[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2794 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2794

To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants to increase 
    the number of qualified nursing faculty, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 20, 2007

  Mr. Pastor introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants to increase 
    the number of qualified nursing faculty, 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 ``America's Partnership for Nursing 
Education Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) The nursing shortage has a detrimental impact on the 
        quality of care patients receive in health care settings and 
        plays a role in driving up health care costs.
            (2) States that have developed strategies involving 
        partnerships with educational institutions and have allocated 
        funds toward implementing their strategies are well suited to 
        make effective use of matching Federal funds to better address 
        and reduce this nursing shortage
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to support State and 
private efforts to address lack of capacity in college and university 
nursing programs, the critical driving force behind the serious nursing 
shortage in many States with fast growing populations.

SEC. 3. GRANTS TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF QUALIFIED NURSING FACULTY.

    Part D of title VIII of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
296p) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 832. GRANTS TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF QUALIFIED NURSING FACULTY.

    ``(a) Grants.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 
make grants to qualified States (or agencies or other governmental 
units thereof) to increase the number of qualified nursing faculty in 
college and university nursing programs in the State.
    ``(b) Use of Funds.--
            ``(1) In general.--As a condition on the receipt of a grant 
        under this section, a qualifying State shall agree to implement 
        or continue implementing a program for the purpose of 
        increasing the number of qualified nursing faculty in college 
        and university nursing programs in the State. Such program--
                    ``(A) shall be implemented in cooperation with one 
                or more colleges or universities in the State; and
                    ``(B) shall include payment of nursing faculty 
                salaries, benefits, training costs, operational costs, 
                and any other costs related to such purpose.
            ``(2) Restrictions.--As a condition on the receipt of a 
        grant under this section, a qualifying State shall agree--
                    ``(A) to use the grant only to pay costs described 
                in paragraph (1)(B) that are associated with the number 
                of qualified nursing faculty in college and university 
                nursing programs in the State that is in addition to 
                such number in academic year 2006-2007; and
                    ``(B) to refrain from using any funds made 
                available through the grant for capital expenses.
    ``(c) Amount of Grant.--
            ``(1) Federal funds.--Subject to the availability of 
        appropriations, the minimum amount of a grant to a qualifying 
        State under this section for a fiscal year shall be $2,000,000.
            ``(2) State funds.--As a condition on the receipt of a 
        grant under this section, a qualifying State shall agree--
                    ``(A) to use the grant to supplement and not 
                supplant the amount of funds made available by the 
                State for academic year 2006-2007 for maintaining the 
                number of qualified nursing faculty in college and 
                university nursing programs in the State; and
                    ``(B) in addition to such funds, to make available 
                not less than $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 
                through 2012 for the purpose of increasing the number 
                of qualified nursing faculty in college and university 
                nursing programs in the State.
    ``(d) Colleges and Universities.--The Secretary shall allow a 
qualifying State receiving a grant under this section to determine 
which college and university nursing programs in the State are eligible 
for funding through such grant.
    ``(e) Reports to Congress.--Not later than the end of each of 
fiscal years 2008 through 2012, the Secretary shall submit to the 
Congress a report on the grants awarded under this section. Each such 
report shall identify the overall number of grants awarded under this 
section, which States (or agencies or other governmental units thereof) 
received the grants, the number of new nursing faculty who were added, 
and the number of new nurses who are projected to graduate as a result 
of the grant in each State involved.
    ``(f) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) The term `qualifying State' means a State that--
                    ``(A) is experiencing explosive population growth, 
                with total population projected to increase by more 
                than 50 percent between 1990 and 2025 based on data of 
                the Bureau of the Census;
                    ``(B) has a substantial projected shortage of 
                nurses, such that the State is expected to have fewer 
                than 555 nurses per 100,000 population in 2020, based 
                on data of the Bureau of Health Professions of the 
                Health Resources and Services Administration; and
                    ``(C) is implementing or continuing to implement a 
                program for the purpose of increasing the number of 
                qualified nursing faculty in college and university 
                nursing programs in the State.
            ``(2) The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of Health 
        and Human Services.
    ``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section, 
there is authorized to be appropriated $20,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2008 through 2012.''.
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