[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 our purposes.

  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.''.

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