[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 560 Introduced in House (IH)]
103d CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 560
To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish programs to
increase the supply of professional nurses and provide educational
assistance to nurses, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 25, 1993
Mr. Ackerman introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly
to the Committees on Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish programs to
increase the supply of professional nurses and provide educational
assistance to nurses, 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 ``Emergency Nurse Shortage Relief Act
of 1993''.
SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR PROGRAMS TO INCREASE NUMBER OF ACTIVE NURSES.
Subpart I of part A of title VIII of the Public Health Service Act
(42 U.S.C. 296k et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following
new section:
``nurse recruitment programs
``Sec. 823. (a) In General.--The Secretary may make grants to
public and nonprofit private entities to carry out programs--
``(1) to promote nursing as a career choice and to educate
the public regarding the value of the nursing profession;
``(2) to identify students in public secondary schools who
show an interest in health care and provide such students with
internships in the area of health care;
``(3) to promote the nursing profession in public secondary
schools; and
``(4) to recruit nursing students, by using creative
methods, from groups not traditionally well represented in the
nursing profession, including men, minorities, and individuals
who are pursuing a second career.
``(b) Application.--To receive a grant under this section, a public
or private nonprofit entity shall submit an application to the
Secretary as the Secretary may require.
``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.
Any amounts appropriated under this section shall remain available
until expended.''.
SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR PROGRAMS TO ATTRACT INACTIVE NURSES BACK INTO
NURSING PROFESSION.
Subpart I of part A of title VIII of the Public Health Service Act
(42 U.S.C. 296k et seq.), as amended by section 2 of this Act, is
further amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``inactive nurse reactivation and training programs
``Sec. 824. (a) In General.--The Secretary may make grants to
public and private nonprofit entities and schools of nursing to
establish or assist programs--
``(1) to encourage and assist nurses that are not
practicing in the nursing profession to reenter the profession;
``(2) to train or educate nurses that are reentering the
nursing profession and practicing nurses as nurse practitioners
or nurse midwives or in areas of needed specialized nursing
skills; and
``(3) to provide tuition assistance to students enrolled in
educational programs designed to facilitate the reentry into
the nursing profession of nurses that are not practicing in the
nursing profession.
``(b) Application.--To receive a grant under this section, a public
or private nonprofit entity or a school of nursing shall submit an
application to the Secretary as the Secretary may require.
``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.
Any amounts appropriated under this section shall remain available
until expended.''.
SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR PROGRAMS TO RETAIN PRACTICING NURSES.
Subpart I of part A of title VIII of the Public Health Service Act
(42 U.S.C. 296k et seq.), as amended by sections 2 and 3 of this Act,
is further amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``practicing nurse retention programs
``Sec. 825. (a) In General.--The Secretary may make grants to
health care facilities to carry out programs--
``(1) to demonstrate the use of innovative methods to
increase the attractiveness to individuals of the nursing
profession as a career choice through changes in traditional
wage structures, flexible delivery and scheduling of employment
options and benefits, and restructuring the role of nurses in
the health care facilities; and
``(2) to demonstrate innovative methods of providing for
advancement in careers in the nursing profession to encourage
nurses and nurse assistants to continue education in nursing.
``(b) Application.--To receive a grant under this section, a health
care facility shall submit an application to the Secretary as the
Secretary may require.
``(c) Definition of Health Care Facility.--For purposes of this
section, the term `health care facility' means a hospital, public
health center, outpatient medical facility, rehabilitation facility,
facility for long-term care, or other facility for the provision of
health care services.
``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.
Any amounts appropriated under this section shall remain available
until expended.''.
SEC. 5. PROGRAM FOR LOANS FOR CONTINUED NURSE TRAINING AND LOAN
FORGIVENESS TO NURSING STUDENTS.
Part B of title VIII of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
297 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new subpart:
``Subpart V--Assistance for Nurses After Completion of Nursing School
``loans for continued nurse training
``Sec. 849. (a) Establishment of Program.--The Secretary may
establish a program to insure educational loans to individuals who have
attained a degree as a registered nurse for educational expenses
related to programs designed to train or educate nurses as nurse
practitioners or nurse midwives or in areas of needed specialized
nursing skills (as designated by the Secretary under section
860(a)(2)).
``(b) Organization of Program.--With respect to the program of
Insured Health Education Assistance Loans to Graduate Students
established in subpart I of part A of title VII, the provisions of such
subpart shall, except as inconsistent with this section, apply to the
program established under subsection (a) in the same manner and to the
same extent as such provisions apply to the program established in such
subpart I.
``(c) Budget Compliance.--The authority of the Secretary to insure
loans under this section shall be effective for any fiscal year only to
such extent or in such amounts as are provided in appropriation Acts.
``student loan forgiveness program
``Sec. 849A. (a) Establishment.--The Secretary may carry out a
program to enter into agreements with eligible individuals to assist in
repaying, in the amounts specified in subsection (c), the eligible
educational loans of the eligible individuals.
``(b) Eligible Borrowers.--An individual shall be eligible to
receive assistance under this section if the individual--
``(1)(A) is enrolled as a full-time student in a collegiate
school of nursing in a program leading to the achievement of a
degree as a registered nurse; and
``(B) agrees, to the satisfaction of the Secretary, to work
full time as a registered nurse in a nursing crisis area; or
``(2)(A) has attained a degree as a registered nurse;
``(B) is enrolled in a program designed to train or educate
the individual as a nurse practitioner or nurse midwife or
regarding an area of a needed specialized nursing skill; and
``(C) agrees, to the satisfaction of the Secretary, to work
full time after completion of the program as a registered nurse
in a nursing crisis area in a position that utilizes such
training or education.
``(c) Amount of Payments.--The program established by the Secretary
under this section may pay to a holder of loans on behalf of an
eligible individual, for each completed 12-month period of work as
agreed to under paragraph (1)(B) or (2)(C) of subsection (b), an amount
equal to the amount equal to the percentage of the total of the
principal, interest, and related expenses of such educational loans of
the eligible individual determined in accordance with the following
table:
``Years of work completed Percentage of total of principal, Cumulative percentage of total of
as agreed to as a full- interest, and related expenses of principal, interest, and related
time registered nurse in a eligible loans repaid under this expenses of eligible loans repaid under
nursing crisis area section for previous 12-month period this section
1......................... 20................................... 20
2......................... 20................................... 40
3......................... 45................................... 85
4......................... 15................................... 100
``(d) Definition of Eligible Educational Loans.--For purposes of
this section the term `eligible educational loan' means--
``(1) for an individual eligible under subsection (b)(1),
any educational loans received before the attainment by the
individual of the position of registered nurse; and
``(2) for an individual eligible under subsection (b)(2),
any educational loans relating to the program in which the
individual participates pursuant to subparagraph (B) of such
subsection.
``(e) Budget Compliance.--The authority of the Secretary to enter
into agreements under this section to repay loans shall be effective
for any fiscal year only to such extent or in such amounts as are
provided in appropriation Acts.''.
SEC. 6. INCOME TAX CREDIT FOR CORPORATIONS WHICH PROVIDE SCHOLARSHIPS
FOR NURSE TRAINING.
(a) In General.--Subpart B of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to foreign tax credit,
etc.) is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new
section:
``SEC. 30. SCHOLARSHIPS PROVIDED BY CORPORATIONS FOR NURSE TRAINING.
``(a) Allowance of Credit.--In the case of a C corporation, there
shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed by this chapter
for the taxable year an amount equal to 20 percent of the amount paid
or incurred by the taxpayer during the taxable year as qualified
nursing scholarships.
``(b) Qualified Nursing Scholarship Defined.--For purposes of this
section, the term `qualified nursing scholarship' means any
scholarship--
``(1) which is excludable from the gross income of the
recipient, and
``(2) which is received by an individual who is a candidate
for a degree as a registered nurse or for a higher nursing
degree for purposes of pursuing such a degree.
``(c) Application With Other Credits.--The credit allowed by
subsection (a) for any taxable year shall not exceed the excess (if
any) of--
``(1) the regular tax for the taxable year reduced by the
sum of the credits allowable under subpart A and sections 27,
28, and 29, over
``(2) the tentative minimum tax for the taxable year.''
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for such subpart B
is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new item:
``Sec. 30. Scholarships provided by corporations for nurse training.''
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to amounts paid or incurred after the date of the enactment of
this Act, in taxable years ending after such date.
SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.
Except as provided in section 6(c), this Act and the amendments
made by this Act shall take effect upon the expiration of the 90-day
period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.
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