IB 

Union Calendar No. 169 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2781 

[Report No. 116–214] 

To amend title VII of the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize certain 

programs relating to the health professions workforce, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 16, 2019 

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY (for herself and Mr. BURGESS) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

SEPTEMBER 24, 2019 

Additional sponsors: Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. LONG, Mr. RUSH, Mr. GRIJALVA, 

Mr. CASTEN of Illinois, Ms. NORTON, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. KELLY

of Illinois, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. WALDEN, Ms. CLARKE of New 

York, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Miss RICE of New York, and Mr. 

MORELLE

SEPTEMBER 24, 2019 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 16, 2019] 


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A BILL 

To amend title VII of the Public Health Service Act to 

reauthorize certain programs relating to the health professions workforce, and for other purposes. 


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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 ‘‘Educating Medical Pro5 fessionals and Optimizing Workforce Efficiency and Readi6 ness for Health Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘EMPOWER for Health 

7 Act of 2019’’. 

8 SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF HEALTH PROFESSIONS 

9 WORKFORCE PROGRAMS. 

10 (a) CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE.—Subsection (i) of sec11 tion 736 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 293) 

12 is amended to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

14 out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated 

15 $24,897,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024.’’. 

16 (b) HEALTH PROFESSIONS TRAINING FOR DIVER17 SITY.—Section 740 of the Public Health Service Act (42 

18 U.S.C. 293d) is amended— 

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

20 for fiscal year 2010, and such sums as may be nec21 essary for each of the fiscal years 2011 through 2014’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘$51,419,000 for each of fiscal years 

23 2020 through 2024’’; 

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

25 each of the fiscal years 2010 through 2014’’ and inVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:16 Sep 24, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2781.RH H2781

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

2 through 2024’’; and 

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

4 for fiscal year 2010 and such sums as may be nec5 essary for each of the fiscal years 2011 through 2014’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘$20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

7 2020 through 2024’’. 

8 (c) PRIMARY CARE TRAINING AND ENHANCEMENT.— 

9 Section 747(c)(1) of the Public Health Service Act (42 

10 U.S.C. 293k(c)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘$125,000,000 

11 for fiscal year 2010, and such sums as may be necessary 

12 for each of fiscal years 2011 through 2014’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘$51,371,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024’’. 

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

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

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

17 ‘‘$30,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 and such sums as may 

18 be necessary for each of fiscal years 2011 through 2015’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘$42,707,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 

20 through 2024’’. 

21 (e) AREA HEALTH EDUCATION CENTERS.—Section 

22 751(j)(1) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

23 294a(j)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘$125,000,000 for each 

24 of the fiscal years 2010 through 2014’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘$42,075,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024’’. 


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1 (f) NATIONAL CENTER FOR HEALTHCARE WORKFORCE

2 ANALYSIS.— 

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

4 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 294n(e)(1)(A)) 

5 is amended by striking ‘‘$7,500,000 for each of fiscal 

6 years 2010 through 2014’’ and inserting ‘‘$5,947,000 

7 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024’’. 

8 (2) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—Section 761(e)(2) 

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

10 294n(e)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘subsection (a)’’ 

11 and inserting ‘‘paragraph (1)’’. 

12 (g) PUBLIC HEALTH WORKFORCE.—Section 770(a) of 

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

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

15 such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 

16 2012 through 2015’’ and inserting ‘‘$17,850,000 for each 

17 of fiscal years 2020 through 2024’’. 

18 SEC. 3. EDUCATION AND TRAINING RELATING TO GERI19 ATRICS. 

20 Section 753 of the Public Health Service Act (42 

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

22 ‘‘SEC. 753. EDUCATION AND TRAINING RELATING TO GERI23 ATRICS. 

24 ‘‘(a) GERIATRICS WORKFORCE ENHANCEMENT PRO25 GRAMS.— 


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

2 grants or contracts under this subsection to entities 

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

4 799B, section 801(2), or section 865(d), or other 

5 health professions schools or programs approved by 

6 the Secretary, for the establishment or operation of 

7 geriatrics workforce enhancement programs that meet 

8 the requirements of paragraph (2). 

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

10 enhancement program meets the requirements of this 

11 paragraph if such program supports the development 

12 of a health care workforce that maximizes patient and 

13 family engagement and improves health outcomes for 

14 older adults by integrating geriatrics with primary 

15 care and other appropriate specialties. Special em16 phasis should be placed on providing the primary 

17 care workforce with the knowledge and skills to care 

18 for older adults and collaborating with community 

19 partners to address gaps in health care for older 

20 adults through individual, system, community, and 

21 population level changes. Areas of programmatic focus 

22 may include the following: 

23 ‘‘(A) Transforming clinical training envi24 ronments to integrated geriatrics and primary 

25 care delivery systems to ensure trainees are well 


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1 prepared to practice in and lead in such sys2 tems. 

3 ‘‘(B) Developing providers from multiple 

4 disciplines and specialties to work interprofes5 sionally to assess and address the needs and pref6 erences of older adults and their families and 

7 caregivers at the individual, community, and 

8 population levels with cultural and linguistic 

9 competency. 

10 ‘‘(C) Creating and delivering community11 based programs that will provide older adults 

12 and their families and caregivers with the 

13 knowledge and skills to improve health outcomes 

14 and the quality of care for such adults. 

15 ‘‘(D) Providing Alzheimer’s disease and re16 lated dementias (ADRD) education to the fami17 lies and caregivers of older adults, direct care 

18 workers, health professions students, faculty, and 

19 providers. 

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

21 grants and contracts under paragraph (1) for a pe22 riod not to exceed five years. 

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

24 grant or contract under paragraph (1), an entity de25 scribed in such paragraph shall submit to the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:16 Sep 24, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2781.RH H2781

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1 retary an application at such time, in such manner, 

2 and containing such information as the Secretary 

3 may require, including the specific measures the ap4 plicant will use to demonstrate that the project is im5 proving the quality of care provided to older adults 

6 in the applicant’s region, which may include— 

7 ‘‘(A) improvements in access to care pro8 vided by a health professional with training in 

9 geriatrics or gerontology; 

10 ‘‘(B) improvements in family caregiver ca11 pacity to care for older adults; 

12 ‘‘(C) patient outcome data demonstrating 

13 an improvement in older adult health status or 

14 care quality; and 

15 ‘‘(D) reports on how the applicant will im16 plement specific innovations with the target au17 dience to improve older adults’ health status or 

18 the quality of care. 

19 ‘‘(5) EQUITABLE GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.— 

20 The Secretary may award grants and contracts under 

21 paragraph (1) in a manner which will equitably dis22 tribute such grants among the various regions of the 

23 United States. 


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1 ‘‘(6) QUALIFICATIONS.—In awarding grants and 

2 contracts under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall 

3 consider programs that— 

4 ‘‘(A) have the goal of improving and pro5 viding comprehensive coordinated care of older 

6 adults, including medical, dental, and psycho7 social needs; 

8 ‘‘(B) demonstrate coordination with other 

9 programmatic efforts funded under this program 

10 or other public or private entities; 

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

12 faculty, preceptors, primary care providers, and 

13 providers in other specialties to increase their 

14 knowledge of geriatrics and gerontology; 

15 ‘‘(D) provide clinical experiences across care 

16 settings, including ambulatory care, hospitals, 

17 post-acute care, nursing homes, federally quali18 fied health centers, and home and community19 based services; 

20 ‘‘(E) emphasize education and engagement 

21 of family caregivers on disease self-management, 

22 medication management, and stress reduction 

23 strategies; 

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

25 workforce on disease self-management, motivaVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:16 Sep 24, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2781.RH H2781

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1 tional interviewing, medication management, 

2 and stress reduction strategies; 

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

4 workforce on social determinants of health in 

5 order to better address the geriatric health care 

6 needs of diverse populations with cultural and 

7 linguistic competency; 

8 ‘‘(H) integrate geriatrics competencies and 

9 interprofessional collaborative practice into 

10 health care education and training curricula for 

11 residents, fellows, and students; 

12 ‘‘(I) substantially benefit rural or under13 served populations of older adults or conduct 

14 outreach to communities that have a shortage of 

15 geriatric workforce professionals; 

16 ‘‘(J) integrate behavioral health com17 petencies into primary care practice, especially 

18 with respect to elder abuse, pain management, 

19 and advance care planning; or 

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

21 that— 

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

23 chronic care management, and long-term 

24 care that provide supplemental training for 

25 faculty members in medical schools and 


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1 other health professions schools or graduate 

2 programs in psychology, pharmacy, nurs3 ing, social work, dentistry, public health, al4 lied health, or other health disciplines, as 

5 approved by the Secretary; and 

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

7 appropriately credentialed volunteer faculty 

8 and practitioners, to upgrade their knowl9 edge and clinical skills for the care of older 

10 adults and adults with functional and cog11 nitive limitations and to enhance their 

12 interdisciplinary teaching skills. 

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

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

15 in fiscal year 2020, any amount appropriated for 

16 such fiscal year for purposes of carrying out this sub17 section that is in excess of the amount appropriated 

18 for the most previous fiscal year for which appropria19 tions were made for such purposes, the Secretary may 

20 give priority to entities that operate— 

21 ‘‘(A) in communities that have a shortage of 

22 geriatric workforce professionals; and 

23 ‘‘(B) in States in which no entity has pre24 viously received an award under such paragraph 

25 (including as in effect before the date of enactVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:16 Sep 24, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2781.RH H2781

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1 ment of the Educating Medical Professionals and 

2 Optimizing Workforce Efficiency and Readiness 

3 for Health Act of 2019). 

4 ‘‘(8) AWARD AMOUNTS.—Awards under para5 graph (1) shall be in an amount determined by the 

6 Secretary. Entities that submit applications under 

7 this subsection that describe a plan for providing 

8 geriatric education and training for home health 

9 workers and family caregivers are eligible to receive 

10 $100,000 per year more than entities that do not in11 clude a description of such a plan. 

12 ‘‘(9) REPORTING.—Each entity awarded a grant 

13 under paragraph (1) shall submit an annual report 

14 to the Secretary on financial and programmatic per15 formance under such grant, which may include fac16 tors such as the number of trainees, the number of 

17 professions and disciplines, the number of partner18 ships with health care delivery sites, the number of 

19 faculty and practicing professionals who participated 

20 in continuing education programs, and such other 

21 factors as the Secretary may require. 

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

23 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Sec24 retary shall establish a program to award grants, to 

25 be known as Geriatric Academic Career Awards, to 


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1 eligible entities applying on behalf of eligible individ2 uals to promote the career development of such indi3 viduals as academic geriatricians or other academic 

4 geriatrics health professionals. 

5 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY.— 

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

7 this subsection, the term ‘eligible entity’ means— 

8 ‘‘(i) an accredited school of allopathic 

9 medicine, osteopathic medicine, nursing, so10 cial work, psychology, dentistry, pharmacy, 

11 or allied health; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) another type of accredited health 

13 professions school or graduate program 

14 deemed by the Secretary to be eligible under 

15 this subsection. 

16 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.— 

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of 

18 this subsection, the term ‘eligible individual’ 

19 means an individual who— 

20 ‘‘(I) has a junior, nontenured, fac21 ulty appointment at an accredited 

22 school of allopathic medicine, osteo23 pathic medicine, nursing, social work, 

24 psychology, dentistry, pharmacy, or al25 lied health or at another type of acVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:16 Sep 24, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2781.RH H2781

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1 credited health professions school or 

2 graduate program described in sub3 paragraph (A)(ii); 

4 ‘‘(II)(aa) is board certified or 

5 board eligible in internal medicine, 

6 family practice, psychiatry, or licensed 

7 dentistry, or has completed the train8 ing required for the individual’s dis9 cipline; and 

10 ‘‘(bb) is employed at an eligible 

11 entity; or 

12 ‘‘(III) has completed an approved 

13 fellowship program in geriatrics or 

14 gerontology, or has completed specialty 

15 training in geriatrics or gerontology as 

16 required for the individual’s discipline 

17 and any additional geriatrics or geron18 tology training as required by the Sec19 retary. 

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

21 period of an award under this subsection 

22 respecting an eligible individual, the indi23 vidual is promoted to associate professor 

24 and thereby no longer meets the criteria of 

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


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1 to be treated as an eligible individual 

2 through the term of the award. 

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

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

5 eligible individual unless the eligible entity— 

6 ‘‘(A) submits to the Secretary an applica7 tion, at such time, in such manner, and con8 taining such information as the Secretary may 

9 require, and the Secretary approves such appli10 cation; 

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

12 the Secretary may require, assurances that the 

13 eligible individual on whose behalf an applica14 tion was submitted under subparagraph (A) will 

15 meet the service requirement described in para16 graph (8); and 

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

18 the Secretary may require, assurances that such 

19 individual has a full-time faculty appointment 

20 in an accredited health professions school or 

21 graduate program and documented commitment 

22 from such school or program to spend 75 percent 

23 of the individual’s time that is supported by the 

24 award on teaching and developing skills in 

25 interprofessional education in geriatrics. 


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

2 under this subsection, the Secretary— 

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

4 that apply on behalf of eligible individuals who 

5 are on the faculty of institutions that integrate 

6 geriatrics education, training, and best practices 

7 into academic program criteria; 

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

9 that operate a geriatrics workforce enhancement 

10 program under subsection (a); 

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

12 distributed across the various geographical re13 gions of the United States, including rural and 

14 underserved areas; 

15 ‘‘(D) shall pay particular attention to geri16 atrics health care workforce needs among under17 served populations, diverse communities, and 

18 rural areas; 

19 ‘‘(E) may not require an eligible indi20 vidual, or an eligible entity applying on behalf 

21 of an eligible individual, to be a recipient of a 

22 grant or contract under this part; and 

23 ‘‘(F) shall pay the full amount of the award 

24 to the eligible entity. 


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1 ‘‘(5) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—An eligible en2 tity receiving an award under paragraph (1) on be3 half of an eligible individual shall provide assurances 

4 to the Secretary that funds provided to such indi5 vidual under this subsection will be used only to sup6 plement, not to supplant, the amount of Federal, 

7 State, and local funds otherwise expended by such in8 dividual. 

9 ‘‘(6) AMOUNT AND TERM.— 

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

11 under this subsection for eligible individuals who 

12 are physicians shall equal $100,000 for fiscal 

13 year 2020, adjusted for subsequent fiscal years to 

14 reflect the increase in the Consumer Price Index. 

15 The Secretary shall determine the amount of an 

16 award under this subsection for individuals who 

17 are not physicians. 

18 ‘‘(B) TERM.—The term of any award made 

19 under this subsection shall not exceed 5 years. 

20 ‘‘(7) SERVICE REQUIREMENT.—An eligible indi21 vidual on whose behalf an application was submitted 

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

23 training in clinical geriatrics or gerontology, includ24 ing the training of interprofessional teams of health 

25 care professionals. 


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1 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

2 out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated 

3 $51,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024. Not4 withstanding the preceding sentence, no funds shall be made 

5 available to carry out subsection (b) for a fiscal year unless 

6 the amount made available to carry out this section for such 

7 fiscal year is more than the amount made available to carry 

8 out this section for fiscal year 2017.’’. 

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

10 CARE WORKFORCE. 

11 Section 775 of the Public Health Service Act (42 

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

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

14 HEALTH CARE WORKFORCE. 

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

16 carry out a program of entering into pediatric specialty 

17 loan repayment agreements with qualified health profes18 sionals under which— 

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

20 period of not less than 2 years of obligated service 

21 during which the professional will— 

22 ‘‘(A) participate in an accredited pediatric 

23 medical subspecialty, pediatric surgical spe24 cialty, child and adolescent psychiatry subVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:16 Sep 24, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2781.RH H2781

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1 specialty, or child and adolescent mental and be2 havioral health residency or fellowship; or 

3 ‘‘(B) be employed full-time in providing pe4 diatric medical subspecialty care, pediatric sur5 gical specialty care, child and adolescent psychi6 atry subspecialty care, or child and adolescent 

7 mental and behavioral health care, including 

8 substance use disorder prevention and treatment 

9 services, in an area with— 

10 ‘‘(i) a shortage of health care profes11 sionals practicing in the pediatric medical 

12 subspecialty, the pediatric surgical spe13 cialty, the child and adolescent psychiatry 

14 subspecialty, or child and adolescent mental 

15 and behavioral health, as applicable; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) a sufficient pediatric population, 

17 as determined by the Secretary, to support 

18 the addition of a practitioner in the pedi19 atric medical subspecialty, the pediatric 

20 surgical specialty, the child and adolescent 

21 psychiatry subspecialty, or child and ado22 lescent mental and behavioral health, as ap23 plicable; and 

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

25 the principal and interest of undergraduate, gradVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:16 Sep 24, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2781.RH H2781

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1 uate, or graduate medical education loans of the 

2 qualified health professional of not more than $35,000 

3 a year for each year of agreed upon service under 

4 paragraph (1) for a period of not more than 3 years. 

5 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) PEDIATRIC MEDICAL SPECIALISTS AND PE7 DIATRIC SURGICAL SPECIALISTS.—For purposes of 

8 loan repayment agreements under this section with 

9 respect to pediatric medical subspecialty and pedi10 atric surgical specialty practitioners, the term ‘quali11 fied health professional’ means a licensed physician 

12 who— 

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

14 accredited pediatric medical subspecialty or pe15 diatric surgical subspecialty residency or fellow16 ship; or 

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

18 end of the calendar year in which the Educating 

19 Medical Professionals and Optimizing Workforce 

20 Efficiency and Readiness for Health Act of 2019 

21 is enacted) the training described in subpara22 graph (A). 

23 ‘‘(2) CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRY AND

24 MENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH.—For purposes of 

25 loan repayment agreements under this section with 


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1 respect to child and adolescent mental and behavioral 

2 health care, the term ‘qualified health professional’ 

3 means a health care professional who— 

4 ‘‘(A) has received specialized training or 

5 clinical experience in child and adolescent men6 tal health in psychiatry, psychology, school psy7 chology, or psychiatric nursing; 

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

9 State to practice allopathic medicine, osteopathic 

10 medicine, psychology, school psychology, or psy11 chiatric nursing; or 

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

13 who has completed (but not before the end of the 

14 calendar year in which the Educating Medical 

15 Professionals and Optimizing Workforce Effi16 ciency and Readiness for Health Act of 2019 is 

17 enacted) specialized training or clinical experi18 ence in child and adolescent mental health de19 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

20 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.— 

21 The Secretary may not enter into a loan repayment 

22 agreement under this section with a qualified health 

23 professional unless— 

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

25 for a provider serving, an area or community 


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1 with a shortage of eligible qualified health profes2 sionals (as defined in paragraphs (1) and (2)); 

3 ‘‘(B) the professional is a United States cit4 izen, a permanent legal United States resident, 

5 or lawfully present in the United States; and 

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

7 graduate program, the program is accredited, 

8 and the professional has an acceptable level of 

9 academic standing (as determined by the Sec10 retary). 

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

12 agreements under this section, the Secretary shall give pri13 ority to applicants who— 

14 ‘‘(1) have familiarity with evidence-based meth15 ods and cultural and linguistic competence in health 

16 care services; and 

17 ‘‘(2) demonstrate financial need. 

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

19 are authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 

20 2020 through 2024— 

21 ‘‘(1) $30,000,000 to carry out this section with 

22 respect to loan repayment agreements with qualified 

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

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(2) $20,000,000 to carry out this section with 

2 respect to loan repayment agreements with respect to 

3 qualified health professionals described in subsection 

4 (b)(2).’’. 

5 SEC. 5. INCREASING WORKFORCE DIVERSITY IN THE PRO6 FESSIONS OF PHYSICAL THERAPY, OCCUPA7 TIONAL THERAPY, AUDIOLOGY, AND SPEECH8 LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY. 

9 Title VII of the Public Health Service Act is amend10 ed— 

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

12 seq.) as part H; and 

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

14 seq.) the following new part: 

15 ‘‘PART G—INCREASING WORKFORCE DIVERSITY 

16 IN THE PROFESSIONS OF PHYSICAL THER17 APY, OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY, AUDIOLOGY, 

18 AND SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY 

19 ‘‘SEC. 783. SCHOLARSHIPS AND STIPENDS. 

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

21 and contracts to eligible entities to increase educational op22 portunities in the professions of physical therapy, occupa23 tional therapy, audiology, and speech-language pathology 

24 for eligible individuals by— 


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

2 including for— 

3 ‘‘(A) completion of an accelerated degree 

4 program; 

5 ‘‘(B) completion of an associate’s, bachelor’s, 

6 master’s, or doctoral degree program; and 

7 ‘‘(C) entry by a diploma or associate’s de8 gree practitioner into a bridge or degree comple9 tion program; 

10 ‘‘(2) providing assistance for completion of pre11 requisite courses or other preparation necessary for 

12 acceptance for enrollment in the eligible entity; and 

13 ‘‘(3) carrying out activities to increase the reten14 tion of students in one or more programs in the pro15 fessions of physical therapy, occupational therapy, 

16 audiology, and speech-language pathology. 

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

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

19 consideration the recommendations of national organiza20 tions representing the professions of physical therapy, occu21 pational therapy, audiology, and speech-language pathol22 ogy, including the American Physical Therapy Association, 

23 the American Occupational Therapy Association, the Amer24 ican Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the American 


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1 Academy of Audiology, and the Academy of Doctors of 

2 Audiology. 

3 ‘‘(c) REQUIRED INFORMATION AND CONDITIONS FOR

4 AWARD RECIPIENTS.— 

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

6 recipients of awards under this section to report to 

7 the Secretary concerning the annual admission, reten8 tion, and graduation rates for eligible individuals in 

9 programs of the recipient leading to a degree in any 

10 of the professions of physical therapy, occupational 

11 therapy, audiology, and speech-language pathology. 

12 ‘‘(2) FALLING RATES.—If any of the rates re13 ported by a recipient under paragraph (1) fall below 

14 the average for such recipient over the two years pre15 ceding the year covered by the report, the recipient 

16 shall provide the Secretary with plans for imme17 diately improving such rates. 

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

19 paragraph (2) shall be ineligible for continued fund20 ing under this section if the plan of the recipient fails 

21 to improve the rates within the 1-year period begin22 ning on the date such plan is implemented. 

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

24 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—The term ‘eligible en25 tity’ means an education program that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) is accredited by— 

2 ‘‘(i) the Council on Academic Accredi3 tation in Audiology and Speech-Language 

4 Pathology or the Accreditation Commission 

5 for Audiology Education; 

6 ‘‘(ii) the Commission on Accreditation 

7 in Physical Therapy Education; or 

8 ‘‘(iii) the Accreditation Council for Oc9 cupational Therapy Education; and 

10 ‘‘(B) is carrying out a program for recruit11 ing and retaining students underrepresented in 

12 the professions of physical therapy, occupational 

13 therapy, audiology, and speech-language pathol14 ogy (including racial or ethnic minorities, or 

15 students from disadvantaged backgrounds). 

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

17 individual’ means an individual who— 

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

19 are underrepresented in the professions of phys20 ical therapy, occupational therapy, audiology, 

21 and speech-language pathology (including indi22 viduals who are racial or ethnic minorities, or 

23 are from disadvantaged backgrounds); 

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

25 or stipend; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) is enrolled (or accepted for enrollment) 

2 at an audiology, speech-language pathology, 

3 physical therapy, or occupational therapy pro4 gram as a full-time student at an eligible entity. 

5 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are 

6 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

7 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024.’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 169 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2781 

[Report No. 116–214] 

A BILL 

To amend title VII of the Public Health Service 

purposes. the health professions workforce, and for other Act to reauthorize certain programs relating to 

SEPTEMBER 24, 2019 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS