[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4328 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4328
To provide for establishment of the National Task Force on the Nursing
Shortage.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 23, 2023
Mr. Costa introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for establishment of the National Task Force on the Nursing
Shortage.
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 ``National Nursing Shortage Task Force
Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL NURSING SHORTAGE TASK FORCE.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
enactment of this section, the Secretary of Health and Human Services
(in this section referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall establish a
task force to be known as the National Nursing Shortage Task Force (in
this section referred to as the ``Task Force'').
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of the Task Force is to issue policy
recommendations to the President and the Congress to address the
growing nursing shortage across the United States, with a particular
focus on addressing the shortage in health professional shortage areas
designated under section 332 of the Public Health Service Act (42
U.S.C. 254e).
(c) Duties.--The Task Force shall--
(1) examine, assess, and report on the United States
nursing workforce capacity, including--
(A) trends in the overall nursing workforce;
(B) the capacity to educate future nurses;
(C) causes for the existing nursing shortage; and
(D) Federal policies to bolster nursing education
and the nursing workforce;
(2) build upon existing or ongoing evaluations, and avoid
unnecessary duplication, by reviewing, as appropriate, the
findings, conclusions, and recommendations of other task
forces, committees, commissions, and other public and private
entities with respect to the national nursing shortage;
(3) identify areas of Federal policy that have impacted the
ability of the United States to respond to the growing nursing
shortage, including--
(A) Federal support of nursing education programs;
(B) Federal support of increasing diversity in the
nursing workforce; and
(C) incentives for nurses to work in underserved
areas and communities;
(4) identify and recommend a set of possible solutions to
the nursing shortage for policymakers, including legislative
and regulatory recommendations; and
(5) submit to the President and the Congress a report on
the Task Force's findings, conclusions, and recommendations to
bolster nursing education and the nursing workforce in the
United States.
(d) Composition of Task Force.--
(1) In general.--The members of the Task Force shall be
appointed by the Secretary and be composed of not fewer than 12
members, of which at least one-third shall be registered
nurses.
(2) Expertise.--The members of the Task Force shall include
individuals with national recognition for their expertise in
one or more of the following areas:
(A) The demands of practicing nurses, in particular
individuals currently working in the profession.
(B) Nursing labor market analysis.
(C) Health care finance and economics.
(D) Health care facility management.
(E) Nursing education.
(F) Delivery of health care services, prioritizing
individuals with expertise on delivering services in
underserved regions.
(G) Health care organization culture and its impact
on nurses.
(H) Federal, State, local, Tribal, or territorial
governmental programs that support the health care
workforce and other relevant public administration,
such as State nursing licensing agencies.
(I) Nursing labor unions.
(J) Any other area of expertise that the Secretary
considers appropriate.
(3) Geographic representation.--The members of the Task
Force shall collectively represent--
(A) urban, suburban, and rural regions; and
(B) regional diversity across the Nation.
(4) Co-chairs.--There shall be two co-chairs of the Task
Force, both designated by the Secretary at the time of
appointment from among the individuals appointed under
paragraph (1). One co-chair shall be a registered nurse. The
other co-chair shall have a background in nursing education.
(5) Deadline for appointment.--The Secretary shall appoint
all members of the Task Force not later than 90 days after the
date of enactment of this Act.
(6) Meetings.--The Task Force shall meet and begin the
operations of the Task Force as soon as practicable after the
date of enactment of this Act. After its initial meeting, the
Task Force shall meet at the call of the co-chairs acting
jointly or at the call of a quorum of its members.
(7) Quorum; vacancies.--
(A) Quorum.--A majority of the total number of
members of the Task Force shall constitute a quorum.
(B) Vacancies.--Any vacancy in the Task Force shall
not affect its powers, but shall be filled in the same
manner in which the original appointment was made.
(e) Final Report of Task Force; Termination.--
(1) Final report.--Not later than one year after the date
on which the last member of the Task Force is appointed, the
Task Force shall submit to the President, the Committee on
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, and the
Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives a final report containing such findings,
conclusions, and recommendations as have been agreed to by not
less than a majority of the members of the Task Force. The Task
Force shall make such final report available to the public
online.
(2) Termination.--
(A) In general.--The Task Force, and all the
authorities of this section, shall terminate 90 days
after the date on which the final report is submitted
under paragraph (1).
(B) Administrative activities before termination.--
The Task Force may use the 90-day period referred to in
subparagraph (A) for the purpose of concluding its
activities, including providing testimony to committees
of Congress concerning reports of the Task Force and
disseminating the final report under paragraph (1).
(f) Funding.--
(1) Duration of availability.--Amounts made available to
the Task Force shall remain available until the termination of
the Task Force.
(2) Gifts and donations.--The Task Force may accept gifts
and donations for the purposes of carrying out this Act.
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