IIB 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2781 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 29, 2019 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

AN ACT 

To amend title VII of the Public Health Service Act to 

reauthorize certain programs relating to the health professions workforce, 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 ‘‘Educating Medical 

3 Professionals and Optimizing Workforce Efficiency and 

4 Readiness for Health Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘EMPOWER 

5 for Health Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF HEALTH PROFESSIONS 

7 WORKFORCE PROGRAMS. 

8 (a) CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE.—Subsection (i) of 

9 section 736 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

10 293) is amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To 

12 carry out this section, there is authorized to be appro13 priated $24,897,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 

14 2024.’’. 

15 (b) HEALTH PROFESSIONS TRAINING FOR DIVER16 SITY.—Section 740 of the Public Health Service Act (42 

17 U.S.C. 293d) is amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘$51,000,000 

19 for fiscal year 2010, and such sums as may be nec20 essary for each of the fiscal years 2011 through 

21 2014’’ and inserting ‘‘$51,419,000 for each of fiscal 

22 years 2020 through 2024’’; 

23 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘$5,000,000 

24 for each of the fiscal years 2010 through 2014’’ and 

25 inserting ‘‘$1,250,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 

26 through 2024’’; and 


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1 (3) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘$60,000,000 

2 for fiscal year 2010 and such sums as may be nec3 essary for each of the fiscal years 2011 through 

4 2014’’ and inserting ‘‘$20,000,000 for each of fiscal 

5 years 2020 through 2024’’. 

6 (c) PRIMARY CARE TRAINING AND ENHANCE7 MENT.—Section 747(c)(1) of the Public Health Service 

8 Act (42 U.S.C. 293k(c)(1)) is amended by striking 

9 ‘‘$125,000,000 for fiscal year 2010, and such sums as 

10 may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2011 through 

11 2014’’ and inserting ‘‘$51,371,000 for each of fiscal years 

12 2020 through 2024’’. 

13 (d) TRAINING IN GENERAL, PEDIATRIC, AND PUBLIC

14 HEALTH DENTISTRY.—Section 748(f) of the Public 

15 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 293k–2(f)) is amended by 

16 striking ‘‘$30,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 and such sums 

17 as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2011 through 

18 2015’’ and inserting ‘‘$42,707,000 for each of fiscal years 

19 2020 through 2024’’. 

20 (e) AREA HEALTH EDUCATION CENTERS.—Section 

21 751(j)(1) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

22 294a(j)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘$125,000,000 for 

23 each of the fiscal years 2010 through 2014’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘$42,075,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 

25 2024’’. 


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1 (f) NATIONAL CENTER FOR HEALTHCARE WORK2 FORCE ANALYSIS.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 761(e)(1)(A) of the 

4 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

5 294n(e)(1)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘$7,500,000 

6 for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2014’’ and in7 serting ‘‘$5,947,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 

8 through 2024’’. 

9 (2) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—Section 

10 761(e)(2) of the Public Health Service Act (42 

11 U.S.C. 294n(e)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘sub12 section (a)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (1)’’. 

13 (g) PUBLIC HEALTH WORKFORCE.—Section 770(a) 

14 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 295e(a)) is 

15 amended by striking ‘‘$43,000,000 for fiscal year 2011, 

16 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal 

17 years 2012 through 2015’’ and inserting ‘‘$17,850,000 for 

18 each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024’’. 

19 SEC. 3. EDUCATION AND TRAINING RELATING TO GERI20 ATRICS. 

21 Section 753 of the Public Health Service Act (42 

22 U.S.C. 294c) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 753. EDUCATION AND TRAINING RELATING TO GERI2 ATRICS. 

3 ‘‘(a) GERIATRICS WORKFORCE ENHANCEMENT PRO4 GRAMS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 

6 grants or contracts under this subsection to entities 

7 described in paragraph (1), (3), or (4) of section 

8 799B, section 801(2), or section 865(d), or other 

9 health professions schools or programs approved by 

10 the Secretary, for the establishment or operation of 

11 geriatrics workforce enhancement programs that 

12 meet the requirements of paragraph (2). 

13 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—A geriatrics workforce 

14 enhancement program meets the requirements of 

15 this paragraph if such program supports the devel16 opment of a health care workforce that maximizes 

17 patient and family engagement and improves health 

18 outcomes for older adults by integrating geriatrics 

19 with primary care and other appropriate specialties. 

20 Special emphasis should be placed on providing the 

21 primary care workforce with the knowledge and 

22 skills to care for older adults and collaborating with 

23 community partners to address gaps in health care 

24 for older adults through individual, system, commu25 nity, and population level changes. Areas of pro26 grammatic focus may include the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) Transforming clinical training envi2 ronments to integrated geriatrics and primary 

3 care delivery systems to ensure trainees are well 

4 prepared to practice in and lead in such sys5 tems. 

6 ‘‘(B) Developing providers from multiple 

7 disciplines and specialties to work interprofes8 sionally to assess and address the needs and 

9 preferences of older adults and their families 

10 and caregivers at the individual, community, 

11 and population levels with cultural and lin12 guistic competency. 

13 ‘‘(C) Creating and delivering community14 based programs that will provide older adults 

15 and their families and caregivers with the 

16 knowledge and skills to improve health out17 comes and the quality of care for such adults. 

18 ‘‘(D) Providing Alzheimer’s disease and re19 lated dementias (ADRD) education to the fami20 lies and caregivers of older adults, direct care 

21 workers, health professions students, faculty, 

22 and providers. 

23 ‘‘(3) DURATION.—The Secretary shall award 

24 grants and contracts under paragraph (1) for a pe25 riod not to exceed five years. 


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1 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a 

2 grant or contract under paragraph (1), an entity de3 scribed in such paragraph shall submit to the Sec4 retary an application at such time, in such manner, 

5 and containing such information as the Secretary 

6 may require, including the specific measures the ap7 plicant will use to demonstrate that the project is 

8 improving the quality of care provided to older 

9 adults in the applicant’s region, which may in10 clude— 

11 ‘‘(A) improvements in access to care pro12 vided by a health professional with training in 

13 geriatrics or gerontology; 

14 ‘‘(B) improvements in family caregiver ca15 pacity to care for older adults; 

16 ‘‘(C) patient outcome data demonstrating 

17 an improvement in older adult health status or 

18 care quality; and 

19 ‘‘(D) reports on how the applicant will im20 plement specific innovations with the target au21 dience to improve older adults’ health status or 

22 the quality of care. 

23 ‘‘(5) EQUITABLE GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBU24 TION.—The Secretary may award grants and con25 tracts under paragraph (1) in a manner which will 


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1 equitably distribute such grants among the various 

2 regions of the United States. 

3 ‘‘(6) QUALIFICATIONS.—In awarding grants 

4 and contracts under paragraph (2), the Secretary 

5 shall consider programs that— 

6 ‘‘(A) have the goal of improving and pro7 viding comprehensive coordinated care of older 

8 adults, including medical, dental, and psycho9 social needs; 

10 ‘‘(B) demonstrate coordination with other 

11 programmatic efforts funded under this pro12 gram or other public or private entities; 

13 ‘‘(C) support the training and retraining of 

14 faculty, preceptors, primary care providers, and 

15 providers in other specialties to increase their 

16 knowledge of geriatrics and gerontology; 

17 ‘‘(D) provide clinical experiences across 

18 care settings, including ambulatory care, hos19 pitals, post-acute care, nursing homes, federally 

20 qualified health centers, and home and commu21 nity-based services; 

22 ‘‘(E) emphasize education and engagement 

23 of family caregivers on disease self-manage24 ment, medication management, and stress re25 duction strategies; 


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1 ‘‘(F) provide training to the health care 

2 workforce on disease self-management, motiva3 tional interviewing, medication management, 

4 and stress reduction strategies; 

5 ‘‘(G) provide training to the health care 

6 workforce on social determinants of health in 

7 order to better address the geriatric health care 

8 needs of diverse populations with cultural and 

9 linguistic competency; 

10 ‘‘(H) integrate geriatrics competencies and 

11 interprofessional collaborative practice into 

12 health care education and training curricula for 

13 residents, fellows, and students; 

14 ‘‘(I) substantially benefit rural or under15 served populations of older adults or conduct 

16 outreach to communities that have a shortage 

17 of geriatric workforce professionals; 

18 ‘‘(J) integrate behavioral health com19 petencies into primary care practice, especially 

20 with respect to elder abuse, pain management, 

21 and advance care planning; or 

22 ‘‘(K) offer short-term intensive courses 

23 that— 

24 ‘‘(i) focus on geriatrics, gerontology, 

25 chronic care management, and long-term 


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1 care that provide supplemental training for 

2 faculty members in medical schools and 

3 other health professions schools or grad4 uate programs in psychology, pharmacy, 

5 nursing, social work, dentistry, public 

6 health, allied health, or other health dis7 ciplines, as approved by the Secretary; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) are open to current faculty, and 

9 appropriately credentialed volunteer faculty 

10 and practitioners, to upgrade their knowl11 edge and clinical skills for the care of older 

12 adults and adults with functional and cog13 nitive limitations and to enhance their 

14 interdisciplinary teaching skills. 

15 ‘‘(7) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under 

16 paragraph (1), particularly with respect to awarding, 

17 in fiscal year 2020, any amount appropriated for 

18 such fiscal year for purposes of carrying out this 

19 subsection that is in excess of the amount appro20 priated for the most previous fiscal year for which 

21 appropriations were made for such purposes, the 

22 Secretary may give priority to entities that oper23 ate— 

24 ‘‘(A) in communities that have a shortage 

25 of geriatric workforce professionals; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) in States in which no entity has pre2 viously received an award under such paragraph 

3 (including as in effect before the date of enact4 ment of the Educating Medical Professionals 

5 and Optimizing Workforce Efficiency and Read6 iness for Health Act of 2019). 

7 ‘‘(8) AWARD AMOUNTS.—Awards under para8 graph (1) shall be in an amount determined by the 

9 Secretary. Entities that submit applications under 

10 this subsection that describe a plan for providing 

11 geriatric education and training for home health 

12 workers and family caregivers are eligible to receive 

13 $100,000 per year more than entities that do not in14 clude a description of such a plan. 

15 ‘‘(9) REPORTING.—Each entity awarded a 

16 grant under paragraph (1) shall submit an annual 

17 report to the Secretary on financial and pro18 grammatic performance under such grant, which 

19 may include factors such as the number of trainees, 

20 the number of professions and disciplines, the num21 ber of partnerships with health care delivery sites, 

22 the number of faculty and practicing professionals 

23 who participated in continuing education programs, 

24 and such other factors as the Secretary may require. 

25 ‘‘(b) GERIATRIC ACADEMIC CAREER AWARDS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Sec2 retary shall establish a program to award grants, to 

3 be known as Geriatric Academic Career Awards, to 

4 eligible entities applying on behalf of eligible individ5 uals to promote the career development of such indi6 viduals as academic geriatricians or other academic 

7 geriatrics health professionals. 

8 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY.— 

9 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—For purposes of 

10 this subsection, the term ‘eligible entity’ 

11 means— 

12 ‘‘(i) an accredited school of allopathic 

13 medicine, osteopathic medicine, nursing, 

14 social work, psychology, dentistry, phar15 macy, or allied health; or 

16 ‘‘(ii) another type of accredited health 

17 professions school or graduate program 

18 deemed by the Secretary to be eligible 

19 under this subsection. 

20 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of 

22 this subsection, the term ‘eligible indi23 vidual’ means an individual who— 

24 ‘‘(I) has a junior, nontenured, 

25 faculty appointment at an accredited 


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1 school of allopathic medicine, osteo2 pathic medicine, nursing, social work, 

3 psychology, dentistry, pharmacy, or 

4 allied health or at another type of ac5 credited health professions school or 

6 graduate program described in sub7 paragraph (A)(ii); 

8 ‘‘(II)(aa) is board certified or 

9 board eligible in internal medicine, 

10 family practice, psychiatry, or licensed 

11 dentistry, or has completed the train12 ing required for the individual’s dis13 cipline; and 

14 ‘‘(bb) is employed at an eligible 

15 entity; or 

16 ‘‘(III) has completed an approved 

17 fellowship program in geriatrics or 

18 gerontology, or has completed spe19 cialty training in geriatrics or geron20 tology as required for the individual’s 

21 discipline and any additional geri22 atrics or gerontology training as re23 quired by the Secretary. 

24 ‘‘(ii) SPECIAL RULE.—If during the 

25 period of an award under this subsection 


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1 respecting an eligible individual, the indi2 vidual is promoted to associate professor 

3 and thereby no longer meets the criteria of 

4 clause (i)(I), the individual may continue 

5 to be treated as an eligible individual 

6 through the term of the award. 

7 ‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS.—An eligible entity may not 

8 receive an award under paragraph (1) on behalf of 

9 an eligible individual unless the eligible entity— 

10 ‘‘(A) submits to the Secretary an applica11 tion, at such time, in such manner, and con12 taining such information as the Secretary may 

13 require, and the Secretary approves such appli14 cation; 

15 ‘‘(B) provides, in such form and manner as 

16 the Secretary may require, assurances that the 

17 eligible individual on whose behalf an applica18 tion was submitted under subparagraph (A) will 

19 meet the service requirement described in para20 graph (8); and 

21 ‘‘(C) provides, in such form and manner as 

22 the Secretary may require, assurances that such 

23 individual has a full-time faculty appointment 

24 in an accredited health professions school or 

25 graduate program and documented commitment 


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1 from such school or program to spend 75 per2 cent of the individual’s time that is supported 

3 by the award on teaching and developing skills 

4 in interprofessional education in geriatrics. 

5 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS.—In awarding grants 

6 under this subsection, the Secretary— 

7 ‘‘(A) shall give priority to eligible entities 

8 that apply on behalf of eligible individuals who 

9 are on the faculty of institutions that integrate 

10 geriatrics education, training, and best prac11 tices into academic program criteria; 

12 ‘‘(B) may give priority to eligible entities 

13 that operate a geriatrics workforce enhance14 ment program under subsection (a); 

15 ‘‘(C) shall ensure that grants are equitably 

16 distributed across the various geographical re17 gions of the United States, including rural and 

18 underserved areas; 

19 ‘‘(D) shall pay particular attention to geri20 atrics health care workforce needs among un21 derserved populations, diverse communities, and 

22 rural areas; 

23 ‘‘(E) may not require an eligible individual, 

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1 gible individual, to be a recipient of a grant or 

2 contract under this part; and 

3 ‘‘(F) shall pay the full amount of the 

4 award to the eligible entity. 

5 ‘‘(5) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—An eligible 

6 entity receiving an award under paragraph (1) on 

7 behalf of an eligible individual shall provide assur8 ances to the Secretary that funds provided to such 

9 individual under this subsection will be used only to 

10 supplement, not to supplant, the amount of Federal, 

11 State, and local funds otherwise expended by such 

12 individual. 

13 ‘‘(6) AMOUNT AND TERM.— 

14 ‘‘(A) AMOUNT.—The amount of an award 

15 under this subsection for eligible individuals 

16 who are physicians shall equal $100,000 for fis17 cal year 2020, adjusted for subsequent fiscal 

18 years to reflect the increase in the Consumer 

19 Price Index. The Secretary shall determine the 

20 amount of an award under this subsection for 

21 individuals who are not physicians. 

22 ‘‘(B) TERM.—The term of any award 

23 made under this subsection shall not exceed 5 

24 years. 


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1 ‘‘(7) SERVICE REQUIREMENT.—An eligible indi2 vidual on whose behalf an application was submitted 

3 and approved under paragraph (3)(A) shall provide 

4 training in clinical geriatrics or gerontology, includ5 ing the training of interprofessional teams of health 

6 care professionals. 

7 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To 

8 carry out this section, there is authorized to be appro9 priated $51,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 

10 2024. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, no funds 

11 shall be made available to carry out subsection (b) for a 

12 fiscal year unless the amount made available to carry out 

13 this section for such fiscal year is more than the amount 

14 made available to carry out this section for fiscal year 

15 2017.’’. 

16 SEC. 4. INVESTMENT IN TOMORROW’S PEDIATRIC HEALTH 

17 CARE WORKFORCE. 

18 Section 775 of the Public Health Service Act (42 

19 U.S.C. 295f) is amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 775. INVESTMENT IN TOMORROW’S PEDIATRIC 

21 HEALTH CARE WORKFORCE. 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

23 and carry out a program of entering into pediatric spe24 cialty loan repayment agreements with qualified health 

25 professionals under which— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the qualified health professional agrees to 

2 a period of not less than 2 years of obligated service 

3 during which the professional will— 

4 ‘‘(A) participate in an accredited pediatric 

5 medical subspecialty, pediatric surgical spe6 cialty, child and adolescent psychiatry sub7 specialty, or child and adolescent mental and 

8 behavioral health residency or fellowship; or 

9 ‘‘(B) be employed full-time in providing pe10 diatric medical subspecialty care, pediatric sur11 gical specialty care, child and adolescent psychi12 atry subspecialty care, or child and adolescent 

13 mental and behavioral health care, including 

14 substance use disorder prevention and treat15 ment services, in an area with— 

16 ‘‘(i) a shortage of health care profes17 sionals practicing in the pediatric medical 

18 subspecialty, the pediatric surgical spe19 cialty, the child and adolescent psychiatry 

20 subspecialty, or child and adolescent men21 tal and behavioral health, as applicable; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(ii) a sufficient pediatric population, 

24 as determined by the Secretary, to support 

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1 atric medical subspecialty, the pediatric 

2 surgical specialty, the child and adolescent 

3 psychiatry subspecialty, or child and ado4 lescent mental and behavioral health, as 

5 applicable; and 

6 ‘‘(2) the Secretary agrees to make payments on 

7 the principal and interest of undergraduate, grad8 uate, or graduate medical education loans of the 

9 qualified health professional of not more than 

10 $35,000 a year for each year of agreed upon service 

11 under paragraph (1) for a period of not more than 

12 3 years. 

13 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) PEDIATRIC MEDICAL SPECIALISTS AND PE15 DIATRIC SURGICAL SPECIALISTS.—For purposes of 

16 loan repayment agreements under this section with 

17 respect to pediatric medical subspecialty and pedi18 atric surgical specialty practitioners, the term ‘quali19 fied health professional’ means a licensed physician 

20 who— 

21 ‘‘(A) is entering or receiving training in an 

22 accredited pediatric medical subspecialty or pe23 diatric surgical subspecialty residency or fellow24 ship; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) has completed (but not prior to the 

2 end of the calendar year in which the Edu3 cating Medical Professionals and Optimizing 

4 Workforce Efficiency and Readiness for Health 

5 Act of 2019 is enacted) the training described 

6 in subparagraph (A). 

7 ‘‘(2) CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRY

8 AND MENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH.—For pur9 poses of loan repayment agreements under this sec10 tion with respect to child and adolescent mental and 

11 behavioral health care, the term ‘qualified health 

12 professional’ means a health care professional who— 

13 ‘‘(A) has received specialized training or 

14 clinical experience in child and adolescent men15 tal health in psychiatry, psychology, school psy16 chology, or psychiatric nursing; 

17 ‘‘(B) has a license or certification in a 

18 State to practice allopathic medicine, osteo19 pathic medicine, psychology, school psychology, 

20 or psychiatric nursing; or 

21 ‘‘(C) is a mental health service professional 

22 who has completed (but not before the end of 

23 the calendar year in which the Educating Med24 ical Professionals and Optimizing Workforce 

25 Efficiency and Readiness for Health Act of 


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1 2019 is enacted) specialized training or clinical 

2 experience in child and adolescent mental health 

3 described in subparagraph (A). 

4 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL ELIGIBILITY REQUIRE5 MENTS.—The Secretary may not enter into a loan 

6 repayment agreement under this section with a 

7 qualified health professional unless— 

8 ‘‘(A) the professional agrees to work in, or 

9 for a provider serving, an area or community 

10 with a shortage of eligible qualified health pro11 fessionals (as defined in paragraphs (1) and 

12 (2)); 

13 ‘‘(B) the professional is a United States 

14 citizen, a permanent legal United States resi15 dent, or lawfully present in the United States; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(C) if the professional is enrolled in a 

18 graduate program, the program is accredited, 

19 and the professional has an acceptable level of 

20 academic standing (as determined by the Sec21 retary). 

22 ‘‘(c) PRIORITY.—In entering into loan repayment 

23 agreements under this section, the Secretary shall give pri24 ority to applicants who— 


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1 ‘‘(1) have familiarity with evidence-based meth2 ods and cultural and linguistic competence in health 

3 care services; and 

4 ‘‘(2) demonstrate financial need. 

5 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

6 are authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 

7 2020 through 2024— 

8 ‘‘(1) $30,000,000 to carry out this section with 

9 respect to loan repayment agreements with qualified 

10 health professionals described in subsection (b)(1); 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(2) $20,000,000 to carry out this section with 

13 respect to loan repayment agreements with respect 

14 to qualified health professionals described in sub15 section (b)(2).’’. 

16 SEC. 5. INCREASING WORKFORCE DIVERSITY IN THE PRO17 FESSIONS OF PHYSICAL THERAPY, OCCUPA18 TIONAL THERAPY, AUDIOLOGY, AND SPEECH19 LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY. 

20 Title VII of the Public Health Service Act is amend21 ed— 

22 (1) by redesignating part G (42 U.S.C. 295j et 

23 seq.) as part H; and 

24 (2) by inserting after part F (42 U.S.C. 294n 

25 et seq.) the following new part: 


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1 ‘‘PART G—INCREASING WORKFORCE DIVERSITY 

2 IN THE PROFESSIONS OF PHYSICAL THER3 APY, OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY, AUDIOLOGY, 

4 AND SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY 

5 ‘‘SEC. 783. SCHOLARSHIPS AND STIPENDS. 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may award grants 

7 and contracts to eligible entities to increase educational 

8 opportunities in the professions of physical therapy, occu9 pational therapy, audiology, and speech-language pathol10 ogy for eligible individuals by— 

11 ‘‘(1) providing student scholarships or stipends, 

12 including for— 

13 ‘‘(A) completion of an accelerated degree 

14 program; 

15 ‘‘(B) completion of an associate’s, bach16 elor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree program; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(C) entry by a diploma or associate’s de19 gree practitioner into a bridge or degree com20 pletion program; 

21 ‘‘(2) providing assistance for completion of pre22 requisite courses or other preparation necessary for 

23 acceptance for enrollment in the eligible entity; and 

24 ‘‘(3) carrying out activities to increase the re25 tention of students in one or more programs in the 


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1 professions of physical therapy, occupational ther2 apy, audiology, and speech-language pathology. 

3 ‘‘(b) CONSIDERATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS.—In 

4 carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary shall take into 

5 consideration the recommendations of national organiza6 tions representing the professions of physical therapy, oc7 cupational therapy, audiology, and speech-language pa8 thology, including the American Physical Therapy Asso9 ciation, the American Occupational Therapy Association, 

10 the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the 

11 American Academy of Audiology, and the Academy of 

12 Doctors of Audiology. 

13 ‘‘(c) REQUIRED INFORMATION AND CONDITIONS FOR

14 AWARD RECIPIENTS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may require 

16 recipients of awards under this section to report to 

17 the Secretary concerning the annual admission, re18 tention, and graduation rates for eligible individuals 

19 in programs of the recipient leading to a degree in 

20 any of the professions of physical therapy, occupa21 tional therapy, audiology, and speech-language pa22 thology. 

23 ‘‘(2) FALLING RATES.—If any of the rates re24 ported by a recipient under paragraph (1) fall below 

25 the average for such recipient over the two years 


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1 preceding the year covered by the report, the recipi2 ent shall provide the Secretary with plans for imme3 diately improving such rates. 

4 ‘‘(3) INELIGIBILITY.—A recipient described in 

5 paragraph (2) shall be ineligible for continued fund6 ing under this section if the plan of the recipient 

7 fails to improve the rates within the 1-year period 

8 beginning on the date such plan is implemented. 

9 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—The term ‘eligible 

11 entity’ means an education program that— 

12 ‘‘(A) is accredited by— 

13 ‘‘(i) the Council on Academic Accredi14 tation in Audiology and Speech-Language 

15 Pathology or the Accreditation Commission 

16 for Audiology Education; 

17 ‘‘(ii) the Commission on Accreditation 

18 in Physical Therapy Education; or 

19 ‘‘(iii) the Accreditation Council for 

20 Occupational Therapy Education; and 

21 ‘‘(B) is carrying out a program for recruit22 ing and retaining students underrepresented in 

23 the professions of physical therapy, occupa24 tional therapy, audiology, and speech-language 


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26 

HR 2781 RFS

1 pathology (including racial or ethnic minorities, 

2 or students from disadvantaged backgrounds). 

3 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘eligible 

4 individual’ means an individual who— 

5 ‘‘(A) is a member of a class of persons who 

6 are underrepresented in the professions of phys7 ical therapy, occupational therapy, audiology, 

8 and speech-language pathology (including indi9 viduals who are racial or ethnic minorities, or 

10 are from disadvantaged backgrounds); 

11 ‘‘(B) has a financial need for a scholarship 

12 or stipend; and 

13 ‘‘(C) is enrolled (or accepted for enroll14 ment) at an audiology, speech-language pathol15 ogy, physical therapy, or occupational therapy 

16 program as a full-time student at an eligible en17 tity. 

18 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

19 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

20 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024.’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives October 28, 

2019. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 


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