[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2524 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2524

 To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize a loan repayment 
 program for substance use disorder treatment employees, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 8, 2018

 Mr. Donnelly (for himself, Ms. Murkowski, and Ms. Hassan) introduced 
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 
               on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize a loan repayment 
 program for substance use disorder treatment employees, 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 ``Substance Use Disorder Workforce 
Loan Repayment Act of 2018''.

SEC. 2. LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM FOR SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER TREATMENT 
              EMPLOYEES.

    Title VII of the Public Health Service Act is amended--
            (1) by redesignating part F as part G; and
            (2) by inserting after part E (42 U.S.C. 294n et seq.) the 
        following:

          ``PART F--SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER TREATMENT EMPLOYEES

``SEC. 781. LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM FOR SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER TREATMENT 
              EMPLOYEES.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the Administrator 
of the Health Resources and Services Administration, shall carry out a 
program under which--
            ``(1) the Secretary enters into agreements with individuals 
        to make payments in accordance with subsection (b) on the 
        principal of and interest on any eligible loan; and
            ``(2) the individuals each agree to complete a period of 
        service in a substance use disorder treatment job, as described 
        in subsection (d).
    ``(b) Payments.--For each year of obligated service by an 
individual pursuant to an agreement under subsection (a), the Secretary 
shall make a payment to such individual as follows:
            ``(1) Service in a shortage area.--The Secretary shall 
        pay--
                    ``(A) for each year of obligated service by an 
                individual pursuant to an agreement under subsection 
                (a), \1/6\ of the principal of and interest on each 
                eligible loan of the individual which is outstanding on 
                the date the individual began service pursuant to the 
                agreement; and
                    ``(B) for completion of the sixth and final year of 
                such service, the remainder of such principal and 
                interest.
            ``(2) Maximum amount.--The total amount of payments under 
        this section to any individual shall not exceed $250,000.
    ``(c) Eligible Loans.--The loans eligible for repayment under this 
section are each of the following:
            ``(1) Any loan for education or training for a substance 
        use disorder treatment job.
            ``(2) Any loan under part E of title VIII (relating to 
        nursing student loans).
            ``(3) Any Federal Direct Stafford Loan, Federal Direct PLUS 
        Loan, Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, or Federal 
        Direct Consolidation Loan (as such terms are used in section 
        455 of the Higher Education Act of 1965).
            ``(4) Any Federal Perkins Loan under part E of title I of 
        the Higher Education Act of 1965.
            ``(5) Any other Federal loan as determined appropriate by 
        the Secretary.
    ``(d) Period of Service.--The period of service required by an 
agreement under subsection (a) shall consist of up to 6 years of full-
time employment, with no more than one year passing between any two 
years of covered employment, in a substance use disorder treatment job 
in the United States in--
            ``(1) a Mental Health Professional Shortage Area, as 
        designated under section 332; or
            ``(2) a county (or a municipality, if not contained within 
        any county) where the mean drug overdose death rate per 100,000 
        people over the past 3 years for which official data is 
        available from the State, is higher than the most recent 
        available national average overdose death rate per 100,000 
        people, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention.
    ``(e) Ineligibility for Double Benefits.--No borrower may, for the 
same service, receive a reduction of loan obligations or a loan 
repayment under both--
            ``(1) this subsection; and
            ``(2) any federally supported loan forgiveness program, 
        including under section 338B, 338I, or 846 of this Act, or 
        section 428J, 428L, 455(m), or 460 of the Higher Education Act 
        of 1965.
    ``(f) Breach.--
            ``(1) Liquidated damages formula.--The Secretary may 
        establish a liquidated damages formula to be used in the event 
        of a breach of an agreement entered into under subsection (a).
            ``(2) Limitation.--The failure by an individual to complete 
        the full period of service obligated pursuant to such an 
        agreement, taken alone, shall not constitute a breach of the 
        agreement, so long as the individual completed in good faith 
        the years of service for which payments were made to the 
        individual under this section.
    ``(g) Additional Criteria.--The Secretary--
            ``(1) may establish such criteria and rules to carry out 
        this section as the Secretary determines are needed and in 
        addition to the criteria and rules specified in this section; 
        and
            ``(2) shall give notice to the committees specified in 
        subsection (h) of any criteria and rules so established.
    ``(h) Report to Congress.--Not later than 5 years after the date of 
enactment of the Substance Use Disorder Workforce Loan Repayment Act of 
2018, and every other year thereafter, the Secretary shall prepare and 
submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions of the Senate a report on--
            ``(1) the number and location of borrowers who have 
        qualified for loan repayments under this section; and
            ``(2) the impact of this section on the availability of 
        substance use disorder treatment employees nationally and in 
        shortage areas and counties described in subsection (d).
    ``(i) Definition.--In this section:
            ``(1) The term `municipality' means a city, town, or other 
        public body created by or pursuant to State law, or an Indian 
        Tribe.
            ``(2) The term `substance use disorder treatment job' means 
        a full-time job (including a fellowship)--
                    ``(A) where the primary intent and function of the 
                job is the direct treatment or recovery support of 
                patients with or in recovery from a substance use 
                disorder, such as a physician, physician assistant, 
                registered nurse, nurse practitioner, advanced practice 
                registered nurse, social worker, recovery coach, mental 
                health counselor, addictions counselor, psychologist or 
                other behavioral health professional, or any other 
                relevant professional as determined by the Secretary; 
                and
                    ``(B) which is located at a substance use disorder 
                treatment program, private physician practice, hospital 
                or health system-affiliated inpatient treatment center 
                or outpatient clinic (including an academic medical 
                center-affiliated treatment program), correctional 
                facility or program, youth detention center or program, 
                inpatient psychiatric facility, crisis stabilization 
                unit, community health center, community mental health 
                or other specialty community behavioral health center, 
                recovery center, school, community-based organization, 
                telehealth platform, migrant health center, health 
                program or facility operated by a tribe or tribal 
                organization, Federal medical facility, or any other 
                facility as determined appropriate for purposes of this 
                section by the Secretary.
    ``(j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $25,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2019 through 2028.''.
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