[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 623 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 623

To amend the Public Health Service Act with respect to the shortage of 
                     medical laboratory personnel.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 5, 2003

 Mr. Shimkus (for himself, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, and Mr. Bilirakis) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                          Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Public Health Service Act with respect to the shortage of 
                     medical laboratory personnel.

    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 ``Medical Laboratory Personnel 
Shortage Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. RESPONSE TO SHORTAGE OF MEDICAL LABORATORY PERSONNEL; PROGRAMS 
              OF HEALTH RESOURCES AND SERVICES ADMINISTRATION.

    (a) Scholarship and Loan Repayment Programs.--Section 737 of the 
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 293a)) is amended by adding at the 
end the following subsection:
    ``(e) Scholarship and Loan Repayment Program for Medical 
Technologists, Medical Laboratory Technicians, and Other Medical 
Laboratory Personnel.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish a program 
        of scholarships and loan repayment for the purpose of 
        alleviating the shortage of medical laboratory personnel. The 
        scholarship and loan repayment program shall include a period 
        of obligated service for recipients in a designated health 
        professional shortage area, or other area where there is a 
        shortage of medical laboratory personnel. The Secretary may 
        model the program after the scholarship and loan repayment 
        programs under sections 338A and 338B.
            ``(2) Eligible entities.--Schools of allied health, and 
        health care institution-based programs training medical 
        laboratory personnel, are eligible to receive awards under 
        paragraph (1).
            ``(3) Authorization of appropriations.--For the purpose of 
        carrying out this subsection, there are authorized to be 
        appropriated $11,193,000 in fiscal year 2004, and such sums as 
        may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2005 through 
        2008. Such authorization is in addition to other authorizations 
        of appropriations that are available for such purpose.''.
    (b) Other Programs Under Title VII.--
            (1) Allied health and other disciplines.--
                    (A) Preference in making awards; public service 
                announcements.--Section 755 of the Public Health 
                Service Act (42 U.S.C. 294e)) is amended by adding at 
                the end the following subsections:
    ``(c) Preference in Making Awards.--In making awards of grants and 
contracts under subsection (a), the Secretary shall give preference to 
making awards to assist entities in meeting the costs associated with 
expanding or establishing programs that will increase the number of 
individuals trained as medical laboratory personnel.
    ``(d) Public Service Announcements.--The Secretary shall develop 
and issue public service announcements that advertise and promote 
medical laboratory personnel careers, highlight the advantages and 
rewards of medical laboratory personnel careers, and encourage 
individuals to enter medical laboratory personnel careers.''.
                    (B) Authorization of appropriations.--Section 757 
                of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 294g(a)) is 
                amended by adding at the end the following subsection:
    ``(d) Allied Health and Other Disciplines.--For the purpose of 
carrying out section 755, there are authorized to be appropriated 
$100,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, and such sums as may be necessary 
for each of the fiscal years 2005 through 2008. Such authorization is 
in addition to the authorizations of appropriations under subsection 
(a) that are available for such purpose.''.
            (2) Other title vii programs.--Section 740 of the Public 
        Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 293d) is amended--
                    (A) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection 
                (e); and
                    (B) by inserting after subsection (c) the following 
                subsection:
    ``(d) Medical Laboratory Personnel.--For the purpose of increasing 
the number of individuals trained as medical laboratory personnel 
through making awards of grants or contracts under sections 737 through 
739 for appropriate schools of allied health, there are authorized to 
be appropriated, in addition to authorizations of appropriations under 
subsections (a) through (c) that are available for such purpose, the 
following:
            ``(1) For awards under section 738 to serve as members of 
        the faculty of such schools, $332,500 for fiscal year 2004, and 
        such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2005 
        through 2008.
            ``(2) For awards under section 739 to such schools, 
        $8,200,000 for fiscal year 2004, and such sums as may be 
        necessary for each of the fiscal years 2005 through 2008.''.
            (3) Definition of medical laboratory personnel.--Section 
        799B of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 295p) is 
        amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(12) The term `medical laboratory personnel' means allied 
        health professionals (as defined in paragraph (5)) who are 
        medical technologists, cytotechnologists, histotechnologists, 
        phlebotomists, or medical laboratory technicians, or who are in 
        other fields that, within the meaning of section 353(a) 
        (relating to the certification of clinical laboratories), 
        examine materials derived from the human body for the purpose 
        of providing information for the diagnosis, prevention, or 
        treatment of any disease or impairment of, or the assessment of 
        the health of, human beings.''.

SEC. 3. RESPONSE TO SHORTAGE OF MEDICAL LABORATORY PERSONNEL; PROGRAMS 
              OF CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION.

    Title XV of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300k et seq.) 
is amended by inserting after section 1509 the following section:

``SEC. 1509A. SHORTAGE OF TECHNOLOGISTS FOR LABORATORY ANALYSIS 
              REGARDING SCREENING FOR CERVICAL CANCER.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the Administrator 
of the Health Resources and Services Administration and in 
collaboration with the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention, shall make grants to appropriate public and nonprofit 
private entities to provide training to increase the number of 
cytotechnologists who are available with respect to screening women for 
cervical cancer.
    ``(b) Funding.--
            ``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), for the 
        purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized to 
        be appropriated $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, and such sums 
        as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2005 through 
        2008.
            ``(2) Limitation.--The authorization of appropriations 
        established in paragraph (1) is not effective for a fiscal year 
        unless the amount appropriated under section 1510(a) for the 
        fiscal year is equal to or greater than $173,928,000.''.

SEC. 4. RESPONSE TO SHORTAGE OF MEDICAL LABORATORY PERSONNEL; PROGRAMS 
              OF NATIONAL HEART, LUNG, AND BLOOD INSTITUTE.

    Section 422(c)(3)(C) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
285b-4(c)(3)(C)) is amended by inserting after ``allied health 
professionals'' the following: ``, with emphasis given in the training 
of such professionals to the training of medical laboratory personnel 
(as defined in section 799B) in medical laboratory disciplines with 
respect to which there are needs for increased numbers of personnel''.
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