I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 623 
To amend the Public Health Service Act with respect to the shortage of 
medical laboratory personnel. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 5, 2003 
Mr. SHIMKUS (for himself, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, and Mr. BILIRAKIS) intro-
duced 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 2003’’. 
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SEC. 2. RESPONSE TO SHORTAGE OF MEDICAL LABORA-
TORY PERSONNEL; PROGRAMS OF HEALTH 
RESOURCES 
AND 
SERVICES 
ADMINISTRA-
TION. 
(a) SCHOLARSHIP
AND LOAN REPAYMENT PRO-
GRAMS.—Section 737 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 293a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing subsection: 
‘‘(e) SCHOLARSHIP
AND LOAN REPAYMENT PRO-
GRAM FOR MEDICAL TECHNOLOGISTS, MEDICAL LABORA-
TORY TECHNICIANS, AND OTHER MEDICAL LABORATORY 
PERSONNEL.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish a program of scholarships and loan repayment 
for the purpose of alleviating the shortage of medical 
laboratory personnel. The scholarship and loan re-
payment program shall include a period of obligated 
service for recipients in a designated health profes-
sional shortage area, or other area where there is a 
shortage of medical laboratory personnel. The Sec-
retary may model the program after the scholarship 
and loan repayment programs under sections 338A 
and 338B. 
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE
ENTITIES.—Schools of allied 
health, and health care institution-based programs 
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training medical laboratory personnel, are eligible to 
receive awards under paragraph (1). 
‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
For the purpose of carrying out this subsection, 
there are authorized to be appropriated $11,193,000 
in fiscal year 2004, and such sums as may be nec-
essary for each of the fiscal years 2005 through 
2008. Such authorization is in addition to other au-
thorizations of appropriations that are available for 
such purpose.’’. 
(b) OTHER PROGRAMS UNDER TITLE VII.— 
(1) 
ALLIED
HEALTH
AND
OTHER
DIS-
CIPLINES.— 
(A) PREFERENCE
IN
MAKING
AWARDS; 
PUBLIC
SERVICE
ANNOUNCEMENTS.—Section 
755 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 294e)) is amended by adding at the end 
the following subsections: 
‘‘(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. 
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‘‘(d) PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS.—The Sec-
retary shall develop and issue public service announce-
ments that advertise and promote medical laboratory per-
sonnel careers, highlight the advantages and rewards of 
medical laboratory personnel careers, and encourage indi-
viduals to enter medical laboratory personnel careers.’’. 
(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 
2004, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 
fiscal years 2005 through 2008. Such authorization is in 
addition to the authorizations of appropriations under 
subsection (a) that are available for such purpose.’’. 
(2) OTHER TITLE VII PROGRAMS.—Section 740 
of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 293d) 
is amended— 
(A) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub-
section (e); and 
(B) by inserting after subsection (c) the 
following subsection: 
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‘‘(d) MEDICAL LABORATORY PERSONNEL.—For the 
purpose of increasing the number of individuals trained 
as medical laboratory personnel through making awards 
of grants or contracts under sections 737 through 739 for 
appropriate schools of allied health, there are authorized 
to be appropriated, in addition to authorizations of appro-
priations under subsections (a) through (c) that are avail-
able for such purpose, the following: 
‘‘(1) For awards under section 738 to serve as 
members of the faculty of such schools, $332,500 for 
fiscal year 2004, and such sums as may be nec-
essary for each of the fiscal years 2005 through 
2008. 
‘‘(2) For awards under section 739 to such 
schools, $8,200,000 for fiscal year 2004, and such 
sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal 
years 2005 through 2008.’’. 
(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, 
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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. 
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. 
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‘‘(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 2004, and such sums as may be nec-
essary for each of the fiscal years 2005 through 
2008. 
‘‘(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.’’. 
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 
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