[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 192 (Friday, December 14, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S15652-S15653]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. TESTER (for himself, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Brown, and Mr. 
        Cardin):
  S. 2485. A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for 
the participation of physical therapists in the National Health Service 
Corps Loan Repayment Program, and for other purposes; to the Committee 
on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Physical 
Therapist Student Loan Repayment Eligibility Act of 2007 with Senators 
Johnson, Cardin, and Brown on behalf of the folks across America who 
are in desperate need of access to qualified health care providers. 
This bill will help bring physical therapists to the rural, frontier 
and underserved communities of America.
  Many rural States have an inadequate number of health professionals, 
let alone access to physical therapists whose services help shorten the 
recovery time from injury or surgery, as well as provide noninvasive 
treatment to conditions that might otherwise end up more severe.
  We all know kids who go to school with dreams of becoming a health 
care professional and serving their communities. But, they graduate 
with so much debt that they have to take the highest paying job usually 
in an urban setting--leaving their dreams in the dust. My colleagues 
and I are offering this bill to help them fulfill that dream of working 
in underserved areas, often the very same areas they grew up in.
  Like many other health care professionals serving in the National 
Health Service Corps, physical therapy students are more likely to 
serve in rural areas if it is financially feasible through the loan 
repayment program that is part of the National Health Service Corps.
  The average total costs of tuition and fees for a physical therapist 
student attending an in-state public or private institution are $26,000 
and $64,000 respectively. When they are starting out, they can expect 
to earn about $51,000 per year. One can easily understand why they 
would be really tempted to find the highest paying job they can. 
Despite the health care needs, these jobs are not in places like 
Culbertson, MT; Martin, SD; Ironton, OH or Denton, MD, where 
reimbursement and salaries tend to be lower. However, a loan repayment 
program will make it possible for these committed health care 
professionals to be able to come into our communities, serve our 
families and be able to pay off their school loans.
  My cosponsors and I think this a very important bill and we welcome 
our colleagues support. Thank you.

[[Page S15653]]

  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 2485

       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 ``Physical Therapist Student 
     Loan Repayment Eligibility Act of 2007''.

     SEC. 2. NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE CORPS; PARTICIPATION OF 
                   PHYSICAL THERAPISTS IN LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM.

       (a) Mission of Corps; Definition of Primary Health 
     Services.--Section 331(a)(3)(D) of the Public Health Service 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 254d(a)(3)(D)) is amended by striking ``or 
     mental health,'' and inserting ``mental health, or physical 
     therapy,''.
       (b) Loan Repayment Program.--Section 338B of the Public 
     Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254l-1) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ``and physician 
     assistants;'' and inserting ``physician assistants, and 
     physical therapists;''; and
       (2) in subsection (b)(1)--
       (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting before the semicolon 
     the following: ``, or have a doctoral or master's degree in 
     physical therapy'';
       (B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ``physical therapy,'' 
     after ``mental health,''; and
       (C) in subparagraph (C)(ii), by inserting ``physical 
     therapy,'' after ``dentistry,''.

                          ____________________