[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 47 (Wednesday, March 18, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S3373]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CONRAD (for himself, Mr. Brownback, Ms. Collins, Mr. 
        Johnson, and Mrs. Murray):
  S. 628. A bill to provide incentives to physicians to practice in 
rural and medically underserved communities; to the Committee on the 
Judiciary.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Conrad State 30 
Improvement Act to extend and expand this program's success in bringing 
doctors to communities that would otherwise not have access to health 
care services. In the last Congress, a very similar version of this 
bill had extremely widespread support in the medical community and a 
diverse group of cosponsors in the Senate.
  The Conrad State 30 program, which I helped create in 1994, has 
brought thousands of physicians to underserved communities in all 50 
States, across our great country. Under the program, foreign doctors 
already in the country for medical training are granted a waiver from a 
visa requirement to return to their home country for 2 years. In 
exchange for this waiver, the doctors must commit to providing health 
care to underserved populations in the United States for 3 years.
  By 2020, some projections show that the United States may have 
200,000 fewer doctors than it needs; that is a staggering statistic, 
and one that cannot be taken lightly. If this shortfall is allowed to 
materialize, rural areas, like my State of North Dakota, will 
undoubtedly be among the hardest hit.
  Given the looming deficit of doctors and an increasingly competitive 
global marketplace, it is vital that we maintain the incentives for 
qualified foreign physicians to serve patients in this country. The 
immigration benefits historically provided by the Conrad 30 program, 
and enhanced in this bill, provide crucial incentives to foreign 
doctors. When they do come to our country, it is vital that we make 
sure that they end up in the places that need them most.
  This bill makes the Conrad 30 program permanent, something that I 
believe is long overdue. It also invites a new group of foreign doctors 
to take part in the program, a change that could dramatically expand 
the pool of doctors practicing in rural and underserved areas. Further, 
the bill creates a mechanism by which the current cap of 30 doctors per 
State can significantly expand, while protecting the interests of those 
States that have had difficulty recruiting doctors under the program. 
Finally, the bill creates an important new incentive for doctors to 
participate in the program by granting them a green card cap exemption 
when they have completed their service.
  I strongly believe the Conrad State 30 Improvement Act can be of 
great benefit to every state in the country and help combat the growing 
shortage of health care providers in the U.S.
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