S.Amdt. 396

SA 396. Mr. WYDEN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 98 proposed by Mr. Inouye (for himself and Mr. Baucus) to
the bill H.R. 1, making supplemental appropriations for job
preservation and creation, infrastructure investment, energy efficiency
and science, assistance to the unemployed, and State and local fiscal
stabilization, for fiscal year ending September 30, 2009, and for other
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

On page 192, after line 21, insert the following:

SEC. 807. HEALTH CARE WORKFORCE DATA COLLECTION PROGRAM.

(a) Grant Program Authorized.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary, acting through the
Administrator of the Health Resources and Services
Administration, shall award grants to State or nonprofit
private entities for the purpose of collecting reliable,
uniform data regarding the health care workforce in each
State or region.
(2) Duration.--A grant awarded under this section shall be
for a 3-year period.
(b) Eligibility.--
(1) Application.--An eligible entity desiring to receive an
award under this section shall--
(A) be a State or nonprofit private entity, or an
organization of such entities; and
(B) submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in
such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary
may require.
(2) Location.--The Secretary shall award a grant to not
less than 1 eligible entity in each State or region of the
United States, as determined by the Secretary, for the
collection of data within the State or region of each award
recipient, to ensure that health care workforce data from
each State or region of the United States is included in the
reports under subsection (d).
(c) Responsibilities.--Each recipient of an award under
this section shall--
(1) use the data sources and methods recommended by the
Secretary to collect and report on the data on an ongoing
basis, as determined by the Secretary, for the duration of
the grant;
(2) submit to the Secretary a standard data set, as
specified by the Secretary;
(3) develop and submit to the Secretary State health care
workforce policy recommendations; and
(4) provide other information, as the Secretary may
require.
(d) Reports.--The Secretary shall submit an annual report
detailing the state of the health care workforce in the
United States, including workforce shortages and projections
for the workforce, to the Committee on Finance and the
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the
Senate and to the Committee on Education and Labor, the
Committee on Energy and Commerce, and the Committee on Ways
and Means of the House of Representatives. The annual report
may include information about all, or selected portions of,
the health care workforce, as defined in subsection (e)(1),
as the Secretary determines.
(e) Definitions.--In this section--
(1) Health care workforce.--The term ``health care
workforce'' means physicians, as that term is defined in
section 1861(r) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
1395x(r)), nurses, nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists,
nurse midwives, physical therapists, physical therapist
assistants, occupational therapists, occupational therapist
assistants, dietitians, psychologists, mental health social
workers, marriage and family therapists, mental health
counselors, dental hygienists, pharmacists, pharmacy
technicians, public health workers, nurse aides, home health
aides, personal care aides, optometrists, and other health
care providers, as determined by the Secretary.
(2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Health and Human Services.
(f) Funding.--
(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
this title, from the amounts appropriated and transferred to
the Health Resources and Services Administration under the
heading ``public health and social services emergency fund
(including transfer of funds)'', and such funds shall remain
available through March 31, 2013.
(2) Emergency funds designation.--Each amount in this
section is designated as an emergency requirement and
necessary to meet emergency needs pursuant to section

[[Page S1717]]

204(a) of S. Con. Res. 21 (110th Congress) and section
301(b)(2) of S. Con. Res. 70 (110th Congress), the concurrent
resolutions on the budget for fiscal years 2008 and 2009.
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