SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Nurse Reinvestment
Act’’.
SEC. 2. PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS REGARDING
NURSING PROFESSION.
Title VIII of the Public Health Service Act (42
U.S.C. 296 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘PART H—PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS
‘‘SEC. 851. PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop and
issue public service announcements that advertise and pro-
mote the nursing profession, highlight the advantages and
rewards of nursing, and encourage individuals to enter the
nursing profession.
‘‘(b) METHOD.—The public service announcements
described in subsection (a) shall be broadcast through ap-
propriate media outlets, including television or radio, in
a manner intended to reach as wide and diverse an audi-
ence as possible.
‘‘SEC. 852. STATE AND LOCAL PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCE-
MENTS.
‘‘(a) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award
grants to eligible entities to support State and local adver-
tising campaigns via appropriate media outlets to promote
the nursing profession, highlight the advantages and re-
wards of nursing, and encourage individuals from dis-
advantaged backgrounds to enter the nursing profession.
‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives
a grant under subsection (a) shall use funds received
through such grant to acquire local television and radio
time, place advertisements in local newspapers, and post
information on billboards or on the Internet, in order to—
‘‘(1) advertise and promote the nursing profes-
sion;
‘‘(2) promote nursing education programs;
‘‘(3) inform the public of public assistance re-
garding such education programs;
‘‘(4) highlight individuals in the community
that are presently practicing nursing in order to re-
cruit new nurses; and
‘‘(5) provide any other information to recruit
individuals for the nursing profession.
‘‘(c) METHOD.—The campaigns described in sub-
section (a) shall be broadcast on television or radio, or
placed in newspapers as advertisements, or posted on bill-
boards or the Internet, in a manner intended to reach as
wide and diverse an audience as possible.’’.
SEC. 3. LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM; SCHOLARSHIPS.
(a) LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM; ADDITIONAL AS-
SIGNMENT AUTHORITIES.—Section 846(a) of the Public
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 297n(a)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (3)—
(A) by striking ‘‘in a public hospital,’’ and
inserting ‘‘in a public or private hospital (in-
cluding a critical access hospital or a rural hos-
pital),’’; and
(B) by inserting after ‘‘rural health clinic,’’
the following: ‘‘in a State or local department
of public health, in a skilled nursing facility, in
a home health agency, in a hospice program
(including home settings), in an ambulatory
surgical center,’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘In the
case of a private entity that is not a nonprofit entity
and is pursuant to paragraph (3) eligible for an as-
signment of a nurse, the Secretary may not assign
a nurse to such an entity after the expiration of the
three-year period beginning on the date of the enact-
ment of the Nurse Reinvestment Act.’’.
(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.—
Section 846 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
297n) is amended—
(1) in the heading for the section, by striking
‘‘PROGRAM’’ and inserting ‘‘AND SCHOLARSHIP PRO-
GRAMS’’;
(2) by redesignating subsections (d), (f), (g),
and (h) as subsections (f), (h), (i), and (g), respec-
tively;
(3) by transferring subsections (f) and (g) (as
so redesignated) from their current placements, by
inserting subsection (f) after subsection (e), and by
inserting subsection (g) after subsection (f) (as so
inserted); and
(4) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol-
lowing subsection:
‘‘(d) SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may carry
out a program of entering into contracts with eligi-
ble individuals under which such individuals agree to
serve as nurses in designated health facilities in con-
sideration of the Federal Government agreeing to
provide to the individuals scholarships for attend-
ance at schools of nursing.
‘‘(2) 
ELIGIBLE
INDIVIDUALS; 
DESIGNATED
HEALTH
FACILITIES.—For purposes of this sub-
section:
‘‘(A) The term ‘eligible individual’ means
an individual who is enrolled or accepted for en-
rollment as a full-time student in a school of
nursing.
‘‘(B) The term ‘designated health facility’
means any entity that is eligible under sub-
section (a) for an assignment of a nurse, sub-
ject to the provisions of such subsection relating
to private entities that are not nonprofit enti-
ties.
‘‘(3) 
APPLICABILITY
OF
CERTAIN
PROVI-
SIONS.—With respect to the National Health Service
Corps Scholarship Repayment Program established
in subpart III of part D of title III, the provisions
of such subpart shall, except as inconsistent with
this section, apply to the program established in
paragraph (1) in the same manner and to the same
extent as such provisions apply to the National
Health Service Corps Scholarship Program estab-
lished in such subpart.’’.
(c) PREFERENCES REGARDING PARTICIPANTS.—Sec-
tion 846(e) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
297n(e)) is amended in the matter preceding paragraph
(1) by striking ‘‘subsection (a)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection
(a) or (d)’’.
(d) DEFINITIONS.—Section 846 of the Public Health
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 297n) is amended in subsection
(h) (as redesignated by subsection (b)(2) of this section)
by amending the subsection to read as follows:
‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:
‘‘(1) The term ‘ambulatory surgical center’ has
the meaning applicable to such term under title
XVIII of the Social Security Act.
‘‘(2) The term ‘community health center’ has
the meaning applicable to such term under section
330.
‘‘(3) The term ‘home health agency’ has the
meaning given such term in section 1861(o) of the
Social Security Act.
‘‘(4) The term ‘hospice program’ has the mean-
ing given such term in section 1861(dd)(2) of the
Social Security Act.
‘‘(5) The term ‘migrant health center’ has the
meaning applicable to such term under section 330.
‘‘(6) The term ‘rural health clinic’ has the
meaning given such term in section 1861(aa)(2) of
the Social Security Act.
‘‘(7) The term ‘rural hospital’ means a hospital
located in a rural area, as defined in section
1886(d)(2)(D) of the Social Security Act.
‘‘(8) The term ‘skilled nursing facility’ has the
meaning given such term in section 1819(a) of the
Social Security Act.’’.
(e) FUNDING.—Section 846 of the Public Health
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 297n) is amended in subsection
(i) (as redesignated by subsection (b)(2) of this section)
by amending the subsection to read as follows:
‘‘(i) FUNDING.—
‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.—
For the purpose of payments under agreements en-
tered into under subsection (a) or (d), there are au-
thorized to be appropriated such sums as may be
necessary for each of the fiscal years 2002 through
2007.
‘‘(2) ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amounts appro-
priated under paragraph (1), the Secretary may as
determined appropriate by the Secretary allocate
amounts between the program under subsection (a)
and the program under subsection (d).’’.
SEC. 4. STUDIES BY GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE.
(a) HIRING DIFFERENCES AMONG CERTAIN PRIVATE
ENTITIES.—The Comptroller General of the United States
shall conduct a study to determine differences in the hir-
ing of nurses by nonprofit private entities as compared
to the hiring of nurses by private entities that are not non-
profit. In carrying out the study, the Comptroller General
shall determine the effect of the inclusion of private enti-
ties that are not nonprofit in the program under section
846 of the Public Health Service Act. Not later than two
years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Comptroller General shall submit to the Congress a report
describing the findings of the study.
(b) NURSE FACULTY.—
(1) DETERMINATION REGARDING SHORTAGE OF
FACULTY.—The Comptroller General of the United
States shall conduct a study to determine whether
and to what extent there is a shortage of faculty for
schools of nursing. Not later than June 30, 2002,
the Comptroller General shall submit to the Con-
gress a report describing the findings of the study.
(2) RECOMMENDATIONS.—If the Comptroller
General determines pursuant to paragraph (1) that
there is or will be a shortage of faculty for schools
of nursing, the Comptroller General shall, not later
than September 30, 2002, submit to the Congress a
report providing the recommendations of the Comp-
troller General for developing scholarship programs,
loan repayment programs, private-public partner-
ships, or other programs through the Department of
Health and Human Services to provide for an in-
crease in the number of such faculty, including rec-
ommendations on appropriate incentives for nurses
to become such faculty.
Passed the House of Representatives December 20,
2001.
Attest:
Clerk.
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 3487
AN ACT
To amend the Public Health Service Act with re-
spect to health professions programs regarding
the field of nursing.