[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 49 (Wednesday, March 20, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2477-S2478]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RECOGNIZING THE ROLE OF DIRECT SUPPORT PROFESSIONALS ACT
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 253, S. 1332.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 1332) to require the Office of Management and
Budget to revise the Standard Occupational Classification
system to establish a separate code for direct support
professionals, and for other purposes.
=========================== NOTE ===========================
On page S2477, March 20, 2024, second column, the following
appears: A bill (S. 1332) to require the Office of Management and
Budget to revise the Standard Occupational 4 Classification system
to establish a separate code for direct support professionals, and
for our purposes.
The online Record has been corrected to read: A bill (S. 1332)
to require the Office of Management and Budget to revise the
Standard Occupational Classification system to establish a
separate code for direct support professionals, and for other
purposes.
========================= END NOTE =========================
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill,
which had been reported from the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs, 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 ``Recognizing the Role of
Direct Support Professionals Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Direct support professionals play a critical role in
the care provided to individuals with intellectual and
developmental disabilities by providing a wide range of
supportive services on a day-to-day basis to promote
independence, including--
(A) enhancing independence and community inclusion of these
individuals, including through travel and recreation,
visiting friends and family, shopping, or socializing;
(B) coaching and supporting individuals in communicating
needs, achieving self-expression, pursuing personal goals,
living independently, and participating actively in
employment or voluntary roles in the community;
(C) providing assistance with activities of independent
daily living (such as feeding, bathing, toileting, and
ambulation) and with tasks such as meal preparation,
shopping, light housekeeping, laundry, and home management;
or
(D) supporting individuals at home, work, school, or any
other community setting.
(2) Through the support of direct support professionals,
individuals are able to lead self-directed lives within their
own communities.
(3) Providers of home- and community-based services are
experiencing difficulty hiring and retaining direct support
professionals, with a national turnover rate of 43 percent,
as identified in a 2021 study by the National Core
Indicators, and full-time vacancy rates increasing by 94
percent between 2019 and 2021.
(4) High turnover rates can lead to instability for
individuals receiving services, and this may result in
individuals not receiving enough personalized care to help
them reach their goals for independent living.
(5) A discrete occupational category for direct support
professionals will help States and the Federal Government--
(A) better interpret the shortage in the labor market of
direct support professionals; and
(B) collect data on the high turnover rate of direct
support professionals.
(6) The Standard Occupational Classification system is
designed and maintained solely for statistical purposes, and
is used by Federal statistical agencies to classify workers
and jobs into occupational categories for the purpose of
collecting, calculating, analyzing, or disseminating data.
(7) Occupations in the Standard Occupational Classification
system are classified based on work performed and, in some
cases, on the skills, education, or training needed to
perform the work.
(8) Establishing a discrete occupational category for
direct support professionals will--
(A) correct an inaccurate representation in the Standard
Occupational Classification system;
(B) recognize these professionals for the critical and
often overlooked work that they perform for the disabled
community, which work is different than the work of a home
health aide or a personal care aide; and
(C) better align the Standard Occupational Classification
system with related classification systems.
SEC. 3. REVISION OF STANDARD OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION
SYSTEM.
The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall,
as part of the first revision of the Standard Occupational
Classification system occurring after the date of enactment
of this Act, consider revising the Standard Occupational
Classification system to establish a separate code for direct
support professionals as a healthcare support occupation.
SEC. 4. REPORT TO CONGRESS.
If, after carrying out section 3, the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget decides not to establish a
separate code for direct support professionals in the
Standard Occupational Classification system, the Director
shall, by not later than 30 days after the first revision of
the Standard Occupational Classification system occurring
after the date of enactment of this Act, submit a report to
the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
of the Senate and the Committee on Education and the
Workforce of the House of Representatives explaining the
Office of Management and Budget's decision.
SEC. 5. NO NEW FUNDS.
No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to
carry out this Act.
Mr. VAN HOLLEN. I further ask that the committee-reported substitute
amendment be agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be considered read a
third time and passed; that the committee-reported title amendment be
agreed to; and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and
laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The committee-reported amendment in the nature of a substitute was
agreed to.
The bill (S. 1332), as amended, was ordered to be engrossed for a
third reading, was read the third time, and passed.
The committee-reported amendment to the title was agreed to as
follows:
Amend the title so as to read: ``A bill to require the
Office of Management and Budget to consider revising the
Standard Occupational Classification system to establish a
[[Page S2478]]
separate code for direct support professionals, and for other
purposes.''.
____________________