[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4159 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4159

     To amend the Public Health Service Act to encourage qualified 
 individuals to enter the forensic pathology workforce, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 18, 2024

Mr. Cornyn (for himself and Mr. Murphy) 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 encourage qualified 
 individuals to enter the forensic pathology workforce, 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 ``Strengthening the Medical Examiner 
and Coroner System Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. FORENSIC MEDICAL NEEDS.

    Part E of title VII of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
294n et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

               ``Subpart 4--Forensic Pathology Workforce

``SEC. 779. GRANTS TO ADDRESS THE FORENSIC MEDICINE SERVICE PROVIDER 
              SHORTAGE.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Forensic medicine service provider.--The term 
        `forensic medicine service provider' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 6 of Billy's Law (34 U.S.C. 40506 note; Public 
        Law 117-327).
            ``(2) Medicolegal death investigator.--The term 
        `medicolegal death investigator' means an individual who 
        performs formal inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the 
        death of a human being to assist in the determination of the 
        cause and manner of death.
            ``(3) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary, 
        acting through the Collaborating Office of Medical Examiners 
        and Coroners of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
    ``(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this section are--
            ``(1) to encourage and incentivize qualified medical school 
        graduates to enter the practice of forensic pathology by 
        supporting forensic pathology fellowships;
            ``(2) to encourage and incentivize qualified individuals to 
        enter the field of medicolegal death investigation to conduct 
        death investigations in support of forensic medicine service 
        providers; and
            ``(3) to support qualified individuals who enter the field 
        of forensic toxicology through employment in forensic 
        toxicology laboratories in the acquisition of skills in 
        pharmacology, advanced and emerging toxicological methods, and 
        instrumentation needed to assist with the interpretation of 
        toxicological findings.
    ``(c) Grants.--The Secretary shall award grants to eligible 
entities described in subsection (d) to assist such entities in 
addressing their shortages by offering the training and fellowships 
described in subsection (e)(1).
    ``(d) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this 
section, an entity shall be--
            ``(1) a graduate medical education program--
                    ``(A) accredited by the Accreditation Council for 
                Graduate Medical Education that offers a forensic 
                pathology fellowship that is so accredited; or
                    ``(B) that is seeking such accreditation for a 
                forensic pathology fellowship;
            ``(2) a publicly funded medical examiner or coroner office 
        that is accredited or seeking accreditation; or
            ``(3) a publicly funded forensic toxicology laboratory that 
        supports medical examiner and coroner offices and that is 
        accredited or seeking accreditation.
    ``(e) Use of Grant Funds.--
            ``(1) In general.--An eligible entity that receives a grant 
        under this section shall use the grant funds--
                    ``(A) to provide payment to individuals selected by 
                such entity for a forensic pathology fellowship for 
                salary, fringe benefits, related supply expenses, and 
                other educational expenses of such individuals;
                    ``(B) provide training for medicolegal death 
                investigators, including paying for the costs of 
                continuing education for medicolegal death 
                investigators for purposes of such individuals--
                            ``(i) becoming certified by the American 
                        Board of Medicolegal Death Investigation (or 
                        another accredited certifying organization); 
                        and
                            ``(ii) maintaining such certification; or
                    ``(C) to assist eligible entities--
                            ``(i) in providing the education and 
                        training to individuals employed by such 
                        entities necessary--
                                    ``(I) to gain initial competency, 
                                additional training, and continuing 
                                education in pharmacology and advanced 
                                and emerging toxicological methods and 
                                instrumentation needed to assist with 
                                the interpretation of toxicological 
                                findings;
                                    ``(II) to become certified by the 
                                American Board of Forensic Toxicology, 
                                the American Association of Clinical 
                                Chemistry, or another accredited 
                                certifying organization; or
                                    ``(III) to maintain such 
                                certification or to obtain 
                                recertification by such a certifying 
                                organization; or
                            ``(ii) in obtaining accreditation by the 
                        Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical 
                        Education for forensic pathology fellowships.
            ``(2) Administrative costs.--An eligible entity that 
        receives a grant under this section may use not more than 15 
        percent of the total amount of the grant for administrative 
        expenses, including grant management services.
    ``(f) Recipient Requirements.--To be eligible to receive a 
fellowship funded by a grant under this section, an individual shall--
            ``(1)(A) be enrolled in, or shall have completed, an 
        anatomical pathology or anatomical and clinical pathology 
        residency program accredited by the Accreditation Council for 
        Graduate Medical Education; and
            ``(B) not be, and shall never have been, in default on any 
        public or private student loan;
            ``(2)(A) be an individual who has completed a program of 
        baccalaureate or postbaccalaureate education and earned a 
        degree, or completed a concentration, in forensic science, 
        natural science, anthropology, nursing, or other medical and 
        forensic-related fields; and
            ``(B) be a coroner or medicolegal death investigator 
        working full-time at, or in a contractual relationship with, a 
        publicly funded medical examiner or coroner office who--
                    ``(i) has not achieved, and is seeking, 
                certification by an accredited certification 
                organization described in subsection (e)(1)(B)(i); or
                    ``(ii) who is seeking continuing education for 
                purposes of maintaining such certification;
            ``(3)(A) have completed a program of baccalaureate or 
        postbaccalaureate education and earned a degree, or completed a 
        concentration, in forensic science or physical or natural 
        sciences, with a chemistry, toxicology, or other closely 
        related scientific or forensic component; and
            ``(B) be employed by the eligible entity as a toxicologist 
        or pharmacologist.
    ``(g) Tax Waiver.--The payment amounts to an individual under this 
section or any other benefit received by the individual from the grant 
recipient shall not be taxable to the individual.
    ``(h) Geographic Distribution.--In awarding grants under this 
section, the Secretary shall take into consideration--
            ``(1) the geographic distribution of grant funding among 
        the States;
            ``(2) the relative proportion of grant funding between 
        rural and urban areas; and
            ``(3) the unique needs of rural communities, including--
                    ``(A) communities with an incidence of individuals 
                with opioid use disorder that is above the national 
                average; and
                    ``(B) communities with a shortage of forensic 
                medicine service providers.
    ``(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            ``(1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated 
        to the Secretary to carry out this section $13,000,000 for each 
        of fiscal years 2025 through 2029.
            ``(2) Allocations.--Of the amounts made available each 
        fiscal year under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall allocate--
                    ``(A) subject to paragraph (3), not less than 
                $7,000,000 for grants to eligible entities carrying out 
                the purpose described in subsection (e)(1)(A);
                    ``(B) not less than $3,000,000 for grants to 
                eligible entities carrying out the purpose described in 
                subsection (e)(1)(B); and
                    ``(C) not less than $3,000,000 for grants to 
                eligible entities carrying out the purpose described in 
                subsection (e)(1)(C).
            ``(3) Fellowship minimum.--In allocating amounts for grants 
        to eligible entities carrying out the purpose described in 
        subsection (e)(1)(A), the Secretary shall award sufficient 
        grant funding to such entities to ensure that not fewer than 40 
        forensic pathology fellowships are funded.''.
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