I 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4799 
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop a strategic 
plan to retrain displaced workers to become health care professionals 
serving areas with a shortage of such professionals, and for other pur-
poses. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 9, 2010 
Mr. SPACE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to 
develop a strategic plan to retrain displaced workers 
to become health care professionals serving areas with 
a shortage of such professionals, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Retraining a New 
Health Care Workforce Act of 2010’’. 
SEC. 2. STRATEGIC PLAN. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 9 months after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in con-
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sultation with other relevant Federal departments and 
agencies, shall develop and submit to the Congress a stra-
tegic plan to retrain displaced workers to become health 
care professionals serving areas with a shortage of the 
type professionals involved. 
(b) PLAN.—The strategic plan under subsection (a) 
shall include— 
(1) an overview of national shortages in health 
care professions; 
(2) an assessment of how existing Federal 
health care workforce programs may be used for the 
purpose of retraining displaced workers to become 
health care professionals serving areas with a short-
age of the type professionals involved; and 
(3) recommendations for legislative and admin-
istrative changes for making such programs more ef-
fective in achieving such purpose. 
SEC. 3. ASSISTING DISPLACED WORKERS TO BECOME 
STATE-LICENSED 
OR 
CERTIFIED 
HEALTH 
CARE PROFESSIONALS. 
(a) PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall establish a pro-
gram consisting of awarding grants to States to assist dis-
placed workers to become State-licensed or certified health 
care professionals serving areas with a shortage of the 
type professionals involved. 
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(b) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts received as a grant 
under this section may be used only to assist displaced 
workers to become State-licensed or certified health care 
professionals described in subsection (a). Such assist-
ance— 
(1) shall include training; and 
(2) may include— 
(A) reimbursement for costs associated 
with— 
(i) training; or 
(ii) applying for licensure or certifi-
cation; or 
(B) expediting the licensing or certification 
process. 
(c) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for a grant under 
this section, a State shall demonstrate to the Secretary’s 
satisfaction that the State has— 
(1) an unemployment rate that is greater than 
the national average; 
(2) a significant quantity of displaced workers; 
and 
(3) a shortage of each type of health care pro-
fessional to be trained through the grant. 
(d) RELATION TO STRATEGIC PLAN.—In carrying 
out this section, the Secretary— 
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(1) shall take into consideration the strategic 
plan developed under section 2; and 
(2) may not award any grant under this section 
before such plan has been submitted to the Con-
gress. 
(e) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit to the Con-
gress an annual report on the program under this section. 
(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 
out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated 
such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 
2011 through 2015. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 
of Health and Human Services. 
(2) The term ‘‘State’’ has the meaning given to 
such term in section 2 of the Public Health Service 
Act (42 U.S.C. 201). 
Æ 
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