RURAL Physicians Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3150 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for interest-free deferment on student loans for borrowers serving in certain medical or dental internships or residency programs. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 5, 2019 Mr. WATKINS (for himself and Mrs. LEE of Nevada) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for interest-free deferment on student loans for bor- rowers serving in certain medical or dental internships or residency programs. 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 ‘‘Rural and Underserved 4 Residencies to Attract Long-term Physicians Act’’ or the 5 ‘‘RURAL Physicians Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:03 Jun 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3150.IH H3150 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 3150 IH SEC. 2. DEFERMENT DURING A MEDICAL OR DENTAL IN- 1 TERNSHIP OR RESIDENCY PROGRAM. 2 Section 455(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 3 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(f)) is amended— 4 (1) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding 5 subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘A borrower’’ and in- 6 serting ‘‘Except as provided in paragraph (6), a bor- 7 rower’’; 8 (2) in paragraph (2)(A)— 9 (A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of clause 10 (i); 11 (B) by striking the matter following clause 12 (ii); 13 (C) in clause (ii), by striking the comma at 14 the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 15 (D) by adding at the end the following: 16 ‘‘(iii) is serving in a medical or dental 17 internship or residency program that— 18 ‘‘(I) at the beginning of such 19 service is in— 20 ‘‘(aa) a health professional 21 shortage area designated under 22 section 332 of the Public Health 23 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254e); or 24 ‘‘(bb) a medical facility lo- 25 cated in a census tract with a 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:03 Jun 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3150.IH H3150 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 3150 IH Rural Urban Commuting Area 1 code 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10; or 2 ‘‘(II) is in a medical facility of 3 the Department of Veterans Affairs;’’; 4 and 5 (3) by adding at the end the following: 6 ‘‘(6) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN IN SCHOOL 7 DEFERMENT.—Notwithstanding any other provision 8 of this Act, a borrower described in paragraph 9 (2)(A)(iii) shall be eligible for a deferment, during 10 which periodic installments of principal need not be 11 paid and interest shall not accrue on any loan made 12 to the borrower under this part.’’. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:03 Jun 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3150.IH H3150 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS