IB 
Union Calendar No. 549 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 3974 
[Report No. 114–710] 
To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot program 
to provide educational assistance to certain former members of the Armed 
Forces for education and training as physician assistants of the Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs, to establish pay grades and require competitive 
pay for physician assistants of the Department, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 5, 2015 
Ms. KUSTER (for herself and Mr. HECK of Nevada) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
SEPTEMBER 6, 2016 
Additional sponsors: Mr. FOSTER, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Ms. 
BROWNLEY of California, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. GRIJALVA, and Ms. KAPTUR 
SEPTEMBER 6, 2016 
Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House 
on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on November 5, 2015] 
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A BILL 
To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out 
a pilot program to provide educational assistance to cer-
tain former members of the Armed Forces for education 
and training as physician assistants of the Department 
of Veterans Affairs, to establish pay grades and require 
competitive pay for physician assistants of the Depart-
ment, and for other purposes. 
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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 ‘‘Grow Our Own Direc-
tive: Physician Assistant Employment and Education Act 
of 2016’’. 
SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM TO PROVIDE EDUCATIONAL AS-
SISTANCE TO PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS TO BE 
EMPLOYED AT THE DEPARTMENT OF VET-
ERANS AFFAIRS. 
(a) PILOT PROGRAM.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Af-
fairs shall carry out a pilot program to be known as 
the ‘‘Grow Our Own Directive’’ or ‘‘G.O.O.D.’’ pilot 
program (in this section referred to as the ‘‘pilot pro-
gram’’) to provide educational assistance to certain 
former members of the Armed Forces for education 
and training as physician assistants of the Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs. 
(2) INFORMATION ON PILOT PROGRAM.—The Sec-
retary shall provide information on the pilot program 
to eligible individuals under subsection (b), including 
information on application requirements and a list of 
entities with which the Secretary has partnered under 
subsection (g). 
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(b) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS.—An individual is eligible 
to participate in the pilot program if the individual— 
(1) has medical or military health experience 
gained while serving as a member of the Armed 
Forces; 
(2) has received a certificate, associate degree, 
baccalaureate 
degree, 
master’s 
degree, 
or 
postbaccalaureate training in a science relating to 
health care; 
(3) has participated in the delivery of health 
care services or related medical services, including 
participation in military training relating to the 
identification, evaluation, treatment, and prevention 
of diseases and disorders; and 
(4) does not have a degree of doctor of medicine, 
doctor of osteopathy, or doctor of dentistry. 
(c) DURATION.—The pilot program shall be carried 
out during the five-year period beginning on the date that 
is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(d) SELECTION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall select not 
less than 250 eligible individuals under subsection (b) 
to participate in the pilot program. 
(2) PRIORITY FOR SELECTION.—In selecting in-
dividuals to participate in the pilot program under 
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paragraph (1), the Secretary shall give priority to the 
following individuals: 
(A) Individuals who participated in the In-
termediate Care Technician Pilot Program of the 
Department that was carried out by the Sec-
retary between January 2011 and February 
2015. 
(B) Individuals who agree to be employed 
as a physician assistant for the Veterans Health 
Administration at a medical facility of the De-
partment located in a community that— 
(i) is designated as a medically under-
served 
population 
under 
section 
330(b)(3)(A) of the Public Health Service 
Act (42 U.S.C. 254b(b)(3)(A)); and 
(ii) is in a State with a per capita 
population of veterans of more than 9 per-
cent according to the National Center for 
Veterans Analysis and Statistics and the 
United States Census Bureau. 
(e) EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the pilot pro-
gram, the Secretary shall provide educational assist-
ance to individuals participating in the pilot pro-
gram, including through the use of scholarships, to 
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cover the costs to such individuals of obtaining a mas-
ter’s degree in physician assistant studies or a simi-
lar master’s degree. 
(2) USE OF EXISTING PROGRAMS.—In providing 
educational assistance under paragraph (1), the Sec-
retary shall use the Department of Veterans Affairs 
Health Professionals Educational Assistance Program 
under chapter 76 of title 38, United States Code, and 
such other educational assistance programs of the De-
partment as the Secretary considers appropriate. 
(3) USE
OF
SCHOLARSHIPS.—The Secretary 
shall provide not less than 35 scholarships under the 
pilot program to individuals participating in the 
pilot program during each year in which the pilot 
program is carried out. 
(f) PERIOD OF OBLIGATED SERVICE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall enter into 
an agreement with each individual participating in 
the pilot program in which such individual agrees to 
be employed as a physician assistant for the Veterans 
Health Administration for a period of obligated serv-
ice specified in paragraph (2). 
(2) PERIOD SPECIFIED.—With respect to each 
individual participating in the pilot program, the pe-
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riod of obligated service specified in this paragraph 
for the individual is— 
(A) if the individual is participating in the 
pilot program through a program described in 
subsection (e)(2) that specifies a period of obli-
gated service, the period specified with respect to 
such program; or 
(B) if the individual is participating in the 
pilot program other than through a program de-
scribed in such subsection, or if such program 
does not specify a period of obligated service, a 
period of three years or such other period as the 
Secretary considers appropriate for purposes of 
the pilot program. 
(g) BREACH.— 
(1) LIABILITY.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), an individual who participates in the pilot 
program and fails to satisfy the period of obligated 
service under subsection (f) shall be liable to the 
United States, in lieu of such obligated service, for the 
amount that has been paid or is payable to or on be-
half of the individual under the pilot program, re-
duced by the proportion that the number of days 
served for completion of the period of obligated service 
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bears to the total number of days in the period of ob-
ligated service of such individual. 
(2) EXCEPTION.—If an individual is partici-
pating in the pilot program through a program de-
scribed in subsection (e)(2) that specifies a period of 
obligated service, the liability of the individual for 
failing to satisfy the period of obligated service under 
subsection (f) shall be determined as specified with re-
spect to such program. 
(h) MENTORS.—The Secretary shall ensure that a phy-
sician assistant mentor or mentors are available for indi-
viduals participating in the pilot program at each facility 
of the Veterans Health Administration at which a partici-
pant in the pilot program is employed. 
(i) PARTNERSHIPS.—In carrying out the pilot pro-
gram, the Secretary shall seek to partner with the following: 
(1) Not less than 15 institutions of higher edu-
cation that— 
(A) offer a master’s degree program in phy-
sician assistant studies or a similar area of 
study that is accredited by the Accreditation Re-
view Commission on Education for the Physi-
cian Assistant; and 
(B) agree— 
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(i) to guarantee seats in such master’s 
degree program for individuals partici-
pating in the pilot program who meet the 
entrance requirements for such master’s de-
gree program; and 
(ii) to provide individuals partici-
pating in the pilot program with informa-
tion on admissions criteria and the admis-
sions process. 
(2) Other institutions of higher education that 
offer programs in physician assistant studies or other 
similar areas of studies that are accredited by the Ac-
creditation Review Commission on Education for the 
Physician Assistant. 
(3) The Transition Assistance Program of the 
Department of Defense. 
(4) The Veterans’ Employment and Training 
Service of the Department of Labor. 
(5) Programs carried out under chapter 41 of 
title 38, United States Code, for the purpose of mar-
keting and advertising the pilot program to veterans 
and members of the Armed Forces who may be inter-
ested in the pilot program. 
(j) ADMINISTRATION OF PILOT PROGRAM.—For pur-
poses of carrying out the pilot program, the Secretary shall 
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appoint or select within the Office of Physician Assistant 
Services of the Veterans Health Administration the fol-
lowing: 
(1) A Deputy Director for Education and Career 
Development of Physician Assistants who— 
(A) is a physician assistant, a veteran, and 
employed by the Department as of the date of the 
enactment of this Act; 
(B) is responsible for— 
(i) overseeing the pilot program; 
(ii) recruiting candidates to partici-
pate in the pilot program; 
(iii) coordinating with individuals 
participating in the pilot program and as-
sisting those individuals in applying and 
being admitted to a master’s degree pro-
gram under the pilot program; and 
(iv) providing information to eligible 
individuals under subsection (b) with re-
spect to the pilot program; and 
(C) may be employed in the field at a med-
ical center of the Department. 
(2) A Deputy Director of Recruitment and Re-
tention who— 
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(A) is a physician assistant, a veteran, and 
employed by the Department as of the date of the 
enactment of this Act; 
(B) is responsible for— 
(i) identifying and coordinating the 
needs of the pilot program and assist the 
Secretary in providing mentors under sub-
section (h) to participants in the pilot pro-
gram; and 
(ii) coordinating the staff of facilities 
of the Veterans Health Administration with 
respect to identifying employment positions 
and mentors under subsection (h) for par-
ticipants in the pilot program; and 
(C) may be employed in the field at a med-
ical center of the Department. 
(3) A recruiter who— 
(A) reports directly to the Deputy Director 
of Recruitment and Retention; and 
(B) works with the Workforce Management 
and Consulting Office and the Healthcare Talent 
Management Office of the Veterans Health Ad-
ministration to develop and implement national 
recruiting strategic plans for the recruitment 
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and retention of physician assistants within the 
Department. 
(4) An administrative assistant, compensated at 
a rate not less than level GS–6 of the General Sched-
ule, or equivalent, who assists with administrative 
duties relating to the pilot program in the Office of 
Physician Assistant Services and such other duties as 
determined by the Secretary to ensure that the Office 
runs effectively and efficiently. 
(k) REPORT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs, in collaboration with the Secretary 
of Labor, the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary 
of Health and Human Services, shall submit to Con-
gress a report on the pilot program. 
(2) ELEMENTS.—The report required by para-
graph (1) shall include the following: 
(A) The extent to which the pilot program 
is effective in improving the ability of eligible in-
dividuals under subsection (b) to become physi-
cian assistants; 
(B) An examination of whether the pilot 
program is achieving the goals of— 
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(i) enabling individuals to build on 
medical skills gained as members of the 
Armed Forces by entering into the physi-
cian assistant workforce of the Department; 
and 
(ii) helping to meet the shortage of 
physician assistants employed by the De-
partment. 
(C) An identification of such modifications 
to the pilot program as the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of 
Defense, and the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services consider necessary to meet the 
goals described in subparagraph (B). 
(D) An assessment of whether the pilot pro-
gram could serve as a model for other programs 
of the Department to assist individuals in ob-
taining certification and employment in other 
health care fields. 
Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to require the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot pro-
gram to provide educational assistance to certain former 
members of the Armed Forces for education and training 
as physician assistants of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs.’’. 
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Union Calendar No. 549 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 3974 
[Report No. 114–710] 
A BILL 
To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to 
carry out a pilot program to provide educational 
assistance to certain former members of the 
Armed Forces for education and training as phy-
sician assistants of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs, to establish pay grades and require com-
petitive pay for physician assistants of the De-
partment, and for other purposes. 
SEPTEMBER 6, 2016 
Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee 
of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and or-
dered to be printed 
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