Allied Health Workforce Diversity Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3637 To amend title VII of the Public Health Service Act to authorize assistance for increasing workforce diversity in the professions of physical therapy, occupational therapy, audiology, and speech-language pathology, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 9, 2019 Mr. RUSH (for himself and Mrs. RODGERS of Washington) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To amend title VII of the Public Health Service Act to authorize assistance for increasing workforce diversity in the professions of physical therapy, occupational ther- apy, audiology, and speech-language pathology, 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 ‘‘Allied Health Work- 4 force Diversity Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3637.IH H3637 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3637 IH SEC. 2. INCREASING WORKFORCE DIVERSITY IN THE PRO- 1 FESSIONS OF PHYSICAL THERAPY, OCCUPA- 2 TIONAL THERAPY, AUDIOLOGY, AND SPEECH- 3 LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY. 4 Title VII of the Public Health Service Act is amend- 5 ed— 6 (1) by redesignating part G (42 U.S.C. 295j et 7 seq.) as part H; and 8 (2) by inserting after part F (42 U.S.C. 294n 9 et seq.) the following new part: 10 ‘‘PART G—INCREASING WORKFORCE DIVERSITY 11 IN THE PROFESSIONS OF PHYSICAL THER- 12 APY, OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY, AUDIOLOGY, 13 AND SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY 14 ‘‘SEC. 783. SCHOLARSHIPS AND STIPENDS. 15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may award grants 16 and contracts to eligible entities to increase educational 17 opportunities in the professions of physical therapy, occu- 18 pational therapy, audiology, and speech-language pathol- 19 ogy for eligible individuals by— 20 ‘‘(1) providing student scholarships or stipends, 21 including for— 22 ‘‘(A) completion of an accelerated degree 23 program; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3637.IH H3637 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3637 IH ‘‘(B) completion of an associate’s, bach- 1 elor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree program; 2 and 3 ‘‘(C) entry by a diploma or associate’s de- 4 gree practitioner into a bridge or degree com- 5 pletion program; 6 ‘‘(2) providing assistance for completion of pre- 7 requisite courses or other preparation necessary for 8 acceptance for enrollment in the eligible entity; and 9 ‘‘(3) carrying out activities to increase the re- 10 tention of students in one or more programs in the 11 professions of physical therapy, occupational ther- 12 apy, audiology, and speech-language pathology. 13 ‘‘(b) CONSIDERATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS.—In 14 carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary shall take into 15 consideration the recommendations of national organiza- 16 tions representing the professions of physical therapy, oc- 17 cupational therapy, audiology, and speech-language pa- 18 thology, including the American Physical Therapy Asso- 19 ciation, the American Occupational Therapy Association, 20 the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the 21 American Academy of Audiology, and the Academy of 22 Doctors of Audiology. 23 ‘‘(c) REQUIRED INFORMATION AND CONDITIONS FOR 24 AWARD RECIPIENTS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3637.IH H3637 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3637 IH ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may require 1 recipients of awards under this section to report to 2 the Secretary concerning the annual admission, re- 3 tention, and graduation rates for eligible individuals 4 in programs of the recipient leading to a degree in 5 any of the professions of physical therapy, occupa- 6 tional therapy, audiology, and speech-language pa- 7 thology. 8 ‘‘(2) FALLING RATES.—If any of the rates re- 9 ported by a recipient under paragraph (1) fall below 10 the average for such recipient over the two years 11 preceding the year covered by the report, the recipi- 12 ent shall provide the Secretary with plans for imme- 13 diately improving such rates. 14 ‘‘(3) INELIGIBILITY.—A recipient described in 15 paragraph (2) shall be ineligible for continued fund- 16 ing under this section if the plan of the recipient 17 fails to improve the rates within the 1-year period 18 beginning on the date such plan is implemented. 19 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 20 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—The term ‘eligible 21 entity’ means an education program that— 22 ‘‘(A) is accredited by— 23 ‘‘(i) the Council on Academic Accredi- 24 tation in Audiology and Speech-Language 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3637.IH H3637 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3637 IH Pathology or the Accreditation Commission 1 for Audiology Education; 2 ‘‘(ii) the Commission on Accreditation 3 in Physical Therapy Education; or 4 ‘‘(iii) the Accreditation Council for 5 Occupational Therapy Education; and 6 ‘‘(B) is carrying out a program for recruit- 7 ing and retaining students underrepresented in 8 the professions of physical therapy, occupa- 9 tional therapy, audiology, and speech-language 10 pathology (including racial or ethnic minorities, 11 or students from disadvantaged backgrounds). 12 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘eligible 13 individual’ means an individual who— 14 ‘‘(A) is a member of a class of persons who 15 are underrepresented in the professions of phys- 16 ical therapy, occupational therapy, audiology, 17 and speech-language pathology (including indi- 18 viduals who are racial or ethnic minorities, or 19 are from disadvantaged backgrounds); 20 ‘‘(B) has a financial need for a scholarship 21 or stipend; and 22 ‘‘(C) is enrolled (or accepted for enroll- 23 ment) at an audiology, speech-language pathol- 24 ogy, physical therapy, or occupational therapy 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3637.IH H3637 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3637 IH program as a full-time student at an eligible en- 1 tity. 2 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 3 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 4 $5,000,000 for the first fiscal year commencing after the 5 date of enactment of the Allied Health Workforce Diver- 6 sity Act of 2019 and each of the 4 succeeding fiscal 7 years.’’. 8 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:33 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3637.IH H3637 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS