[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 246 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 246

 To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants to support 
     schools of nursing in program enhancement and infrastructure 
 modernization, increasing the number of nursing faculty and students, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 4, 2021

  Mr. Merkley 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 grants to support 
     schools of nursing in program enhancement and infrastructure 
 modernization, increasing the number of nursing faculty and students, 
                        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 ``Future Advancement of Academic 
Nursing Act'' or the ``FAAN Act''.

SEC. 2. SUPPORT FOR NURSING EDUCATION AND THE FUTURE NURSING WORKFORCE.

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

``SEC. 832. NURSING EDUCATION ENHANCEMENT AND MODERNIZATION GRANTS IN 
              UNDERSERVED AREAS.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the Administrator 
of the Health Resources and Services Administration, may award grants 
to schools of nursing (as defined in section 801) for--
            ``(1) increasing the number of faculty and students at such 
        schools in order to enhance the preparedness of the United 
        States for, and the ability of the United States to address and 
        quickly respond to, public health emergencies declared under 
        section 319 and pandemics; or
            ``(2) the enhancement and modernization of nursing 
        education programs.
    ``(b) Priority.--In selecting grant recipients under this section, 
the Secretary shall give priority to schools of nursing that--
            ``(1) are located in a medically underserved community;
            ``(2) are located in a health professional shortage area as 
        defined under section 332(a); or
            ``(3) are institutions of higher education listed under 
        section 371(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965.
    ``(c) Consideration.--In awarding grants under this section, the 
Secretary, to the extent practicable, may ensure equitable distribution 
of awards among the geographic regions of the United States.
    ``(d) Use of Funds.--A school of nursing that receives a grant 
under this section may use the funds awarded through such grant for 
activities that include--
            ``(1) enhancing enrollment and retention of students at 
        such school, with a priority for students from disadvantaged 
        backgrounds (including racial or ethnic groups underrepresented 
        in the nursing workforce), individuals from rural and 
        underserved areas, low-income individuals, and first generation 
        college students (as defined in section 402A(h)(3) of the 
        Higher Education Act of 1965);
            ``(2) creating, supporting, or modernizing educational 
        programs and curriculum at such school;
            ``(3) retaining current faculty, and hiring new faculty, 
        with an emphasis on faculty from racial or ethnic groups who 
        are underrepresented in the nursing workforce;
            ``(4) modernizing infrastructure at such school, including 
        audiovisual or other equipment, personal protective equipment, 
        simulation and augmented reality resources, telehealth 
        technologies, and virtual and physical laboratories;
            ``(5) partnering with a health care facility, nurse-managed 
        health clinic, community health center, or other facility that 
        provides health care in order to provide educational 
        opportunities for the purpose of establishing or expanding 
        clinical education;
            ``(6) enhancing and expanding nursing programs that prepare 
        nurse researchers and scientists;
            ``(7) establishing nurse-led intradisciplinary and 
        interprofessional educational partnerships; and
            ``(8) other activities that the Secretary determines 
        further the development, improvement, and expansion of schools 
        of nursing.
    ``(e) Reports From Entities.--Each school of nursing awarded a 
grant under this section shall submit an annual report to the Secretary 
on the activities conducted under such grant, and other information as 
the Secretary may require.
    ``(f) Report to Congress.--Not later than 5 years after the date of 
the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall submit to the 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and 
the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives a 
report that provides a summary of the activities and outcomes 
associated with grants made under this section. Such report shall 
include--
            ``(1) a list of schools of nursing receiving grants under 
        this section, including the primary geographic location of any 
        school of nursing that was improved or expanded through such a 
        grant;
            ``(2) the total number of students who are enrolled at or 
        who have graduated from any school of nursing that was improved 
        or expanded through a grant under this section, which such 
        statistic shall--
                    ``(A) to the extent such information is available, 
                be deidentified and disaggregated by race, ethnicity, 
                age, sex, geographic region, disability status, and 
                other relevant factors; and
                    ``(B) include an indication of the number of such 
                students who are from racial or ethnic groups 
                underrepresented in the nursing workforce, such 
                students who are from rural or underserved areas, such 
                students who are low-income students, and such students 
                who are first generation college students (as defined 
                in section 402A(h)(3) of the Higher Education Act of 
                1965);
            ``(3) to the extent such information is available, the 
        effects of the grants awarded under this section on retaining 
        and hiring of faculty, including any increase in diverse 
        faculty, the number of clinical education partnerships, the 
        modernization of nursing education infrastructure, and other 
        ways this section helps address and quickly respond to public 
        health emergencies and pandemics;
            ``(4) recommendations for improving the grants awarded 
        under this section; and
            ``(5) any other considerations as the Secretary determines 
        appropriate.
    ``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section, 
there is authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000,000 to remain 
available until expended.''.

SEC. 3. STRENGTHENING NURSE EDUCATION.

     The heading of part D of title VIII of the Public Health Service 
Act (42 U.S.C. 296p et seq.) is amended by striking ``basic''.
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