[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4328 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4328

To provide for establishment of the National Task Force on the Nursing 
                               Shortage.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 23, 2023

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide for establishment of the National Task Force on the Nursing 
                               Shortage.

    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 Shortage Task Force 
Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL NURSING SHORTAGE TASK FORCE.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
enactment of this section, the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
(in this section referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall establish a 
task force to be known as the National Nursing Shortage Task Force (in 
this section referred to as the ``Task Force'').
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of the Task Force is to issue policy 
recommendations to the President and the Congress to address the 
growing nursing shortage across the United States, with a particular 
focus on addressing the shortage in health professional shortage areas 
designated under section 332 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 254e).
    (c) Duties.--The Task Force shall--
            (1) examine, assess, and report on the United States 
        nursing workforce capacity, including--
                    (A) trends in the overall nursing workforce;
                    (B) the capacity to educate future nurses;
                    (C) causes for the existing nursing shortage; and
                    (D) Federal policies to bolster nursing education 
                and the nursing workforce;
            (2) build upon existing or ongoing evaluations, and avoid 
        unnecessary duplication, by reviewing, as appropriate, the 
        findings, conclusions, and recommendations of other task 
        forces, committees, commissions, and other public and private 
        entities with respect to the national nursing shortage;
            (3) identify areas of Federal policy that have impacted the 
        ability of the United States to respond to the growing nursing 
        shortage, including--
                    (A) Federal support of nursing education programs;
                    (B) Federal support of increasing diversity in the 
                nursing workforce; and
                    (C) incentives for nurses to work in underserved 
                areas and communities;
            (4) identify and recommend a set of possible solutions to 
        the nursing shortage for policymakers, including legislative 
        and regulatory recommendations; and
            (5) submit to the President and the Congress a report on 
        the Task Force's findings, conclusions, and recommendations to 
        bolster nursing education and the nursing workforce in the 
        United States.
    (d) Composition of Task Force.--
            (1) In general.--The members of the Task Force shall be 
        appointed by the Secretary and be composed of not fewer than 12 
        members, of which at least one-third shall be registered 
        nurses.
            (2) Expertise.--The members of the Task Force shall include 
        individuals with national recognition for their expertise in 
        one or more of the following areas:
                    (A) The demands of practicing nurses, in particular 
                individuals currently working in the profession.
                    (B) Nursing labor market analysis.
                    (C) Health care finance and economics.
                    (D) Health care facility management.
                    (E) Nursing education.
                    (F) Delivery of health care services, prioritizing 
                individuals with expertise on delivering services in 
                underserved regions.
                    (G) Health care organization culture and its impact 
                on nurses.
                    (H) Federal, State, local, Tribal, or territorial 
                governmental programs that support the health care 
                workforce and other relevant public administration, 
                such as State nursing licensing agencies.
                    (I) Nursing labor unions.
                    (J) Any other area of expertise that the Secretary 
                considers appropriate.
            (3) Geographic representation.--The members of the Task 
        Force shall collectively represent--
                    (A) urban, suburban, and rural regions; and
                    (B) regional diversity across the Nation.
            (4) Co-chairs.--There shall be two co-chairs of the Task 
        Force, both designated by the Secretary at the time of 
        appointment from among the individuals appointed under 
        paragraph (1). One co-chair shall be a registered nurse. The 
        other co-chair shall have a background in nursing education.
            (5) Deadline for appointment.--The Secretary shall appoint 
        all members of the Task Force not later than 90 days after the 
        date of enactment of this Act.
            (6) Meetings.--The Task Force shall meet and begin the 
        operations of the Task Force as soon as practicable after the 
        date of enactment of this Act. After its initial meeting, the 
        Task Force shall meet at the call of the co-chairs acting 
        jointly or at the call of a quorum of its members.
            (7) Quorum; vacancies.--
                    (A) Quorum.--A majority of the total number of 
                members of the Task Force shall constitute a quorum.
                    (B) Vacancies.--Any vacancy in the Task Force shall 
                not affect its powers, but shall be filled in the same 
                manner in which the original appointment was made.
    (e) Final Report of Task Force; Termination.--
            (1) Final report.--Not later than one year after the date 
        on which the last member of the Task Force is appointed, the 
        Task Force shall submit to the President, the Committee on 
        Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, and the 
        Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 
        Representatives a final report containing such findings, 
        conclusions, and recommendations as have been agreed to by not 
        less than a majority of the members of the Task Force. The Task 
        Force shall make such final report available to the public 
        online.
            (2) Termination.--
                    (A) In general.--The Task Force, and all the 
                authorities of this section, shall terminate 90 days 
                after the date on which the final report is submitted 
                under paragraph (1).
                    (B) Administrative activities before termination.--
                The Task Force may use the 90-day period referred to in 
                subparagraph (A) for the purpose of concluding its 
                activities, including providing testimony to committees 
                of Congress concerning reports of the Task Force and 
                disseminating the final report under paragraph (1).
    (f) Funding.--
            (1) Duration of availability.--Amounts made available to 
        the Task Force shall remain available until the termination of 
        the Task Force.
            (2) Gifts and donations.--The Task Force may accept gifts 
        and donations for the purposes of carrying out this Act.
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