[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3770 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3770

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

             February 8 (legislative day, February 7), 2024

 Mr. Merkley (for himself, Mr. Welch, Ms. Smith, Mr. King, Mr. Booker, 
    Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Sanders, Ms. Hirono, and Mr. 
   Padilla) 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 increasing the number of nursing students and 
 faculty and in program enhancement and infrastructure modernization, 
                        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 for--
            ``(1) increasing the number of faculty and students at such 
        schools in order to address nursing workforce shortages;
            ``(2) expanding the capacity of such schools 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 that are 
        not otherwise declared as such emergencies; or
            ``(3) 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, or prepare students to practice in, a 
        medically underserved area (as defined in section 330I(a));
            ``(2) are located in, or prepare students to practice in, a 
        health professional shortage area as defined under section 
        332(a);
            ``(3) are institutions of higher education listed under 
        section 371(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965; or
            ``(4) are located in, or prepare students to practice in, a 
        rural area or a noncontiguous State or territory of the United 
        States.
    ``(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 shall 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), including through mentorship 
        programs, providing tools and programming for underrepresented 
        students, and addressing other student needs;
            ``(2) retaining current faculty, and hiring new faculty, 
        with an emphasis on faculty from racial or ethnic groups who 
        are underrepresented in the nursing workforce;
            ``(3) 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;
            ``(4) modernizing infrastructure at such school, including 
        audiovisual or other equipment, simulation and augmented 
        reality resources, telehealth technologies, and virtual and 
        physical laboratories;
            ``(5) creating, supporting, or modernizing educational 
        programs and curriculum at such school;
            ``(6) enhancing and expanding nursing programs that prepare 
        nurse researchers and scientists;
            ``(7) establishing nurse-led intradisciplinary and 
        interprofessional educational partnerships; or
            ``(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--
                    ``(A) the effects of the grants awarded under this 
                section on--
                            ``(i) retaining and hiring of faculty, 
                        including any increase in diverse faculty;
                            ``(ii) the number of clinical education 
                        partnerships; and
                            ``(iii) the modernization of nursing 
                        education infrastructure; and
                    ``(B) other ways this section helps to address 
                nursing workforce shortages and quickly respond to 
                public health emergencies declared under section 319 
                and pandemics that are not otherwise declared as such 
                emergencies;
            ``(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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