[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 150 (Monday, September 15, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H4285-H4286]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HEALTH PROFESSIONALS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2025
Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 3767) to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for a
time frame for the employment in the Department of Veterans Affairs of
participants in the Health Professionals Scholarship Program, and for
other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 3767
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 ``Health Professionals
Scholarship Program Improvement Act of 2025'' or the ``HPSP
Improvement Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. TIME FRAME FOR EMPLOYMENT OF PARTICIPANTS IN
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS HEALTH
PROFESSIONALS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--Section 7616 of title 38, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
``(d)(1) The Secretary shall ensure that a participant in
the Scholarship Program receives a contract for employment in
the full-time clinical practice of such participant's
profession at a Department facility with the highest need, as
determined by the Secretary, by not later than 90 days after
the later of the following dates:
``(A) The date on which the participant completes the
course in the Scholarship Program.
``(B) The date on which participant obtains all required
licensure, certification, or credentialing necessary to
practice independently in their field.
``(2) A contract referred to in paragraph (1) shall include
a competitive salary and benefits package consistent with the
employment standards of the Department.''.
(b) Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter
until the termination date specified in paragraph (2), the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committees
on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House of
Representatives a report on the implementation of subsection
(d) of section 7616 of title 38, United States Code, as added
by subsection (a).
(2) Termination date.--The termination date specified in
this paragraph is September 30, 2027.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON SMOKING IN FACILITIES OF THE VETERANS
HEALTH ADMINISTRATION.
(a) Prohibition.--Section 1715 of title 38, United States
Code, is amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 1715. Prohibition on smoking in facilities of the
Veterans Health Administration
``(a) Prohibition.--No person (including any veteran,
patient, resident, employee of the Department, contractor, or
visitor) may smoke on the premises of any facility of the
Veterans Health Administration.
``(b) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) The term `smoke' includes--
``(A) the use of cigarettes, cigars, pipes, and any other
combustion or heating of tobacco; and
``(B) the use of any electronic nicotine delivery system,
including electronic or e-cigarettes, vape pens, and e-
cigars.
``(2) The term `facility of the Veterans Health
Administration' means any land or building (including any
medical center, nursing home, domiciliary facility,
outpatient clinic, or center that provides readjustment
counseling) that is--
``(A) under the jurisdiction of the Department of Veterans
Affairs;
``(B) under the control of the Veterans Health
Administration; and
``(C) not under the control of the General Services
Administration.''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Table of sections.--The table of sections at the
beginning of chapter 17 of such title is amended by striking
the item relating to section 1715 and inserting the
following:
``1715. Prohibition on smoking in facilities of the Veterans Health
Administration.''.
(2) Conforming repeal.--
(A) In general.--Section 526 of the Veterans Health Care
Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-585; 38 U.S.C. 1715 note) is
repealed.
(B) Clerical amendment.--The table of contents of such Act
is amended by striking the item relating to such section.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Illinois (Mr. Bost) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois.
General Leave
Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on
H.R. 3767, as amended.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Illinois?
There was no objection.
Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3767, as amended,
offered by my friend and colleague, Representative Hamadeh.
This bill would hold the VA to a deadline to hire participants in the
Health Professionals Scholarship Program.
The scholarship was created to address chronic workforce shortages.
Critical healthcare jobs, like nurses, physician assistants, and mental
health providers, continue to be short-staffed and need good people in
these roles.
Right now, VA pays for scholarship enrollees' education in return for
several years of service to the VA.
[[Page H4286]]
Unfortunately, there have been cases where VA can take months before
offering them a position. Sometimes, people in the program are forced
to break the agreement because of bureaucracy delays at the VA. They
seek work elsewhere just to make ends meet.
Representative Hamadeh's bill would ensure that VA is properly
staffed by making VA fulfill its end of the bargain.
This bill also includes language from Representative Neal Dunn's
bill, which would prohibit smoking on VHA campuses.
Since the nineties, VA has issued policies to provide safer smoking
environments. Then, in March 2019, VA issued its most recent policy for
a smoke-free VHA. This bill would align law with the current VA
practice.
Patients and VA employees have a right to be protected from the
harmful medical effects of secondhand smoke. This bill would do just
that. Many private-sector healthcare systems already have smoke-free
policies.
This bill, as amended, would take important steps to improve VA
healthcare.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 3767, as
amended, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of H.R. 3767, the Health
Professionals Scholarship Program Improvement Act of 2025, as amended.
For many years, the Health Professionals Scholarship Program has
allowed VA to provide financial assistance to future medical
professionals in return for a promise of service at VA facilities to
ensure VA can meet its staffing needs. The program has had longstanding
success in both ensuring prospective providers can complete their
training and bolstering VA's workforce, especially in difficult-to-hire
areas and for difficult-to-recruit professions.
However, some participants have expressed concerns that hiring delays
at VA have prevented them from receiving their employment contracts in
a timely manner. While there are many steps to onboarding new
clinicians at VA, including necessary processes such as credentialing
and privileging, we must make sure that VA does everything in its power
to bring new staff on quickly, especially in the case of prospective
providers who have proven themselves willing to serve the veteran
community.
This legislation will ensure that VA provides employment contracts to
graduates of the Health Professionals Scholarship Program within 90
days of completion of their programs or within 90 days of completing
all necessary licensing and credentialing processes, whichever is
later.
Participants in the Health Professionals Scholarship Program are
dedicated to service to the veteran community and are vital to ensuring
VA has sufficient staffing across the Nation.
We should continue to seek additional ways to improve the hiring and
onboarding process at VA, including through additional workforce
investments and improving the use of expedited hiring authorities.
However, in the meantime, there is an important step in ensuring this
program fulfills its purpose, both for participants and for VA's
workforce needs.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Hamadeh), the sponsor of this bill.
Mr. HAMADEH of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support
of my bill, H.R. 3767, the Health Professionals Scholarship Program
Improvement Act of 2025.
As too many taxpayers well know, the VA spends millions of our hard-
earned taxpayer dollars training healthcare professionals through
scholarships, yet, these same qualified professionals are forced to
wait months for employment contracts after graduation. All the while,
our veterans suffer.
It is government inefficiency at its worst, and our veterans seem to
always be paying the price. Veterans are sent to emergency rooms while
skilled doctors are waiting to serve patients.
That is why I introduced this bipartisan legislation with my
colleague, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski, because we saw a program that
required action. Bureaucratic red tape is the enemy.
The reports by the inspector general are a testament to what veterans
in my district already know: Staffing shortfalls are more than a
figure. They are missed appointments, endless long waits, and
canceled procedures.
American heroes' lives are at stake. Back home in Arizona, the
Phoenix VA Health Care System covers 100,000 veterans. The Southern
Arizona VA Health Care System covers yet another 170,000. Every one of
them deserves access to qualified providers.
Arizona's Eighth District alone has 65,000 veterans. These patients
deserve better than bureaucratic incompetence when they need medical
care. They did not wait to defend America, and America should not make
them wait for healthcare.
My bill offers a simple and commonsense fix. HPSP scholarship
recipients will be given offers of jobs within 90 days post-graduation.
They will not wait. Veterans will not be forgotten. We are going to
drain the VA swamp one regulation at a time.
Our bill also requires an annual report to Congress on hire dates and
placement rates. Transparency generates performance.
We are not just addressing the issue today. We are ensuring
bureaucrats cannot hide and escape tomorrow.
To those who would say 90 days is too aggressive, my response is: How
long should a veteran wait? How long should a trained physician sit
idle? The current state is intolerable. The status quo has failed, and
it is time for genuine reform.
{time} 1630
Mr. Speaker, I have seen firsthand what occurs when the systems fail
for those on the front lines overseas. We cannot allow failure at home.
When I served as an Army intelligence officer overseas, we lived by a
simple creed: Mission first, and no Americans left behind.
My bill is an embodiment to that promise. This isn't partisan
posturing. This is about doing right by America's warfighters. The
House Committee on Veterans' Affairs agreed. They voted for my bill by
voice vote without opposition. There was zero dissent. There was
complete consensus and stakeholder support. It is now time for the
entire House to deliver.
Mr. Speaker, every day of delay is another day a veteran waits for
care. It is another day a qualified professional can't serve. It is
another day the system fails those who have served and protected us
all. It is another day the swamp wins and our heroes lose.
We ask our veterans to wait for many things. Quality healthcare
shouldn't be one of them, not in President Trump's America and not on
our watch.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support the HPSP
Improvement Act. Our veterans have waited long enough. We must deliver
on the promise we made to the brave men and women who served our
country. It is time to put veterans first.
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, once again, I urge my colleagues to vote
``yes'' on H.R. 3767, the Health Professionals Scholarship Act of 2025,
as amended.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I encourage all Members to support this
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Bost) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 3767, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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