I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1651 
To designate the same individual serving as the Chief Nurse Officer of 
the Public Health Service as the National Nurse for Public Health. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 21, 2017 
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas (for herself, Mr. KING of New York, 
Mr. TONKO, Mr. ENGEL, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. 
LANCE, Mr. SCHRADER, Ms. HERRERA BEUTLER, Mr. HARPER, Mr. 
MCKINLEY, and Mr. CRAMER) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To designate the same individual serving as the Chief Nurse 
Officer of the Public Health Service as the National 
Nurse for Public Health. 
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 ‘‘National Nurse Act 
of 2017’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:17 Mar 23, 2017
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1651.IH
H1651
lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
SEC. 2. NATIONAL NURSE FOR PUBLIC HEALTH. 
Title XVII of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 300u et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘SEC. 1711. NATIONAL NURSE FOR PUBLIC HEALTH. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The same individual des-
ignated as the Chief Nurse Officer of the Public Health 
Service under section 205 shall also be designated by the 
Secretary as the National Nurse for Public Health. 
‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The National Nurse for Public 
Health shall carry out the following: 
‘‘(1) Provide leadership and coordination of 
Public Health Service nursing professional affairs 
for the Office of the Surgeon General and other 
agencies of the Public Health Service, including pro-
viding representation for the Government of the 
United States at the Global Forum for Government 
Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officers and serving as 
a member of the Federal Nursing Service Council. 
‘‘(2) Represent the Surgeon General and the 
agencies of Public Health Service in communications 
with groups and societies concerned with nursing 
issues at the local, State, national, and international 
levels. 
‘‘(3) Provide guidance and advice to the Sur-
geon General and the Nurse Professional Advisory 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:17 Mar 23, 2017
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1651.IH
H1651
lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
Committee on matters such as standards, recruit-
ment, retention, readiness, and career development 
of nurses employed by and contracted with agencies 
of the Public Health Service. 
‘‘(4) Conduct outreach and education for pur-
poses of paragraphs (5) through (7). 
‘‘(5) Provide guidance and leadership for activi-
ties to promote the public health, including encour-
aging nurses and other health professionals to be 
volunteers and developing projects that educate the 
public about and engage the public in prevention 
practices to achieve better health. 
‘‘(6) Provide guidance and leadership to encour-
age nurses to engage in furthering their education in 
order to conduct nursing research, increase the 
awareness of evidence-based practice, and educate 
future nurses. 
‘‘(7) Provide guidance and leadership for activi-
ties that will increase public safety and emergency 
preparedness. 
‘‘(8) Prepare and publish a biennial report on 
the state of the Commissioned Corps of the Public 
Health Service Nurse Category. 
‘‘(c) NATIONAL HEALTH PRIORITIES—NATIONAL 
PREVENTION STRATEGY.— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:17 Mar 23, 2017
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1651.IH
H1651
lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The National Nurse for 
Public Health, in cooperation with the Surgeon Gen-
eral of the Public Health Service, heads of the agen-
cies of the Public Health Service, States, and orga-
nizations that represent health professionals, shall 
continue to participate in the identification of na-
tional health priorities. 
‘‘(2) ADDRESSING
NATIONAL
HEALTH
PRIOR-
ITIES.—The National Nurse for Public Health, in 
addressing national health priorities, shall encourage 
volunteerism of nurses and other individuals, and 
strengthen the relationship between Government 
agencies and health-related national organizations. 
‘‘(3) COMMUNITY-BASED PROJECTS.— 
‘‘(A) IMPLEMENTATION.—In addressing 
national health priorities, the National Nurse 
for Public Health shall— 
‘‘(i) provide guidance and coordination 
on recommended activities to organiza-
tions; 
‘‘(ii) acknowledge successful programs 
and encourage their replication; 
‘‘(iii) promote the dissemination of 
evidence-based practice in educating the 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:17 Mar 23, 2017
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1651.IH
H1651
lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
public on health promotion and disease 
prevention activities; 
‘‘(iv) encourage practicing nurses and 
other health professionals, including retired 
health professionals and students enrolled 
in health professional programs, to partici-
pate in health promotion activities and rep-
licate successful health promotion activities 
in their local communities; and 
‘‘(v) collaborate with Federal agencies 
to monitor activities being conducted 
through the collection and evaluation of 
data to determine if national health prior-
ities are being addressed. 
‘‘(B) OUTREACH
AND
EDUCATION.—In 
conducting outreach and education under sub-
section (b)(4), the National Nurse for Public 
Health shall give priority to the inclusion of di-
verse approaches, including social media cam-
paigns, to address national health priorities. 
‘‘(C) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.— 
The National Nurse for Public Health shall dis-
seminate information to governmental agencies, 
schools, and community-based, nonprofit orga-
nizations interested in health promotion and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:17 Mar 23, 2017
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1651.IH
H1651
lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
improving public health through community ac-
tion.’’. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:17 Mar 23, 2017
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H1651.IH
H1651
lotter on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS