US Congress Senate Bill 948 (Prior Session Legislation)

---

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: Introduced on March 28 2019 - 25% progression, died in committee
Action: 2019-03-28 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Pending: Senate Judiciary Committee
Text: Latest bill text (Introduced) [PDF]

Modifies the Conrad 30 Waiver program, which incentivizes qualified foreign physicians to serve in underserved communities. It also extends statutory authority for the program through FY2021. Aliens coming to the United States under a J-1 nonimmigrant visa to receive medical training typically must leave the country and reside for two years abroad before being eligible to apply for an immigrant visa or permanent residence. The Conrad program waives this requirement for individuals who meet certain qualifications, including serving for a number of years at a health care facility in an underserved area. The bill increases the number of waivers that a state may obtain each fiscal year from 30 to 35 if a certain number of waivers were used the previous year, and provides for further adjustments depending on demand. An alien physician may be employed at an academic medical center to meet the Conrad program's employment requirements if the alien's work is in the public interest, even if the medical center is not in an underserved area. Employment contracts for alien physicians under the Conrad program shall contain certain information, such as the maximum number of on-call hours per week the physician shall have to work. Certain alien physicians (along with the physician's spouse and children) shall be exempt from the direct annual numerical limits on immigration, including those physicians that have met certain requirements related to visas for physicians to serve in underserved areas.

Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act

Sen. Amy Klobuchar [D-MN]	Sen. Susan Collins [R-ME]	Sen. Jacky Rosen [D-NV]	Sen. Angus King [I-ME]
Sen. Joni Ernst [R-IA]	Sen. Kevin Cramer [R-ND]	Sen. Christopher Coons [D-DE]	Sen. Roy Blunt [R-MO]
Sen. Shelley Capito [R-WV]	Sen. Tammy Baldwin [D-WI]	Sen. Ron Wyden [D-OR]	Sen. John Thune [R-SD]
Sen. Jeff Merkley [D-OR]	Sen. Roger Wicker [R-MS]	Sen. Thomas Carper [D-DE]	Sen. Rand Paul [R-KY]
Sen. Tina Smith [D-MN]	Sen. Jerry Moran [R-KS]

Date	Chamber	Action
2019-03-28	Senate	Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

HB2895 (Same As) 2019-06-26 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship.

Type	Source
Summary	https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/948/all-info
Text	https://www.congress.gov/116/bills/s948/BILLS-116s948is.pdf