Community Health Workforce Development Act

119 HR 7289 IH: Community Health Workforce Development Act U.S. House of Representatives 2026-01-30 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. I 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 7289 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES January 30, 2026 Ms. Johnson of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish an advisory committee on training in community health centers, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Community Health Workforce Development Act . 2. Advisory Committee on Training in Community Health Centers The Public Health Service Act is amended by inserting after section 749 ( 42 U.S.C. 293l ) the following: 749–1. Advisory Committee on Training in Community Health Centers (a) Establishment The Secretary shall establish an advisory committee, to be known as the Advisory Committee on Training in Community Health Centers (in this section referred to as the Advisory Committee ). (b) Membership (1) In general The Advisory Committee shall be composed of 15 members (not including the non-voting representatives of Federal agencies appointed under paragraph (7)), to be appointed by the Secretary. (2) Eligibility To be eligible to serve as a member of the Advisory Committee, an individual may not be an officer or employee of the Federal Government. (3) Initial appointments Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall appoint the initial members of the Advisory Committee. (4) Terms A member of the Advisory Committee shall be appointed for a term of 3 years, except as provided in paragraph (5)(B), and except that of the members initially appointed under paragraph (3)— (A) one-third of such members shall be appointed for a term of 1 year; (B) one-third of such members shall be appointed for a term of 2 years; and (C) one-third of such members shall be appointed for a term of 3 years. (5) Vacancies (A) Same manner as original appointment The Secretary shall fill a vacancy on the Advisory Committee in the same manner in which the original appointment was made. (B) Filling unexpired term In the case of a vacancy arising before the completion of the term of the departing member, the Secretary shall appoint an individual to serve for the remainder of the unexpired term. Such individual shall meet the same eligibility requirements as any other member of the Advisory Committee. (6) Balance; minority representation In appointing members of the Advisory Committee, the Secretary shall ensure— (A) that at least 75 percent of the members of the Advisory Committee have experience working as health professionals; (B) that at least 1 member of the Advisory Committee be a patient of a community health center at the time of such member’s appointment (including an appointment to a successive term); (C) that the members of the Advisory Committee represent a fair balance of health professions; and (D) that the members of the Advisory Committee have broad geographic representation and a balance between urban and rural members. (7) Non-voting representatives of Federal agencies (A) Appointment The Secretary may appoint to the Advisory Committee such number of non-voting representatives of Federal agencies as the Secretary determines appropriate. Such non-voting representatives may include the following: (i) The Assistant Secretary for Health. (ii) The Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (iii) The Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration. (iv) The Director of the Division of the National Health Service Corps of the Health Resources and Services Administration. (v) Members of the Council on Graduate Medical Education of the Health Resources and Services Administration. (vi) The Chief Medical Officer of the Veterans Health Administration. (B) Pay A non-voting representative appointed under subparagraph (A) may not receive additional pay, allowances, or benefits by reason of the non-voting representative’s service on the Advisory Committee. (c) Duties The Advisory Committee shall— (1) provide advice and recommendations to the Secretary concerning policy and program development and other matters of significance concerning training activities in community health centers; (2) develop, publish, and implement performance measures for programs under this part; and (3) develop and publish guidelines for longitudinal evaluations (as described in section 761(d)(2)) for programs under this part. (d) Meetings and documents (1) Meetings The Advisory Committee shall meet not less than 2 times each year. Such meetings shall be held jointly with other related entities established under this title where appropriate. (2) Documents Not later than 14 days prior to the convening of a meeting under paragraph (1), the Advisory Committee shall prepare and make publicly available an agenda of the matters to be considered by the Advisory Committee at such meeting. At any such meeting, the Advisory Committee shall distribute materials with respect to the issues to be addressed at the meeting. Not later than 30 days after the adjourning of such a meeting, the Advisory Committee shall prepare and make publicly available a summary of the meeting and any actions taken by the Advisory Committee based upon the meeting. (e) Compensation and expenses (1) Compensation Each member of the Advisory Committee (not including the non-voting representatives of Federal agencies appointed under subsection (b)(7)) shall be compensated at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each day (including travel time) during which such member is engaged in the performance of the duties of the Advisory Committee. (2) Expenses The members of the Advisory Committee (not including the non-voting representatives of Federal agencies appointed under subsection (b)(7)) shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while away from their homes or regular places of business in the performance of services for the Advisory Committee. (f) FACA application Chapter 10 of title 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as the Federal Advisory Committee Act ), shall apply to the Advisory Committee under this section only to the extent that the provisions of such chapter 10 do not conflict with the requirements of this section. Section 1013(a)(2) of such chapter 10 (relating to the termination of advisory committees) shall not apply to the Advisory Committee. (g) Congressional reports (1) In general Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this section, and annually thereafter, the Advisory Committee shall prepare and submit to the Secretary and the appropriate congressional committees, and make publicly available, a report describing the activities of the Advisory Committee, which shall include— (A) findings and recommendations of the Advisory Committee concerning training activities in community health centers; and (B) recommendations of the Advisory Committee on amounts to be appropriated. (2) Appropriate congressional committees defined In this subsection, the term appropriate congressional committees means each of the following: (A) The Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives. (B) The Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate. .