[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2709 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2709

To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants 
    for career support for skilled internationally educated health 
                             professionals.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 10, 2015

Ms. Roybal-Allard introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                  the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants 
    for career support for skilled internationally educated health 
                             professionals.

    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 ``Professional's Access To Health 
Workforce Integration Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. CAREER SUPPORT FOR SKILLED, INTERNATIONALLY EDUCATED HEALTH 
              PROFESSIONALS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) According to the Association of Schools of Public 
        Health, projections indicate a nationwide shortage of up to 
        250,000 public health workers needed by 2020.
            (2) Similar trends are projected for other health 
        professions indicating shortages across disciplines, including 
        within the fields of nursing (500,000 by 2025), dentistry 
        (15,000 by 2025), pharmacy (38,000 by 2030), mental and 
        behavioral health, primary care (46,000 by 2025), and community 
        and allied health.
            (3) A nationwide health workforce shortage will result in 
        serious health threats and more severe and costly health care 
        needs, due to, in part, a delayed response to food-borne 
        outbreaks, emerging infectious diseases, natural disasters, 
        fewer cancer screenings, and delayed treatment.
            (4) Vulnerable and underserved populations and health 
        professional shortage areas will be most severely impacted by 
        the health workforce shortage.
            (5) According to the Migration Policy Institute, over 
        2,000,000 college-educated immigrants in the United States 
        today are unemployed or underemployed in low- or semi-skilled 
        jobs that fail to draw on their education and expertise.
            (6) Approximately 2 out of every 5 internationally educated 
        immigrants are unemployed or underemployed.
            (7) According to Drexel University Center for Labor Markets 
        and Policy, underemployment for internationally educated 
        immigrant women is 28 percent higher than for their male 
        counterparts.
            (8) According to the Drexel University Center for labor 
        markets and policy, the mean annual earnings of underemployed 
        immigrants were $32,000, or 43 percent less than United States 
        born college graduates employed in the college labor market.
            (9) According to Upwardly Global and the Welcome Back 
        Initiative, with proper guidance and support, underemployed 
        skilled immigrants typically increase their income by 215 
        percent to 900 percent.
            (10) According to the Brookings Institution and the 
        Partnership for a New American Economy, immigrants working in 
        the health workforce are, on average, better educated than 
        United States-born workers in the health workforce.
    (b) Grants to Eligible Entities.--
            (1) Authority to provide grants.--The Secretary of Health 
        and Human Services acting through the Bureau of Health 
        Workforce within the Health Resources and Services 
        Administration, the National Institute on Minority Health and 
        Health Disparities, or the Office of Minority Health (in this 
        section referred to as the ``Secretary'') may award grants to 
        eligible entities to carry out activities described in 
        subsection (c).
            (2) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
        this section, an entity shall--
                    (A) be a clinical, public health, or health 
                services organization, a community-based or nonprofit 
                entity, an academic institution, a faith-based 
                organization, a State, county, or local government, an 
                Area Health Education Center, or another entity 
                determined appropriate by the Secretary; and
                    (B) submit to the Secretary an application at such 
                time, in such manner, and containing such information 
                as the Secretary may require.
    (c) Authorized Activities.--A grant awarded under this section 
shall be used--
            (1) to provide services to assist unemployed and 
        underemployed skilled immigrants, residing in the United 
        States, who have legal, permanent work authorization and who 
        are internationally educated health professionals, enter into 
        the American health workforce with employment matching their 
        health professional skills and education, and advance in 
        employment to positions that better match their health 
        professional education and expertise;
            (2) to provide training opportunities to reduce barriers to 
        entry and advancement in the health workforce for skilled, 
        internationally educated immigrants;
            (3) to educate employers regarding the abilities and 
        capacities of internationally educated health professionals;
            (4) to assist in the evaluation of foreign credentials; and
            (5) to facilitate access to contextualized and accelerated 
        courses on English as a second language.
    (d) Definition.--In this section:
            (1) The term ``health professional'' means an individual 
        trained for employment or intended employment in the field of 
        public health, health management, dentistry, health 
        administration, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, psychology, social 
        work, psychiatry, other mental and behavioral health, allied 
        health, community health or wellness work, including fitness 
        and nutrition, or other fields as determined appropriate by the 
        Secretary.
            (2) The term ``underemployed'' means being employed at less 
        skilled tasks than an employee's training or abilities would 
        otherwise permit.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section such sums as may be necessary 
for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2020.
                                 <all>