Title: Bringing Additional Nurses to the Fight Act
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Bringing Additional Nurses to the Fight Act
This bill includes the development of accelerated postgraduate nursing programs for individuals who have earned some academic credit in a nursing-related field as a priority area for certain grants made to institutions of higher education or other eligible entities for nurse education, practice, quality, and retention.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6686 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6686

     To amend the Public Health Service Act to increase access to 
   accelerated postgraduate nursing programs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 1, 2020

 Ms. Mucarsel-Powell introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the Public Health Service Act to increase access to 
   accelerated postgraduate nursing programs, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Bringing Additional Nurses to the 
Fight Act''.

SEC. 2. ACCELERATED POSTGRADUATE PROGRAMS.

    (a) In General.--Section 831(a) of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 296p(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``or'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) developing, implementing, or expanding an accelerated 
        postgraduate nursing program for individuals who--
                    ``(A) have earned some credit pursuing a course of 
                study in a nursing-related field (including 
                foundational science courses at the undergraduate 
                level) at an institution of higher education (as 
                defined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 
                1965) or a foreign institution of higher education; and
                    ``(B) are citizens, nationals, or lawfully admitted 
                permanent resident aliens of the United States.''.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 871 of the Public 
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 298d) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(c) Accelerated Postgraduate Programs.--In addition to amounts 
made available under paragraph (1), for the purpose of carrying out 
section 831(a)(3), there are authorized to be appropriated $30,000,000 
for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2023.''.
    (c) Report to Congress.--Not later than one year after the date on 
which the first grant or contract is made under paragraph (3) of 
section 831(a) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 296p(a)), as 
added by subsection (a), the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions of the Senate a report on--
            (1) the efficacy of the grants awarded under such paragraph 
        in increasing the nursing workforce;
            (2) a list of the institutions of higher education that 
        developed, implemented, or expanded an accelerated postgraduate 
        nursing program using such a grant; and
            (3) the number of students enrolled in each such program.
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