I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1948
To amend the Public Health Service Act with respect to the shortage of
medical laboratory personnel.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 22, 2001
Mr. SHIMKUS (for himself, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. BILIRAKIS, and Mr.
BROWN of Ohio) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act with respect to
the shortage of medical laboratory personnel.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Medical Laboratory
Personnel Shortage Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. RESPONSE TO SHORTAGE OF MEDICAL LABORA-
TORY PERSONNEL; PROGRAMS OF HEALTH
RESOURCES 
AND 
SERVICES 
ADMINISTRA-
TION.
(a) NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE CORPS SCHOLAR-
SHIP AND LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAMS.—
(1) 
SCHOLARSHIP
PROGRAM.—Section
338A(a)(1) of the Public Health Service Act (42
U.S.C. 254l(a)(1)) is amended—
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘practi-
tioners,’’; and
(B) by inserting before the semicolon the
following: ‘‘, and (within the meaning of section
799B(12)) medical technologists and medical
laboratory technicians’’.
(2) 
LOAN
REPAYMENT
PROGRAM.—Section
338B(a)(1) of the Public Health Service Act (42
U.S.C. 254l-1(a)(1)) is amended—
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘practi-
tioners,’’; and
(B) by inserting before the semicolon the
following: ‘‘, and (within the meaning of section
799B(12)) medical technologists and medical
laboratory technicians’’.
(b) PROGRAMS UNDER TITLE VII.—
(1) 
ALLIED
HEALTH
AND
OTHER
DIS-
CIPLINES.—
(A) PREFERENCE IN MAKING AWARDS.—
Section 755 of the Public Health Service Act
(42 U.S.C. 294e)) is amended by adding at the
end the following subsection:
‘‘(c) PREFERENCE IN MAKING AWARDS.—In making
awards of grants and contracts under subsection (a), the
Secretary shall give preference to making awards to assist
entities in meeting the costs associated with expanding or
establishing programs that will increase the number of in-
dividuals trained as medical laboratory personnel.’’.
(B) 
AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIA-
TIONS.—Section 757 of the Public Health Serv-
ice Act (42 U.S.C. 294g(a)) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following subsection:
‘‘(d) ALLIED HEALTH AND OTHER DISCIPLINES.—
For the purpose of carrying out section 755, there are au-
thorized to be appropriated $100,000,000 for fiscal year
2002, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the
fiscal years 2003 through 2006. Such authorization is in
addition to the authorizations of appropriations under
subsection (a) that are available for such purpose.’’.
‘‘(3) For awards under section 739 to such
schools, $8,200,000 for fiscal year 2002, and such
sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal
years 2003 through 2006.’’.
(3) DEFINITION
OF
MEDICAL
LABORATORY
PERSONNEL.—Section 799B of the Public Health
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 295p) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
‘‘(12) The term ‘medical laboratory personnel’
means allied health professionals (as defined in
paragraph (5)) who are medical technologists,
cytotechnologists, histotechnologists, phlebotomists,
or medical laboratory technicians, or who are in
other fields that, within the meaning of section
353(a) (relating to the certification of clinical lab-
oratories), examine materials derived from the
human body for the purpose of providing informa-
tion for the diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of
any disease or impairment of, or the assessment of
the health of, human beings.’’.
SEC. 3. RESPONSE TO SHORTAGE OF MEDICAL LABORA-
TORY PERSONNEL; PROGRAMS OF CENTERS
FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION.
(a) PREVENTIVE HEALTH MEASURES WITH RE-
SPECT TO BREAST AND CERVICAL CANCER.—Title XV of
the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300k et seq.)
is amended by inserting after section 1509 the following
section:
‘‘SEC. 1509A. SHORTAGE OF TECHNOLOGISTS FOR LABORA-
TORY ANALYSIS REGARDING SCREENING FOR
CERVICAL CANCER.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through
the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services
Administration and in collaboration with the Director of
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall
make grants to appropriate public and nonprofit private
entities to provide training to increase the number of
cytotechnologists who are available with respect to screen-
ing women for cervical cancer.
‘‘(b) FUNDING.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),
for the purpose of carrying out this section, there
are authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for
fiscal year 2002, and such sums as may be nec-
essary for each of the fiscal years 2003 through
2006.
‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The authorization of appro-
priations established in paragraph (1) is not effec-
tive for a fiscal year unless the amount appropriated
under section 1510(a) for the fiscal year is equal to
or greater than $173,928,000.’’.
(b) PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES.—
(1) COMBATING ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE.—
Section 319E of the Public Health Service Act (42
U.S.C. 247d–5), as added by section 102 of Public
Law 106–505 (114 Stat. 2315), is amended—
(A) in subsection (c)(3), by inserting be-
fore the period the following: ‘‘, and support
programs that train medical laboratory per-
sonnel (as defined in section 799B) in dis-
ciplines that recognize or identify the resistance
of pathogens’’; and
(B) in subsection (e)(2), by inserting after
‘‘societies,’’ the following: ‘‘schools or programs
that train medical laboratory personnel (as de-
fined in section 799B),’’.
(2) PUBLIC
HEALTH
COUNTERMEASURES
TO
BIOTERRORIST ATTACK.—Section 319F of the Pub-
lic Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d–6), as added
by section 102 of Public Law 106–505 (114 Stat.
2315), is amended—
(A) in subsection (c)(2)—
(i) by striking ‘‘or’’ after ‘‘clinic,’’;
and
(ii) by inserting before the period the
following: ‘‘, or a school or program that
trains medical laboratory personnel (as de-
fined in section 799B)’’; and
(B) in subsection (e)(2), by inserting be-
fore the period the following: ‘‘, and support
programs that train medical laboratory per-
sonnel (as defined in section 799B) in dis-
ciplines that recognize or identify a potential bi-
ological agent’’.
SEC. 4. RESPONSE TO SHORTAGE OF MEDICAL LABORA-
TORY PERSONNEL; PROGRAMS OF NATIONAL
HEART, LUNG, AND BLOOD INSTITUTE.
Section 422(c)(3)(C) of the Public Health Service Act
(42 U.S.C. 285b–4(c)(3)(C)) is amended by inserting
after ‘‘allied health professionals’’ the following: ‘‘, with
emphasis given in the training of such professionals to the
training of medical laboratory personnel (as defined in sec-
tion 799B) in medical laboratory disciplines with respect
to which there are needs for increased numbers of per-
sonnel’’.
Æ