[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 5 (Thursday, January 9, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S147]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     UNITED STATES PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE MODERNIZATION ACT OF 2019

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 289, S. 2629.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 2629) to amend the Public Health Service Act 
     with respect to the Public Health Service Corps.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill, 
which had been reported from the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 
and Pensions, with an amendment to strike all after the enacting clause 
and insert in lieu thereof the following:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``United States Public Health 
     Service Modernization Act of 2019''.

     SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS.

       (a) Commissioned Corps and Ready Reserve Corps.--Section 
     203 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 204) is 
     amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ``a Ready Reserve 
     Corps for service in time of national emergency'' and 
     inserting ``, for service in time of a public health or 
     national emergency, a Ready Reserve Corps''; and
       (2) in subsection (c)--
       (A) in the heading, by striking ``Research'' and inserting 
     ``Reserve Corps'';
       (B) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``during public health 
     or national emergencies'' before the period;
       (C) in paragraph (2)--
       (i) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting 
     ``, consistent with paragraph (1)'' after ``shall'';
       (ii) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ``during such 
     emergencies'' after ``members''; and
       (iii) in subparagraph (D), by inserting ``, consistent with 
     subparagraph (C)'' before the period; and
       (D) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(3) Statutory references to reserve.--A reference in any 
     Federal statute, except in the case of subsection (b), to the 
     `Reserve Corps' of the Public Health Service or to the 
     `reserve' of the Public Health Service shall be deemed to be 
     a reference to the Ready Reserve Corps.''.
       (b) Deployment Readiness.--Section 203A(a)(1)(B) of the 
     Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 204a(a)(1)(B)) is 
     amended by striking ``Active Reserves'' and inserting ``Ready 
     Reserve Corps''.
       (c) Retirement of Commissioned Officers.--Section 211 of 
     the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 212) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``the Service'' each place it appears and 
     inserting ``the Regular Corps'';
       (2) in subsection (a)(4), by striking ``(in the case of an 
     officer in the Reserve Corps)'';
       (3) in subsection (c)--
       (A) in paragraph (1)--
       (i) by striking ``or an officer of the Reserve Corps''; and
       (ii) by inserting ``or under section 221(a)(19)'' after 
     ``subsection (a)''; and
       (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``Regular or Reserve 
     Corps'' and inserting ``Regular Corps or Ready Reserve 
     Corps''; and
       (4) in subsection (f), by striking ``the Regular or Reserve 
     Corps of''.
       (d) Rights, Privileges, etc. of Officers and Surviving 
     Beneficiaries.--Section 221 of the Public Health Service Act 
     (42 U.S.C. 213a) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the following:
       ``(19) Chapter 1223, Retired Pay for Non-Regular Service.
       ``(20) Section 12601, Compensation: Reserve on active duty 
     accepting from any person.
       ``(21) Section 12684, Reserves: separation for absence 
     without authority or sentence to imprisonment.''; and
       (2) in subsection (b)--
       (A) by striking ``Secretary of Health, Education, and 
     Welfare or his designee'' and inserting ``Secretary of Health 
     and Human Services or the designee of such secretary'';
       (B) by striking ``(b) The authority vested'' and inserting 
     the following:
       ``(b)(1) The authority vested'';
       (C) by striking ``For purposes of'' and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(2) For purposes of''; and
       (D) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(3) For purposes of paragraph (19) of subsection (a), the 
     terms `Military department', `Secretary concerned', and 
     `Armed forces' in such title 10 shall be deemed to include, 
     respectively, the Department of Health and Human Services, 
     the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the 
     Commissioned Corps.''.
       (e) Technical Amendments.--Title II of the Public Health 
     Service Act (42 U.S.C. 202 et seq.) is amended--
       (1) in sections 204 and 207(c), by striking ``Regular or 
     Reserve Corps'' each place it appears and inserting ``Regular 
     Corps or Ready Reserve Corps'';
       (2) in section 208(a), by striking ``Regular and Reserve 
     Corps'' each place it appears and inserting ``Regular Corps 
     and Ready Reserve Corps''; and
       (3) in section 205(c), 206(c), 210, and 219, and in 
     subsections (a), (b), and (d) of section 207, by striking 
     ``Reserve Corps'' each place it appears and inserting ``Ready 
     Reserve Corps''.

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
committee-reported amendment be agreed to and the bill, as amended, be 
considered read a third time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The committee-reported amendment, in the nature of a substitute, was 
agreed to.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading and was read 
the third time.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I know of no further debate on the 
bill, as amended.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. If there is no further debate, the bill having 
been read the third time, the question is, Shall the bill pass?
  The bill (S. 2629), as amended, was passed.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the motion 
to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________