[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4844 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4844

  To amend the Public Health Service Act to support and stabilize the 
 existing nursing workforce, establish programs to increase the number 
                   of nurses, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 14, 2022

Mr. Merkley (for himself and Mr. Tillis) 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 support and stabilize the 
 existing nursing workforce, establish programs to increase the number 
                   of nurses, 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 ``National Nursing Workforce Center 
Act of 2022''.

SEC. 2. STATE NURSING WORKFORCE CENTERS.

    Title VII of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 292 et seq.) 
is amended--
            (1) by redesignating part G (42 U.S.C. 295j et seq.) as 
        part H; and
            (2) by inserting after part F the following new part:

                  ``PART G--NURSING WORKFORCE CENTERS

``SEC. 785. STATE AND REGIONAL NURSING WORKFORCE CENTER DATA COLLECTION 
              PILOT PROGRAM.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall carry out a 3-year pilot 
program to establish new or enhance existing State-based nursing 
workforce centers, evaluate the impact of State-based nursing workforce 
centers on outcomes, and assess the feasibility of nursing workforce 
public-private partnerships. The Secretary shall begin implementation 
of such pilot program not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of the National Nursing Workforce Center Act of 2022.
    ``(b) Grant Terms.--
            ``(1) Number of grants awarded.--The Secretary shall award 
        not fewer than 6 grants under the pilot program under 
        subsection (a).
            ``(2) Term.--The term of a grant awarded under the pilot 
        program under subsection (a) shall be 3 years.
            ``(3) Matching requirement.--As a condition on receipt of a 
        grant under the pilot program under subsection (a), the 
        Secretary shall require the applicant to agree, with respect to 
        costs to be incurred by the applicant in carrying out the 
        activities funded through the grant, to make available non-
        Federal contributions (in cash or in kind) toward such costs in 
        an amount that is equal to not less than $1 for each $4 of 
        Federal funds provided through the grant. Such contributions 
        may be made directly or through donations from public or 
        private entities.
    ``(c) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this 
section, an entity shall be--
            ``(1) a State agency;
            ``(2) a State board of nursing;
            ``(3) an organization that is exempt from taxation under 
        section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Act of 1986;
            ``(4) a community-based organization;
            ``(5) a school of nursing (as defined in section 801); or
            ``(6) a school or program determined by the Secretary to be 
        an eligible entity for purposes of this section.
    ``(d) Equitable Distribution.--In awarding grants under this 
section, the Secretary shall ensure, to the greatest extent possible, 
that such grants are equitably distributed among--
            ``(1) the geographical regions of the United States; and
            ``(2) States with an existing nursing workforce center and 
        States without any such existing center.
    ``(e) Priority.--In selecting the eligible entity to be awarded a 
grant under this section for a nursing workforce center in a particular 
State, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities that--
            ``(1) propose to provide statewide services;
            ``(2) have expertise in the State's nursing workforce 
        issues;
            ``(3) have a history of convening entities to address 
        nursing workforce issues; and
            ``(4) have partnerships with entities that traditionally 
        educate and employ the State's nurses.
    ``(f) Use of Funds.--A nursing workforce center supported under 
this section may use funds provided under this section for the 
following statewide activities:
            ``(1) Conducting comprehensive analysis of and research 
        on--
                    ``(A) existing State nursing workforce data and 
                gaps in such data;
                    ``(B) 2- and 4-year nursing education programs, 
                including with respect to--
                            ``(i) faculty capacity and pay;
                            ``(ii) enrollment, retention, and 
                        graduation;
                            ``(iii) services for nursing students and 
                        the outcomes of such services;
                            ``(iv) facility needs; and
                            ``(v) clinical placement capacity;
                    ``(C) State-specific scholarships, grants, and 
                financial aid; and
                    ``(D) factors contributing to retention and 
                recruitment challenges and to nurses leaving the 
                workplace or profession.
            ``(2) Conducting strategic nursing workforce planning with 
        employers across all work settings and nursing education.
            ``(3) Conducting focused research on trends in nursing 
        shortages, including the fiscal and clinical outcomes of 
        contract nursing.
            ``(4) Establishing and implementing programs to--
                    ``(A) support and retain faculty to increase 
                enrollment in schools of nursing;
                    ``(B) recruit and retain nurses in all settings 
                where nurses practice;
                    ``(C) support leadership development;
                    ``(D) prepare the nursing workforce to address 
                social determinants of health and health inequities;
                    ``(E) prepare nurses for public health crisis and 
                pandemic response;
                    ``(F) assist individuals in obtaining education and 
                training required to enter the nursing profession, and 
                advance within such profession, such as by providing 
                career counseling and mentoring; and
                    ``(G) diversify the nursing workforce.
    ``(g) Reports.--Not later than one year after the date on which the 
first grant is awarded under the pilot program under subsection (a), 
and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 
report on the grants awarded under such pilot program during the year 
covered by the report. Each such report shall include--
            ``(1) a description of initiatives to study the unique 
        characteristics of State nursing workforces, and efforts to 
        increase the number of new nurses, recruit nurses to the 
        nursing profession, and retain nurses in the workplace;
            ``(2) impact data on nurses served by nursing workforce 
        centers, including demographic information of the individuals 
        served, the number of such individuals, and the types of 
        services provided;
            ``(3) the effectiveness of establishing formal public-
        private relationships at understanding the national nursing 
        workforce through improved data collection and standardization;
            ``(4) data on continuous evaluation and quality 
        improvement, and other relevant data as determined by the 
        Secretary; and
            ``(5) the Secretary's recommendations and best practices 
        for--
                    ``(A) reducing shortages among different nursing 
                specialties;
                    ``(B) reducing shortages in rural and underserved 
                areas;
                    ``(C) improving geographical distribution of the 
                nursing workforce; and
                    ``(D) reducing shortages among different types of 
                nursing employers.
    ``(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section, 
out of funds appropriated to the general departmental management 
account of the Office of the Secretary, there is authorized to be 
appropriated $1,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2025.''.

SEC. 3. STATE AND REGIONAL CENTERS FOR HEALTH WORKFORCE ANALYSIS.

    (a) Expansion of Covered Programs.--Section 761(c)(1)(A) of the 
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 294n(c)(1)(A)) is amended by 
striking ``under this title'' and inserting ``under this Act''.
    (b) Analysis and Technical Assistance.--Section 761(c) of the 
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 294n(c)) is amended by adding at 
the end the following:
            ``(3) Minimum requirement.--At least one grant or contract 
        awarded under this subsection shall be awarded to an eligible 
        entity that demonstrates--
                    ``(A) a mission to advance and support the nursing 
                workforce;
                    ``(B) experience and expertise in guiding State-
                level nursing workforce centers;
                    ``(C) experience in working with nursing workforce 
                data;
                    ``(D) expertise in analytical methods and tools 
                appropriate for nursing workforce research; and
                    ``(E) awareness of emerging topics, issues, and 
                trends related to the nursing workforce.
            ``(4) Analysis and reporting.--Analysis and reporting 
        carried out pursuant to a grant or contract under this 
        subsection may include--
                    ``(A) collaborating with nursing workforce centers 
                to produce or deliver, with respect to the supply of 
                nurses, the demand for nurses, and the capacity to 
                educate and train the nursing workforce--
                            ``(i) regional and national reports;
                            ``(ii) articles in peer-reviewed journals;
                            ``(iii) presentations at national and 
                        international conferences and meetings; and
                            ``(iv) policy briefs, fact sheets, 
                        articles, blogs, and other publications 
                        available in the public domain;
                    ``(B) evaluating the programs and activities of the 
                nursing workforce centers overall;
                    ``(C) developing evidence-based or evidence-
                informed strategies and best practices to alleviate 
                nursing workforce shortages across States and regions; 
                and
                    ``(D) conducting rapid data analysis and short-
                term, issue-specific research.
            ``(5) Technical assistance.--Technical assistance provided 
        pursuant to this subsection may include--
                    ``(A) providing technical assistance to nursing 
                workforce centers on the collection, analysis, and 
                reporting of standardized supply, demand, and education 
                and training data to inform analysis conducted pursuant 
                to paragraph (1);
                    ``(B) collaborating with nursing workforce centers 
                to identify and deliver evidence-based or evidence-
                informed strategies to alleviate nursing shortages and 
                the maldistribution of nurses;
                    ``(C) providing online and in-person training 
                opportunities for nurses and other staff at nursing 
                workforce centers; and
                    ``(D) developing and maintaining a website that--
                            ``(i) is accessible to grant and contract 
                        recipients under section 785 and this section;
                            ``(ii) supports resources for the provision 
                        of technical assistance under this section, 
                        such as--
                                    ``(I) evidence-based or evidence-
                                informed educational materials, tools, 
                                recent findings of interest, and links 
                                to relevant resources; and
                                    ``(II) logistical and 
                                administrative information, such as 
                                online trainings, webinars, and 
                                publications; and
                            ``(iii) includes a publicly accessible 
                        repository of webinars, tools, and resources.
            ``(6) Definition.--In this subsection, the term `nursing 
        workforce center' means a nursing workforce center funded under 
        section 785.''.
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