I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5032 
To amend chapter 73 of title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary 
of Veterans Affairs to establish a rural recruitment office within the 
Department of Veterans Affairs to recruit health care professionals, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 12, 2019 
Mr. HUFFMAN (for himself, Mr. CASE, and Mr. GROTHMAN) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To amend chapter 73 of title 38, United States Code, to 
direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a 
rural recruitment office within the Department of Vet-
erans Affairs to recruit health care 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 ‘‘Recruiting in Under-
served Rural Areas and Localities for Veterans Act’’ or 
the ‘‘RURAL Veterans Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF RURAL RE-
CRUITMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 73 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 7308 
the following new section: 
‘‘§ 7308A. Office of Rural Recruitment 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish an office within the Office of the Under Secretary for 
Health to be known as the ‘Office of Rural Recruitment’ 
(in this section referred to as the ‘Office’). The purpose 
of the Office is to improve the recruitment of health care 
professionals for rural and highly rural community-based 
outpatient clinics and medical centers of the Department 
of Veterans Affairs. 
‘‘(b) DIRECTOR.—The Under Secretary of Health 
shall appoint the head of the Office who shall be called 
the Director of the Office of Rural Recruitment (in this 
section referred to as the ‘Director’). 
‘‘(c) DUTIES.—(1) Annually, the Director, in collabo-
ration with the directors of each community-based out-
patient clinic and medical center of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs, shall, to determine the hiring needs of 
such clinics and centers, do the following: 
‘‘(A) Assess the efficacy of hiring incentives to 
recruit health care professionals to practice in rural 
and highly rural community-based outpatient clinics 
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and medical centers of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs. 
‘‘(B) Assess resources and funding necessary 
for rural and highly rural community-based out-
patient clinics and medical centers of the Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs, which may include data 
from the most current determination published in 
the Federal Register pursuant to section 7412(a) of 
this title. 
‘‘(C) Identify hiring incentive programs offered 
for retaining health care professionals (including the 
Education Debt Reduction Program, the Employee 
Incentive Scholarship Program, and other programs 
under chapter 76 of this title) that provide scholar-
ships, tuition reimbursement, and education debt re-
duction for health care professionals. 
‘‘(D) Determine the number of health care pro-
fessionals who accepted positions in rural and highly 
rural community-based outpatient clinics and med-
ical centers of the Department of Veterans Affairs 
during the previous fiscal year. 
‘‘(E) Determine the number of health care pro-
fessionals that left positions described in subpara-
graph (D) during the previous fiscal year. 
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‘‘(2) The Director, in collaboration with the directors 
of each community-based outpatient clinic and medical 
center of the Department of Veterans Affairs, shall de-
velop and implement a national plan using information 
gathered under paragraph (1) and the strategies under 
subsection (d) to— 
‘‘(A) recruit health care professionals for rural 
and highly rural community-based outpatient clinics 
and medical centers of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs; 
‘‘(B) determine which such clinics or centers 
are high-need; 
‘‘(C) develop best practices and techniques for 
recruiting health care professionals in rural and 
highly rural community-based outpatient clinics and 
medical centers of the Department of Veterans Af-
fairs; 
‘‘(D) not less than twice each fiscal year, train 
rural recruitment employees in the best practices 
and techniques developed under subparagraph (C); 
and 
‘‘(E) provide recruitment resources to the Vet-
erans Integrated Service Networks, rural and highly 
rural community-based outpatient clinics, and rural 
and highly rural medical centers of the Department 
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of Veterans Affairs, such as pamphlets and mar-
keting material. 
‘‘(3) The Director shall coordinate an annual meeting 
for rural and highly rural community-based outpatient 
clinics and medical centers of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs to communicate rural recruitment needs among 
such clinics and centers. 
‘‘(d) 
VETERANS
INTEGRATED
SERVICE
NET-
WORKS.—The director of each Veterans Integrated Serv-
ice Network that includes at least one rural or highly rural 
community-based outpatient clinic shall annually develop 
and maintain a strategy to recruit health care profes-
sionals. Such strategy shall include the designation of at 
least one rural recruitment employee from the human re-
sources department of such Veterans Integrated Service 
Network, or if no such department exists, any department 
within such Veterans Integrated Service Network. 
‘‘(e) REPORTS.—(1) The director of each rural and 
highly rural community-based outpatient clinic and med-
ical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs shall 
submit to the director of the respective Veterans Inte-
grated Service Network of such clinic an annual report 
on hiring needs with respect to recruiting health care pro-
fessionals within such clinic. 
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‘‘(2) The director of each Veterans Integrated Service 
Network described in subsection (d) shall submit to the 
Director an annual report containing— 
‘‘(A) the strategy under such subsection; and 
‘‘(B) a summary of hiring needs with respect to 
recruiting health care professionals in rural and 
highly rural community-based outpatient clinics. 
‘‘(3) The Secretary, acting through the Director, 
shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of 
the House of Representatives and Senate an annual report 
containing the information gathered pursuant to sub-
section (c)(1) and the national plan under paragraph (2) 
of such subsection. 
‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘rural recruitment employee’ 
means an employee of a Veterans Integrated Service 
Network designated under subsection (d) who is re-
sponsible for recruiting health care professionals for 
rural and highly rural community-based outpatient 
clinics and medical centers of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs. 
‘‘(2) The terms ‘rural’ and ‘highly rural’ have 
the meanings given such terms under the rural- 
urban commuting codes developed by the Secretary 
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of Agriculture and the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services.’’. 
(b) DESIGNATION
OF RURAL RECRUITMENT EM-
PLOYEE.—Not later than September 30, 2023, the direc-
tor of each Veterans Integrated Service Network that has 
at least one rural or highly rural community-based out-
patient clinic shall designate a rural recruitment employee 
as required by the strategy described under section 
7308A(d) of title 38, United States Code, as added by 
subsection (a). 
(c) REPORTING TIMELINE.—The first reports under 
paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of section 7308A(e) of title 
38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall 
be submitted not later than 12 months, 18 months, and 
24 months, respectively, after the date of the enactment 
of this Act. 
(d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 7308 the following new 
item: 
‘‘7308A. Office of Rural Recruitment.’’. 
SEC. 3. STUDY ON A SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM AND ESTAB-
LISHMENT OF A FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM FOR 
HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS. 
(a) STUDY ON THE FEASIBILITY OF A RURAL RE-
CRUITMENT SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.— 
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(1) FEASIBILITY STUDY.—The Director of the 
Office of Rural Recruitment established under sec-
tion 7308A(a) of title 38, United States Code, as 
added by section 1(a), shall conduct a study on the 
feasibility of a scholarship program for health care 
professionals to attend the Uniformed Services Uni-
versity of the Health Sciences in exchange for serv-
ice as full-time employees at a rural or highly rural 
community-based outpatient clinic or medical center 
of the Department of Veterans Affairs for a period 
determined by the Director. 
(2) REPORT
AND
RECOMMENDATION.—Not 
later than September 30, 2022, the Secretary, acting 
through the Director, shall submit to Congress a re-
port— 
(A) on the study conducted pursuant to 
paragraph (1); and 
(B) containing a recommendation with re-
spect to the operation of and funding for the 
program described under paragraph (1). 
(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF THE RURAL HEALTH QUAL-
ITY AND ACCESS FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM.—In carrying 
out section 7302 of title 38, United States Code, the Sec-
retary shall establish the Rural Health Quality and Access 
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Fellowship program to provide fellowships to health care 
professionals at the graduate or post-graduate level who— 
(1) serve on a short-term basis as full-time em-
ployees at a rural or highly rural community-based 
outpatient clinic or medical center of the Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs; and 
(2) conduct research on— 
(A) improving the quality of rural health 
care, including best practices for remote health 
care; 
(B) access to health care in rural areas; 
and 
(C) recruitment and retention of health 
care professionals in rural areas. 
(c) HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL DEFINED.—In 
this Act, the term ‘‘health care professional’’ means an 
individual who qualifies as an appointee under section 
7402 of title 38, United States Code. 
Æ 
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