FAAN Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 246 To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants to support schools of nursing in program enhancement and infrastructure mod- ernization, increasing the number of nursing faculty and students, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 4, 2021 Mr. MERKLEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants to support schools of nursing in program enhancement and infrastructure modernization, increasing the number of nursing faculty and students, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Future Advancement 4 of Academic Nursing Act’’ or the ‘‘FAAN Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S246.IS S246 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 246 IS SEC. 2. SUPPORT FOR NURSING EDUCATION AND THE FU- 1 TURE NURSING WORKFORCE. 2 Part D of title VIII of the Public Health Service Act 3 (42 U.S.C. 296p et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 4 the following: 5 ‘‘SEC. 832. NURSING EDUCATION ENHANCEMENT AND MOD- 6 ERNIZATION GRANTS IN UNDERSERVED 7 AREAS. 8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 9 the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services 10 Administration, may award grants to schools of nursing 11 (as defined in section 801) for— 12 ‘‘(1) increasing the number of faculty and stu- 13 dents at such schools in order to enhance the pre- 14 paredness of the United States for, and the ability 15 of the United States to address and quickly respond 16 to, public health emergencies declared under section 17 319 and pandemics; or 18 ‘‘(2) the enhancement and modernization of 19 nursing education programs. 20 ‘‘(b) PRIORITY.—In selecting grant recipients under 21 this section, the Secretary shall give priority to schools of 22 nursing that— 23 ‘‘(1) are located in a medically underserved 24 community; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S246.IS S246 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 246 IS ‘‘(2) are located in a health professional short- 1 age area as defined under section 332(a); or 2 ‘‘(3) are institutions of higher education listed 3 under section 371(a) of the Higher Education Act of 4 1965. 5 ‘‘(c) CONSIDERATION.—In awarding grants under 6 this section, the Secretary, to the extent practicable, may 7 ensure equitable distribution of awards among the geo- 8 graphic regions of the United States. 9 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.—A school of nursing that re- 10 ceives a grant under this section may use the funds award- 11 ed through such grant for activities that include— 12 ‘‘(1) enhancing enrollment and retention of stu- 13 dents at such school, with a priority for students 14 from disadvantaged backgrounds (including racial or 15 ethnic groups underrepresented in the nursing work- 16 force), individuals from rural and underserved areas, 17 low-income individuals, and first generation college 18 students (as defined in section 402A(h)(3) of the 19 Higher Education Act of 1965); 20 ‘‘(2) creating, supporting, or modernizing edu- 21 cational programs and curriculum at such school; 22 ‘‘(3) retaining current faculty, and hiring new 23 faculty, with an emphasis on faculty from racial or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S246.IS S246 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 246 IS ethnic groups who are underrepresented in the nurs- 1 ing workforce; 2 ‘‘(4) modernizing infrastructure at such school, 3 including audiovisual or other equipment, personal 4 protective equipment, simulation and augmented re- 5 ality resources, telehealth technologies, and virtual 6 and physical laboratories; 7 ‘‘(5) partnering with a health care facility, 8 nurse-managed health clinic, community health cen- 9 ter, or other facility that provides health care in 10 order to provide educational opportunities for the 11 purpose of establishing or expanding clinical edu- 12 cation; 13 ‘‘(6) enhancing and expanding nursing pro- 14 grams that prepare nurse researchers and scientists; 15 ‘‘(7) establishing nurse-led intradisciplinary and 16 interprofessional educational partnerships; and 17 ‘‘(8) other activities that the Secretary deter- 18 mines further the development, improvement, and 19 expansion of schools of nursing. 20 ‘‘(e) REPORTS FROM ENTITIES.—Each school of 21 nursing awarded a grant under this section shall submit 22 an annual report to the Secretary on the activities con- 23 ducted under such grant, and other information as the 24 Secretary may require. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S246.IS S246 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 246 IS ‘‘(f) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 5 years 1 after the date of the enactment of this section, the Sec- 2 retary shall submit to the Committee on Health, Edu- 3 cation, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Com- 4 mittee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Rep- 5 resentatives a report that provides a summary of the ac- 6 tivities and outcomes associated with grants made under 7 this section. Such report shall include— 8 ‘‘(1) a list of schools of nursing receiving grants 9 under this section, including the primary geographic 10 location of any school of nursing that was improved 11 or expanded through such a grant; 12 ‘‘(2) the total number of students who are en- 13 rolled at or who have graduated from any school of 14 nursing that was improved or expanded through a 15 grant under this section, which such statistic shall— 16 ‘‘(A) to the extent such information is 17 available, be deidentified and disaggregated by 18 race, ethnicity, age, sex, geographic region, dis- 19 ability status, and other relevant factors; and 20 ‘‘(B) include an indication of the number 21 of such students who are from racial or ethnic 22 groups underrepresented in the nursing work- 23 force, such students who are from rural or un- 24 derserved areas, such students who are low-in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S246.IS S246 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 246 IS come students, and such students who are first 1 generation college students (as defined in sec- 2 tion 402A(h)(3) of the Higher Education Act of 3 1965); 4 ‘‘(3) to the extent such information is available, 5 the effects of the grants awarded under this section 6 on retaining and hiring of faculty, including any in- 7 crease in diverse faculty, the number of clinical edu- 8 cation partnerships, the modernization of nursing 9 education infrastructure, and other ways this section 10 helps address and quickly respond to public health 11 emergencies and pandemics; 12 ‘‘(4) recommendations for improving the grants 13 awarded under this section; and 14 ‘‘(5) any other considerations as the Secretary 15 determines appropriate. 16 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To 17 carry out this section, there is authorized to be appro- 18 priated $1,000,000,000 to remain available until ex- 19 pended.’’. 20 SEC. 3. STRENGTHENING NURSE EDUCATION. 21 The heading of part D of title VIII of the Public 22 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 296p et seq.) is amended 23 by striking ‘‘BASIC’’. 24 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S246.IS S246 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS