uates as soon as possible, if not immediately, upon graduaVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:33 Dec 02, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4166.IH H4166

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1 tion and completion of necessary certifications, and to ac2 tively assist and monitor graduates to ensure certifications 

3 are obtained in a minimal amount of time following grad4 uation. 

5 ‘‘(b) CLINICAL TOURS.—The Secretary shall require 

6 participants in the Scholarship Program to perform clin7 ical tours in assignments or locations determined by the 

8 Secretary while the participants are enrolled in the course 

9 of education or training for which the scholarship is pro10 vided. 

11 ‘‘(c) MENTORS.—The Secretary shall ensure that at 

12 the commencement of the period of obligated service of 

13 a participant in the Scholarship Program, the participant 

14 is assigned to a mentor who is employed in the same facil15 ity where the participant performs such service.’’. 

16 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of sections 

17 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by striking 

18 the item relating to section 7618 and inserting the fol19 lowing new items: 

‘‘7618. Additional program requirements. 

‘‘7619. Expiration of program.’’. 

20 SEC. 3. IMPROVEMENTS TO THE EDUCATION DEBT REDUC21 TION PROGRAM. 

22 (a) INCLUSION OF EMPLOYEE RETENTION AS PUR23 POSE OF PROGRAM.—Section 7681(2) of title 38, United 


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1 States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘and retention’’ 

2 after ‘‘recruitment’’ the first time it appears. 

3 (b) EXPANSION OF ELIGIBILITY.—Section 7682 of 

4 such title is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘a recently 

6 appointed’’ and inserting ‘‘an’’; and 

7 (2) by striking subsection (c). 

8 (c) INCREASE IN MAXIMUM ANNUAL AMOUNT OF

9 PAYMENTS.—Paragraph (1) of subsection (d) of section 

10 7683 of such title is amended— 

11 (1) by striking ‘‘$44,000’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘$60,000’’; and 

13 (2) by striking ‘‘$10,000’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘$12,000’’. 

15 (d) EXCEPTION TO LIMITATION ON AMOUNT FOR

16 CERTAIN POSITIONS.—Such subsection is further amend17 ed by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(3)(A) The Secretary may waive the limitations 

19 under paragraphs (1) and (2) in the case of a participant 

20 described in subparagraph (B). In the case of such a waiv21 er, the total amount of education debt repayments payable 

22 to that participant is the total amount of the principal 

23 and the interest on the participant’s loans referred to in 

24 subsection (a). 


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1 ‘‘(B) A participant described in this subparagraph is 

2 a participant in the Scholarship Program who the Sec3 retary determines serves in a position for which there is 

4 a shortage of qualified employee by reason of either the 

5 location or the requirements of the position.’’. 

6 SEC. 4. LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM FOR CLINICAL RE7 SEARCHERS FROM DISADVANTAGED BACK8 GROUNDS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

10 may, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and 

11 Human Services, utilize the authorities available in section 

12 487E of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 288– 

13 5) for the repayment of the principal and interest of edu14 cational loans of appropriately qualified health profes15 sionals who are from disadvantaged backgrounds in order 

16 to secure clinical research by such professionals for the 

17 Veterans Health Administration. 

18 (b) LIMITATIONS.—The exercise by the Secretary of 

19 Veterans Affairs of the authorities referred to in para20 graph (1) shall be subject to the conditions and limitations 

21 specified in paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 487E(a) of 

22 the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 288–5(a)(2) and 

23 (3)). 

24 (c) FUNDING.—Amounts for the repayment of prin25 cipal and interest of educational loans under this subVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:33 Dec 02, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4166.IH H4166

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1 section shall be derived from amounts available to the Sec2 retary of Veterans Affairs for the Veterans Health Admin3 istration for Medical Services. 

4 SEC. 5. INCLUSION OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF5 FAIRS FACILITIES IN LIST OF FACILITIES ELI6 GIBLE FOR ASSIGNMENT OF PARTICIPANTS 

7 IN NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE CORPS 

8 SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM. 

9 (a) INCLUSION OF FACILITIES.—The Secretary of 

10 Veterans Affairs shall transfer up to $20,000,000 from 

11 accounts of the Veterans Health Administration to the 

12 Secretary of Health and Human Services to be used to 

13 include facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs 

14 on the list maintained by the Health Resources and Serv15 ices Administration of facilities eligible for assignment of 

16 participants in the National Health Service Corps Scholar17 ship Program. 

18 (b) IDENTIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE FACILITIES.—The 

19 Secretary shall identify all medical centers and commu20 nity-based outpatient clinics of the Department that may 

21 be eligible for assignment of participants in the National 

22 Health Service Corps Scholarship Program. In making 

23 such identifications, the Secretary shall use the eligibility 

24 criteria used by the National Health Service Corps for the 

25 health professional shortage area designation. 


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1 (c) APPLICATION.—To be included on the list main2 tained by the Health Resources and Services Administra3 tion of facilities eligible for assignment of participants in 

4 the National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program, 

5 each medical center or clinic identified by the Secretary 

6 under subsection (b) shall submit an application to the 

7 Health Resources and Services Administration. 

Æ 


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