[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8069 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8069
To amend the Public Health Service Act to encourage qualified
individuals to enter the forensic pathology workforce, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 18, 2024
Mr. Guest (for himself and Mr. Cleaver) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in
addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act to encourage qualified
individuals to enter the forensic pathology workforce, and for other
purposes.
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 ``Strengthening the Medical Examiner
and Coroner System Act of 2024''.
SEC. 2. FORENSIC MEDICAL NEEDS.
Part E of title VII of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
294n et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Subpart 4--Forensic Pathology Workforce
``SEC. 779. GRANTS TO ADDRESS THE FORENSIC MEDICINE SERVICE PROVIDER
SHORTAGE.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Forensic medicine service provider.--The term
`forensic medicine service provider' has the meaning given the
term in section 6 of Billy's Law (34 U.S.C. 40506 note; Public
Law 117-327).
``(2) Medicolegal death investigator.--The term
`medicolegal death investigator' means an individual who
performs formal inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the
death of a human being to assist in the determination of the
cause and manner of death.
``(3) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary,
acting through the Collaborating Office of Medical Examiners
and Coroners of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
``(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this section are--
``(1) to encourage and incentivize qualified medical school
graduates to enter the practice of forensic pathology by
supporting forensic pathology fellowships;
``(2) to encourage and incentivize qualified individuals to
enter the field of medicolegal death investigation to conduct
death investigations in support of forensic medicine service
providers; and
``(3) to support qualified individuals who enter the field
of forensic toxicology through employment in forensic
toxicology laboratories in the acquisition of skills in
pharmacology, advanced and emerging toxicological methods, and
instrumentation needed to assist with the interpretation of
toxicological findings.
``(c) Grants.--The Secretary shall award grants to eligible
entities described in subsection (d) to assist such entities in
addressing their shortages by offering the training and fellowships
described in subsection (e)(1).
``(d) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this
section, an entity shall be--
``(1) a graduate medical education program--
``(A) accredited by the Accreditation Council for
Graduate Medical Education that offers a forensic
pathology fellowship that is so accredited; or
``(B) that is seeking such accreditation for a
forensic pathology fellowship;
``(2) a publicly funded medical examiner or coroner office
that is accredited or seeking accreditation; or
``(3) a publicly funded forensic toxicology laboratory that
supports medical examiner and coroner offices and that is
accredited or seeking accreditation.
``(e) Use of Grant Funds.--
``(1) In general.--An eligible entity that receives a grant
under this section shall use the grant funds--
``(A) to provide payment to individuals selected by
such entity for a forensic pathology fellowship for
salary, fringe benefits, related supply expenses, and
other educational expenses of such individuals;
``(B) provide training for medicolegal death
investigators, including paying for the costs of
continuing education for medicolegal death
investigators for purposes of such individuals--
``(i) becoming certified by the American
Board of Medicolegal Death Investigation (or
another accredited certifying organization);
and
``(ii) maintaining such certification; or
``(C) to assist eligible entities--
``(i) in providing the education and
training to individuals employed by such
entities necessary--
``(I) to gain initial competency,
additional training, and continuing
education in pharmacology and advanced
and emerging toxicological methods and
instrumentation needed to assist with
the interpretation of toxicological
findings;
``(II) to become certified by the
American Board of Forensic Toxicology,
the American Association of Clinical
Chemistry, or another accredited
certifying organization; or
``(III) to maintain such
certification or to obtain
recertification by such a certifying
organization; or
``(ii) in obtaining accreditation by the
Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical
Education for forensic pathology fellowships.
``(2) Administrative costs.--An eligible entity that
receives a grant under this section may use not more than 15
percent of the total amount of the grant for administrative
expenses, including grant management services.
``(f) Recipient Requirements.--To be eligible to receive a
fellowship funded by a grant under this section, an individual shall--
``(1)(A) be enrolled in, or shall have completed, an
anatomical pathology or anatomical and clinical pathology
residency program accredited by the Accreditation Council for
Graduate Medical Education; and
``(B) not be, and shall never have been, in default on any
public or private student loan;
``(2)(A) be an individual who has completed a program of
baccalaureate or postbaccalaureate education and earned a
degree, or completed a concentration, in forensic science,
natural science, anthropology, nursing, or other medical and
forensic-related fields; and
``(B) be a coroner or medicolegal death investigator
working full-time at, or in a contractual relationship with, a
publicly funded medical examiner or coroner office who--
``(i) has not achieved, and is seeking,
certification by an accredited certification
organization described in subsection (e)(1)(B)(i); or
``(ii) who is seeking continuing education for
purposes of maintaining such certification;
``(3)(A) have completed a program of baccalaureate or
postbaccalaureate education and earned a degree, or completed a
concentration, in forensic science or physical or natural
sciences, with a chemistry, toxicology, or other closely
related scientific or forensic component; and
``(B) be employed by the eligible entity as a toxicologist
or pharmacologist.
``(g) Tax Waiver.--The payment amounts to an individual under this
section or any other benefit received by the individual from the grant
recipient shall not be taxable to the individual.
``(h) Geographic Distribution.--In awarding grants under this
section, the Secretary shall take into consideration--
``(1) the geographic distribution of grant funding among
the States;
``(2) the relative proportion of grant funding between
rural and urban areas; and
``(3) the unique needs of rural communities, including--
``(A) communities with an incidence of individuals
with opioid use disorder that is above the national
average; and
``(B) communities with a shortage of forensic
medicine service providers.
``(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--
``(1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated
to the Secretary to carry out this section $13,000,000 for each
of fiscal years 2025 through 2029.
``(2) Allocations.--Of the amounts made available each
fiscal year under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall allocate--
``(A) subject to paragraph (3), not less than
$7,000,000 for grants to eligible entities carrying out
the purpose described in subsection (e)(1)(A);
``(B) not less than $3,000,000 for grants to
eligible entities carrying out the purpose described in
subsection (e)(1)(B); and
``(C) not less than $3,000,000 for grants to
eligible entities carrying out the purpose described in
subsection (e)(1)(C).
``(3) Fellowship minimum.--In allocating amounts for grants
to eligible entities carrying out the purpose described in
subsection (e)(1)(A), the Secretary shall award sufficient
grant funding to such entities to ensure that not fewer than 40
forensic pathology fellowships are funded.''.
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