‘‘(1) CONTRACTS
WITH
INSTITUTIONS.—The 
Secretary may contract with an educational institu-
tion in which a participant in the Program is en-
rolled, for the payment to the educational institution 
of the amounts of tuition and other reasonable edu-
cational expenses described in subsection (d)(3). 
‘‘(2) 
EMPLOYMENT
CEILINGS.—Notwith-
standing any other provision of law, individuals who 
have entered into written contracts with the Sec-
retary under this section, while undergoing academic 
training, shall not be counted against any employ-
ment ceiling affecting the Department or any other 
Federal agency. 
‘‘(g) BREACH
OF CONTRACT.—An individual who 
fails to comply with the contract entered into under sub-
section (d) shall be subject to the same financial penalties 
as provided for under section 338E for breaches of schol-
arship contracts under sections 338A. 
‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$35,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 
2014. 
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‘‘SEC. 781. PUBLIC HEALTH WORKFORCE LOAN REPAYMENT 
PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish the Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Pro-
gram (referred to in this section as the ‘Program’) to as-
sure an adequate supply of public health professionals to 
eliminate critical public health preparedness workforce 
shortages in Federal, State, local, and tribal public health 
agencies. 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to participate in 
the Program, an individual shall— 
‘‘(1)(A) be accepted for enrollment, or be en-
rolled, as a full-time or part-time student in an ac-
credited academic educational institution in a State 
or territory in the final year of a course of study or 
program offered by that institution leading to a 
health professions degree or certificate, which may 
include a degree (graduate, undergraduate, or asso-
ciate) or certificate relating to laboratory sciences, 
epidemiology, environmental health, health commu-
nications, health education and behavioral sciences, 
information sciences, or public administration; or 
‘‘(B) have graduated, within 10 years, from an 
accredited educational institution in a State or terri-
tory and received a health professions degree (grad-
uate, undergraduate, or associate) or certificate, 
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which may include a degree (graduate, under-
graduate, or associate) or certificate relating to lab-
oratory sciences, epidemiology, environmental health, 
health communications, health education and behav-
ioral sciences, information sciences, or public admin-
istration; 
‘‘(2)(A) in the case of an individual described in 
paragraph (1)(A), have accepted employment with a 
Federal, State, local, or tribal public health agency, 
as recognized by the Secretary, to commence upon 
graduation; or 
‘‘(B) in the case of an individual described in 
paragraph (1)(B), be employed by, or have accepted 
employment with, a Federal, State, local, or tribal 
public health agency, as recognized by the Secretary; 
‘‘(3) be a United States citizen; 
‘‘(4) submit an application to the Secretary to 
participate in the Program; and 
‘‘(5) sign and submit to the Secretary, at the 
time of the submission of such application, a written 
contract (described in subsection (d)) to serve for 
the applicable period of obligated service in the full- 
time employment of a Federal, State, local, or tribal 
public health agency. 
‘‘(c) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.— 
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‘‘(1) APPLICATION
AND
CONTRACT
FORMS.— 
The Secretary shall disseminate application forms 
and contract forms to individuals desiring to partici-
pate in the Program. The Secretary shall include 
with such forms— 
‘‘(A) a fair summary of the rights and li-
abilities of an individual whose application is 
approved (and whose contract is accepted) by 
the Secretary, including in the summary a clear 
explanation of the damages to which the United 
States is entitled to recover in the case of the 
individual’s breach of the contract; and 
‘‘(B) information relating to the service ob-
ligation and such other information as may be 
necessary for the individual to understand the 
individual’s prospective participation in the Pro-
gram. 
‘‘(2) INFORMATION
FOR
SCHOOLS.—The Sec-
retary shall distribute to health professions schools 
and other appropriate accredited academic institu-
tions and relevant Federal, State, local, and tribal 
public health agencies, materials providing informa-
tion on the Program and shall encourage such 
schools, institutions, and agencies to disseminate 
such materials to potentially eligible students. 
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‘‘(3) UNDERSTANDABILITY AND TIMING.—The 
application form, contract form, and all other infor-
mation furnished by the Secretary under this section 
shall— 
‘‘(A) be written in a manner calculated to 
be understood by the average individual apply-
ing to participate in the Program; and 
‘‘(B) be made available by the Secretary on 
a date sufficiently early to ensure that such in-
dividuals have adequate time to carefully review 
and evaluate such forms and information. 
‘‘(d) CONTRACT.—The written contract (referred to 
in this section) between the Secretary and an individual 
shall contain— 
‘‘(1) an agreement on the part of the Secretary 
that the Secretary will repay on behalf of the indi-
vidual loans incurred by the individual in the pursuit 
of the relevant public health preparedness workforce 
educational degree or certificate in accordance with 
the terms of the contract; 
‘‘(2) an agreement on the part of the individual 
that the individual will serve, immediately upon 
graduation in the case of an individual described in 
subsection (b)(1)(A) service, or in the case of an in-
dividual described in subsection (b)(1)(B) continue 
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to serve, in the full-time employment of a Federal, 
State, local, or tribal public health agency in a posi-
tion related to the course of study or program for 
which the contract was awarded for a period of time 
(referred to in this section as the ‘period of obligated 
service’) equal to the greater of— 
‘‘(A) 3 years; or 
‘‘(B) such longer period of time as deter-
mined appropriate by the Secretary and the in-
dividual; 
‘‘(3) an agreement, as appropriate, on the part 
of the individual to relocate for the entire period of 
obligated service to a political jurisdiction designated 
by the Secretary to be a priority service area in ex-
change for an additional loan repayment incentive 
amount that does not exceed 20 percent of the indi-
vidual’s eligible loan repayment award per academic 
year such that the total of the loan repayment and 
the incentive amount shall not exceed 1⁄3 of the eligi-
ble loan balance per year; 
‘‘(4) in the case of an individual described in 
subsection (b)(1)(A) who is in the final year of study 
and who has accepted employment with a Federal, 
State, local, or tribal public health agency upon 
graduation, an agreement on the part of the indi-
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vidual to complete the education or training, main-
tain an acceptable level of academic standing (as de-
termined by the education institution offering the 
course of study or training), and agree to the period 
of obligated service; 
‘‘(5) a provision that any financial obligation of 
the United States arising out of a contract entered 
into under this section and any obligation of the in-
dividual that is conditioned thereon, is contingent on 
funds being appropriated for loan repayments under 
this section; 
‘‘(6) a statement of the damages to which the 
United States is entitled, under this section for the 
individual’s breach of the contract; and 
‘‘(7) such other statements of the rights and li-
abilities of the Secretary and of the individual, not 
inconsistent with this section. 
‘‘(e) PAYMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A loan repayment provided 
for an individual under a written contract under the 
Program shall consist of payment, in accordance 
with paragraph (2), on behalf of the individual of 
the principal, interest, and related expenses on gov-
ernment and commercial loans received by the indi-
vidual regarding the undergraduate or graduate edu-
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cation of the individual (or both), which loans were 
made for— 
‘‘(A) tuition expenses; or 
‘‘(B) all other reasonable educational ex-
penses, including fees, books, and laboratory ex-
penses, incurred by the individual. 
‘‘(2) PAYMENTS FOR YEARS SERVED.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For each year of obli-
gated service that an individual contracts to 
serve under subsection (d) the Secretary may 
pay up to $35,000 on behalf of the individual 
for loans described in paragraph (1). With re-
spect to participants under the Program whose 
total eligible loans are less than $105,000, the 
Secretary shall pay an amount that does not ex-
ceed 1⁄3 of the eligible loan balance for each 
year of obligated service of the individual. 
‘‘(B) REPAYMENT
SCHEDULE.—Any ar-
rangement made by the Secretary for the mak-
ing of loan repayments in accordance with this 
subsection shall provide that any repayments 
for a year of obligated service shall be made no 
later than the end of the fiscal year in which 
the individual completes such year of service. 
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‘‘(3) TAX LIABILITY.—For the purpose of pro-
viding reimbursements for tax liability resulting 
from payments under paragraph (2) on behalf of an 
individual— 
‘‘(A) the Secretary shall, in addition to 
such payments, make payments to the indi-
vidual in an amount not to exceed 39 percent 
of the total amount of loan repayments made 
for the taxable year involved; and 
‘‘(B) may make such additional payments 
as the Secretary determines to be appropriate 
with respect to such purpose. 
‘‘(4) PAYMENT
SCHEDULE.—The Secretary 
may enter into an agreement with the holder of any 
loan for which payments are made under the Pro-
gram to establish a schedule for the making of such 
payments. 
‘‘(f) POSTPONING OBLIGATED SERVICE.—With re-
spect to an individual receiving a degree or certificate from 
a school of medicine, public health, nursing, osteopathic 
medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, optometry, po-
diatry, pharmacy, psychology, or social work, the date of 
the initiation of the period of obligated service may be 
postponed, upon the submission by the individual of a peti-
tion for such postponement and approval by the Secretary, 
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to the date on which the individual completes an approved 
internship, residency, or other relevant public health pre-
paredness advanced training program. 
‘‘(g) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.— 
‘‘(1) HIRING PRIORITY.—Notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, Federal, State, local, and 
tribal public health agencies may give hiring priority 
to any individual who has qualified for and is willing 
to execute a contract to participate in the Program. 
‘‘(2) 
EMPLOYMENT
CEILINGS.—Notwith-
standing any other provision of law, individuals who 
have entered into written contracts with the Sec-
retary under this section, who are serving as full- 
time employees of a State, local, or tribal public 
health agency, or who are in the last year of public 
health workforce academic preparation, shall not be 
counted against any employment ceiling affecting 
the Department or any other Federal agency. 
‘‘(h) BREACH
OF CONTRACT.—An individual who 
fails to comply with the contract entered into under sub-
section (d) shall be subject to the same financial penalties 
as provided for under section 338E for breaches of loan 
repayment contracts under section 338B. 
‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
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$195,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 
2014. 
‘‘SEC. 782. GRANTS FOR STATE AND LOCAL PROGRAMS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of operating 
State, local, and tribal public health workforce loan repay-
ment programs, the Secretary shall award a grant to any 
public health agency that receives public health prepared-
ness cooperative agreements, or other successor coopera-
tive agreements, from the Department of Health and 
Human Services. 
‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—A State or local loan repay-
ment program operated with a grant under subsection (a) 
shall incorporate all provisions of the Public Health Work-
force Loan Repayment Program under section 781, in-
cluding the ability to designate priority service areas with-
in the relevant political jurisdiction. 
‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATION.—The head of the State or 
local office that receives a grant under subsection (a) shall 
be responsible for contracting and operating the loan re-
payment program under the grant. 
‘‘(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion shall be construed to obligate or limit any State, local, 
or tribal government entity from implementing inde-
pendent or supplemental public health workforce develop-
ment programs within their borders. 
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