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S 628 IS
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 628
To provide incentives to physicians to practice in rural and medically underserved communities.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 18, 2009
Mr. CONRAD (for himself, Mr. BROWNBACK, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. JOHNSON, and Mrs. MURRAY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To provide incentives to physicians to practice in rural and medically underserved communities.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
SEC. 2. ELIMINATION OF SUNSET PROVISION OF CONRAD STATE 30 PROGRAM.
Section 220(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Technical Corrections Act of 1994 (8 U.S.C. 1182 note) is amended by striking ‘and before September 30, 2009.’.
SEC. 3. INCENTIVES FOR PHYSICIANS TO PRACTICE IN MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES.
Section 214 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184) is amended--
(1) in subsection (g), by adding at the end the following:
‘(12) An alien physician described in section 212(j)(2)(B) who entered the United States as a nonimmigrant described in section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) to pursue graduate medical education or training shall not be subject to the limitations described in paragraphs (1) and (4), provided that the period of authorized admission of such alien as an H-1B nonimmigrant may not extend beyond the 6-year period beginning on the date on which the alien receives the exemption described in subparagraph (A), if--
‘(A) an interested State agency submits a request for an exemption under section 214(l)(1)(B), but not 1 of the 10 waivers or exemptions described in subsection (l)(1)(D)(ii); and
‘(B) the Secretary of State recommends that the alien be exempted from such limitations.’; and
(2) in subsection (l)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) by striking ‘the Attorney General shall not grant such waiver unless’ and inserting ‘or for an exemption from the limitations described in paragraphs (1) and (4) of subsection (g) on behalf of an alien described in subsection (g)(12), the Secretary shall not grant such waiver or exemption unless’;
(ii) in subsection (A), by inserting ‘or exemption’ before the semicolon at the end;
(iii) in subsection (B), by striking ‘would not cause the number of waivers allotted for that State for that fiscal year to exceed 30’ and inserting ‘or exemption would not cause the total number of waivers plus the total number of exemptions allotted for that State for that fiscal year to exceed 30, unless such allotment is increased pursuant to paragraph (4)’;
(iv) in subsection (C)(ii), by inserting ‘or exemption’ after ‘waiver’; and
(v) in subsection (D)--
(I) in clause (ii), by striking ‘would not cause the number of the waivers’ and inserting ‘or exemption would not cause the total number of waivers and exemptions’; and
(II) in clause (iii), by inserting ‘or exemption’ after ‘waiver’;
(B) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘status of an alien’ and inserting ‘status of an alien described in 212(e)(iii)’; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
‘(4) If at least 90 percent of the total number of waivers and exemptions allotted under paragraph (1)(B) to States that were granted not fewer than 5 such waivers or exemptions, in the aggregate, during any 1 of the 3 previous fiscal years are granted, on a nationwide basis, in the current fiscal year, the allotment of such waivers and exemptions in the current fiscal year shall be increased from 30 to 35 for each State. Such allotments shall be further increased in increments of 5 each time such 90 percent threshold of the adjusted allotment level is reached, on a nationwide basis. The allotment for each State shall reset to 30 at the beginning of each fiscal year.’.
SEC. 4. RETAINING PHYSICIANS IN MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES.
Section 201(b)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(b)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘(F) Alien physicians who have completed service requirements of a waiver or exemption requested by a State under section 214(l), including those alien physicians who completed such service before the date of the enactment of this subparagraph.’.
U.S. Congress - Text of S.628 as Introduced in Senate Conrad State 30 Improvement Act
