II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 831 

To provide for the establishment of a Health Workforce Advisory Commission 

to review Federal health workforce policies and make recommendations 

on improving those policies. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 18, 2005 

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

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

A BILL 

To provide for the establishment of a Health Workforce 

Advisory Commission to review Federal health workforce 

policies and make recommendations on improving those 

policies. 

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 ‘‘Health Workforce Ad5 visory Commission Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. HEALTH WORKFORCE ADVISORY COMMISSION. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Comptroller General 

8 shall establish a commission to be known as the Health 
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1 Workforce Advisory Commission (referred to in this Act 

2 as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

3 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall be 

5 composed of 18 members to be appointed by the 

6 Comptroller General not later than 90 days after the 

7 date of enactment of this Act, and an ex-officio 

8 member who shall serve as the Director of the Com9 mission. 

10 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—In appointing members 

11 to the Commission under paragraph (1), the Comp12 troller General shall ensure that— 

13 (A) the Commission includes individual 

14 with national recognition for their expertise in 

15 health care workforce issues, including work16 force forecasting, undergraduate and graduate 

17 training, economics, health care and health care 

18 systems financing, public health policy, and 

19 other fields; 

20 (B) the members are geographically rep21 resentative of the United States and maintain a 

22 balance between urban and rural representa23 tives; 
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1 (C) the members includes a representative 

2 from the commissioned corps of the Public 

3 Health Service; 

4 (D) the members represent the spectrum 

5 of professions in the current and future 

6 healthcare workforce, including physicians, 

7 nurses, and other health professionals and per8 sonnel, and are skilled in the conduct and inter9 pretation of health workforce measurement, 

10 monitoring and analysis, health services, eco11 nomic, and other workforce related research 

12 and technology assessment; 

13 (E) at least 25 percent of the members 

14 who are health care providers are from rural 

15 areas; and 

16 (F) a majority of the members are individ17 uals who are not currently primarily involved in 

18 the provision or management of health profes19 sions education and training programs. 

20 (3) TERMS AND VACANCIES.— 

21 (A) TERMS.—The term of service of the 

22 members of the Commission shall be for 3 years 

23 except that the Comptroller General shall des24 ignate staggered terms for members initially ap25 pointed under paragraph (1). 
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1 (B) VACANCIES.—Any member who is ap2 pointed to fill a vacancy on the Commission 

3 that occurs before the expiration of the term for 

4 which the member’s predecessor was appointed 

5 shall be appointed only for the remainder of 

6 that term. 

7 (4) CHAIRPERSON.— 

8 (A) DESIGNATION.—The Comptroller Gen9 eral shall designate a member of the Commis10 sion, at the time of the appointment of such 

11 member— 

12 (i) to serve as the Chairperson of the 

13 Commission; and 

14 (ii) to serve as the Vice Chairperson 

15 of the Commission. 

16 (B) TERM.—A member shall serve as the 

17 Chairperson or Vice Chairperson of the Com18 mission under subparagraph (A) for the term of 

19 such member. 

20 (C) VACANCY.—In the case of a vacancy in 

21 the Chairpersonship or Vice Chairpersonship, 

22 the Comptroller General shall designate another 

23 member to serve for the remainder of the va24 cant member’s term. 

25 (c) DUTIES.—The Commission shall— 
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1 (1) review the health workforce policies imple2 mented— 

3 (A) under titles XVIII and XIX of the So4 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395, 1396 et 

5 seq.); 

6 (B) under titles VII and VIII of the Public 

7 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 292, 296 et 

8 seq.); 

9 (C) by the National Institutes of Health; 

10 (D) by the Department of Health and 

11 Human Services; 

12 (E) by the Department of Veterans Af13 fairs; and 

14 (F) by other departments and agencies as 

15 appropriate; 

16 (2) analyze and make recommendations to im17 prove the methods used to measure and monitor the 

18 health workforce and the relationship between the 

19 number and make up of such personnel and the ac20 cess of individuals to appropriate health care; 

21 (3) review the impact of health workforce poli22 cies and other factors on the ability of the health 

23 care system to provide optimal medical and health 

24 care services; 
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1 (4) analyze and make recommendations per2 taining to Federal incentives (financial, regulatory, 

3 and otherwise) and Federal programs that are in 

4 place to promote the education of an appropriate 

5 number and mix of health professionals to provide 

6 access to appropriate health care in the United 

7 States; 

8 (5) analyze and make recommendations about 

9 the appropriate supply and distribution of physi10 cians, nurses, and other health professionals and 

11 personnel to achieve a health care system that is 

12 safe, effective, patient centered, timely, equitable, 

13 and efficient; 

14 (6) analyze the role and global implications of 

15 internationally trained physicians, nurses, and other 

16 health professionals and personnel in the United 

17 States health workforce; 

18 (7) analyze and make recommendations about 

19 achieving appropriate diversity in the United States 

20 health workforce; 

21 (8) conduct public meetings to discuss health 

22 workforce policy issues and help formulate rec23 ommendations for Congress and the Secretary of 

24 Health and Human Services; 
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1 (9) in the course of meetings conducted under 

2 paragraph (8), consider the results of staff research, 

3 presentations by policy experts, and comments from 

4 interested parties; 

5 (10) make recommendations to Congress con6 cerning health workforce policy issues; 

7 (11) not later than April 15, 2006, and each 

8 April 15 thereafter, submit a report to Congress 

9 containing the results of the reviews conducted 

10 under this subsection and the recommendations de11 veloped under this subsection; 

12 (12) periodically, as determined appropriate by 

13 the Commission, submit reports to Congress con14 cerning specific issues that the Commission deter15 mines are of high importance; and 

16 (13) carry out any other activities determined 

17 appropriate by the Secretary of Health and Human 

18 Services. 

19 (d) ONGOING DUTIES CONCERNING REPORTS AND

20 REVIEWS.— 

21 (1) COMMENTING ON REPORTS.— 

22 (A) SUBMISSION TO COMMISSION.—The 

23 Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 

24 transmit to the Commission a copy of each re25 port that is submitted by the Secretary to Con-
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1 gress if such report is required by law and re2 lates to health workforce policy. 

3 (B) REVIEW.—The Commission shall re4 view a report transmitted under subparagraph 

5 (A) and, not later than 6 months after the date 

6 on which the report is transmitted, submit to 

7 the appropriate committees of Congress written 

8 comments concerning such report. Such com9 ments may include such recommendations as 

10 the Commission determines appropriate. 

11 (2) AGENDA AND ADDITIONAL REVIEWS.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

13 consult periodically with the chairman and 

14 ranking members of the appropriate committees 

15 of Congress concerning the agenda and 

16 progress of the Commission. 

17 (B) ADDITIONAL REVIEWS.—The Commis18 sion may from time to time conduct additional 

19 reviews and submit additional reports to the ap20 propriate committees of Congress on topics re21 lating to Federal health workforce-related pro22 grams and as may be requested by the chair23 man and ranking members of such committees. 

24 (3) AVAILABILITY OF REPORTS.—The Commis25 sion shall transmit to the Secretary of Health and 
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1 Human Services a copy of each report submitted by 

2 the Commission under this section and shall make 

3 such reports available to the public. 

4 (e) POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.— 

5 (1) GENERAL POWERS.—Subject to such review 

6 as the Comptroller General determines to be nec7 essary to ensure the efficient administration of the 

8 Commission, the Commission may— 

9 (A) employ and fix the compensation of the 

10 Executive Director and such other personnel as 

11 may be necessary to carry out its duties; 

12 (B) seek such assistance and support as 

13 may be required in the performance of its du14 ties from appropriate Federal departments and 

15 agencies; 

16 (C) enter into contracts or make other ar17 rangements as may be necessary for the con18 duct of the work of the Commission; 

19 (D) make advance, progress, and other 

20 payments that relate to the work of the Com21 mission; 

22 (E) provide transportation and subsistence 

23 for personnel who are serving without com24 pensation; and 
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1 (F) prescribe such rules and regulations at 

2 the Commission determined necessary with re3 spect to the internal organization and operation 

4 of the Commission. 

5 (2) INFORMATION.—To carry out its duties 

6 under this section, the Commission— 

7 (A) shall have unrestricted access to all de8 liberations, records, and nonproprietary data 

9 maintained by the General Accounting Office; 

10 (B) may secure directly from any depart11 ment or agency of the United States informa12 tion necessary to enable the Commission to 

13 carry out its duties under this section, on a 

14 schedule that is agreed upon between the Chair15 person and the head of the department or agen16 cy involved; 

17 (C) shall utilize existing information (pub18 lished and unpublished) collected and assessed 

19 either by the staff of the Commission or under 

20 other arrangements; 

21 (D) may conduct, or award grants or con22 tracts for the conduct of, original research and 

23 experimentation where information available 

24 under subparagraphs (A) and (B) is inad25 equate; 
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1 (E) may adopt procedures to permit any 

2 interested party to submit information to be 

3 used by the Commission in making reports and 

4 recommendations under this section; and 

5 (F) may carry out other activities deter6 mined appropriate by the Commission. 

7 (f) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.— 

8 (1) COMPENSATION.—While serving on the 

9 business of the Commission a member of the Com10 mission shall be entitled to compensation at the per 

11 diem equivalent of the rate provided for under level 

12 IV of the Executive Schedule under title 5, United 

13 States Code. 

14 (2) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at 

15 the call of the Chairperson. 

16 (3) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND STAFF.—The 

17 Comptroller General shall appoint an individual to 

18 serve as the interim Executive Director of the Com19 mission until the members of the Commission are 

20 able to select a permanent Executive Director under 

21 subsection (e)(1)(A). 

22 (4) ETHICAL DISCLOSURE.—The Comptroller 

23 General shall establish a system for public disclosure 

24 by members of the Commission of financial and 
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1 other potential conflicts of interest relating to such 

2 members. 

3 (5) AUDITS.—The Commission shall be subject 

4 to periodic audit by the Comptroller General. 

5 (g) FUNDING.— 

6 (1) REQUESTS.—The Commission shall submit 

7 requests for appropriations in the same manner as 

8 the Comptroller General submits such requests. 

9 Amounts appropriated for the Commission shall be 

10 separate from amounts appropriated for the Comp11 troller General. 

12 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

13 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

14 this section, $6,000,000 for fiscal year 2006, and 

15 such sums as may be necessary for each subsequent 

16 fiscal year, of which— 

17 (A) 80 percent of such appropriated 

18 amount shall be made available from the Fed19 eral Hospital Insurance Trust Fund under sec20 tion 1817 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

21 1395i); and 

22 (B) 20 percent of such appropriation shall 

23 be made available for amounts appropriated to 

24 carry out title XIX of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

25 1396 et seq.). 
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1 (h) DEFINITION.—In this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate 

2 committees of Congress’’ means the Committee on Fi3 nance of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and 

4 Means of the House of Representatives. 

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