S.Amdt. 2955

SA 2955. Mr. UDALL of Colorado (for himself, Mrs. Hagan, Ms.
Klobuchar, Mr. Begich, Mr. Kaufman, Mr. Udall of New Mexico, Mr. Kirk,
Mr. Kohl, Mr. Franken, Mr. Specter, and Mr. Casey) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 2786 proposed by Mr.
Reid (for himself, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Dodd, and Mr. Harkin) to the bill
H.R. 3590, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the
first-time homebuyers credit in the case of members of the Armed Forces
and certain other Federal employees, and for other purposes; which was
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

On page 1507, after line 19, insert the following:

SEC. 5510. RURAL PHYSICIAN TRAINING GRANTS.

Part C of title VII of the Public Health Service Act (42
U.S.C. 293k et seq.) is amended--
(1) after the part heading, by inserting the following:

``Subpart I--Medical Training Generally'';

and
(2) by inserting at the end the following:

``Subpart II--Training in Underserved Communities

``SEC. 749B. RURAL PHYSICIAN TRAINING GRANTS.

``(a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the
Administrator of the Health Resources and Services
Administration, shall establish a program to make grants to
eligible entities for the purposes of--
``(1) assisting eligible entities in recruiting students
most likely to practice medicine in underserved rural
communities;
``(2) providing rural-focused training and experience; and
``(3) increasing the number of recent allopathic and
osteopathic medical school graduates who practice in
underserved rural communities.
``(b) Eligible Entities.--In order to be eligible to
receive a grant under this section, an entity shall--
``(1) be a school of allopathic or osteopathic medicine
accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or
association approved by the Secretary for this purpose, or
any combination or consortium of such schools; and
``(2) submit an application to the Secretary at such time,
in such form, and containing such information as the
Secretary may require, including a certification that such
entity--
``(A) will use amounts provided to the institution to--
``(i) establish and carry out a Rural Physician Training
Program described in subsection (d);
``(ii) improve an existing rural-focused training program
to meet the requirements described in subsection (d) and
carry out such program; or
``(iii) expand and carry out an existing rural-focused
training program that meets the requirements described in
subsection (d); and
``(B) employs, or will employ within a timeframe sufficient
to implement the Program (as described by a timetable and
supporting documentation in the application of the eligible
entity), faculty with experience or training in rural
medicine or with experience in training rural physicians.
``(c) Priority.--In awarding grant funds under this
section, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible
entities that--
``(1) demonstrate a record of successfully training
students, as determined by the Secretary, who practice
medicine in underserved rural communities;
``(2) demonstrate that an existing academic program of the
eligible entity produces a high percentage, as determined by
the Secretary, of graduates from such program who practice
medicine in underserved rural communities;
``(3) demonstrate rural community institutional
partnerships, through such mechanisms as matching or
contributory funding, documented in-kind services for
implementation, or existence of training partners with
interprofessional expertise (such as dental, vision, or
mental health services) in community health center training
locations or other similar facilities; or
``(4) submit, as part of the application of the entity
under subsection (b), a plan for the long-term tracking of
where the graduates of such entity are practicing medicine.
``(d) Use of Funds.--
``(1) Establishment.--An eligible entity receiving a grant
under this section shall use the funds made available under
such grant to--

[[Page S12624]]

``(A) establish and carry out a `Rural Physician Training
Program' (referred to in this section as the `Program');
``(B) improve an existing rural-focused training program to
meet the Program requirements described in this subsection
and carry out such program; or
``(C) expand and carry out an existing rural-focused
training program that meets the Program requirements
described in this subsection.
``(2) Structure of program.--An eligible entity shall--
``(A) enroll no fewer than 10 students per class year into
the Program; and
``(B) develop criteria for admission to the Program that
gives priority to students--
``(i) who have originated from or lived for a period of 2
or more years in an underserved rural community; and
``(ii) who express a commitment to practice medicine in an
underserved rural community.
``(3) Curricula.--The Program shall require students to
enroll in didactic coursework and clinical experience
particularly applicable to medical practice in underserved
rural communities, including--
``(A) clinical rotations in underserved rural communities,
and in specialties including family medicine, internal
medicine, pediatrics, surgery, psychiatry, and emergency
medicine;
``(B) in addition to core school curricula, additional
coursework or training experiences focused on medical issues
prevalent in underserved rural communities, including in
areas such as trauma, obstetrics, ultrasound, oral health,
and behavioral health; and
``(C) any coursework or clinical experience that--
``(i) may be developed as a result of the Symposium
described in subsection (f); or
``(ii) the Secretary finds appropriate.
``(4) Residency placement assistance.--Where available, the
Program shall assist all students of the Program in obtaining
clinical training experiences in locations with postgraduate
programs offering residency training opportunities in
underserved rural communities, or in local residency training
programs that support and train physicians to practice in
underserved rural communities, as well as assist all students
of the Program in obtaining postgraduate residency training
in such programs.
``(5) Program student cohort support.--The Program shall
provide and require all students of the Program to
participate in social, educational, and other group
activities designed to further develop, maintain, and
reinforce the original commitment of such students to
practice in an underserved rural community.
``(e) Annual Reporting Requirement.--On an annual basis, an
eligible entity receiving a grant under this section shall
submit a report to the Secretary on--
``(1) the overall success of the Program established by the
entity, based on criteria the Secretary determines
appropriate;
``(2) the number of students participating in the Program;
``(3) the number of graduating students who participated in
the Program;
``(4) the residency program selection of graduating
students who participated in the Program;
``(5) the number of graduates who participated in the
Program who are practicing in underserved rural communities
not less than one year after completing residency training;
and
``(6) the number of graduates who participated in the
Program who are not practicing in underserved rural
communities not less than one year after completing residency
training.
``(f) Rural Training Program Symposium.--
``(1) Purposes of symposium.--To assist the Secretary in
carrying out the Program and making grant determinations
under this section, the Secretary shall convene a Rural
Training Program Symposium (referred to in this section as
the `Symposium') to--
``(A) develop best practices that may be incorporated into
consideration of applications under subsection (b); and
``(B) establish a network of allopathic and osteopathic
medical schools that have developed or will develop rural
training programs in accordance with subsection (d).
``(2) Composition.--The Symposium shall include--
``(A) representatives from eligible entities with existing
rural training programs;
``(B) representatives from all eligible entities interested
in developing the Program;
``(C) representatives from area health education centers;
``(D) representatives from the Health Resources and
Services Administration; and
``(E) any other experts or individuals with experience in
practicing medicine in underserved rural communities the
Secretary determines appropriate.
``(g) Regulations.--Not later than 60 days after the date
of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall by
regulation define `underserved rural community' for purposes
of this section.
``(h) Supplement Not Supplant.--Any eligible entity
receiving funds under this section shall use such funds to
supplement, not supplant, any other Federal, State, and local
funds that would otherwise be expended by such entity to
carry out the activities described in this section.
``(i) Maintenance of Effort.--With respect to activities
for which funds awarded under this section are to be
expended, the entity shall agree to maintain expenditures of
non-Federal amounts for such activities at a level that is
not less than the level of such expenditures maintained by
the entity for the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for
which the entity receives a grant under this section.
``(j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are
authorized to be appropriated--
``(1) to carry out this section (other than subsection
(f))--
``(A) $4,000,000 for fiscal year 2010;
``(B) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2011;
``(C) $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2012;
``(D) $16,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; and
``(2) to carry out subsection (f), such sums as may be
necessary.''.
______