119-s2673

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2673 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 2673

 To require the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland 
 Security to improve the transition of medics into the civilian 
 workforce in certain health care occupations and to modify the 
 assistance provided to separated members of the Armed Forces seeking 
 employment with health care providers, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 August 1, 2025

 Mr. Kelly (for himself and Mr. Rounds) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To require the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland 
 Security to improve the transition of medics into the civilian 
 workforce in certain health care occupations and to modify the 
 assistance provided to separated members of the Armed Forces seeking 
 employment with health care providers, 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 ``Medic Education and Deployment Into 
Civilian Careers Act of 2025'' or the ``MEDIC Careers Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENT OF TRANSITION OF MEDICS IN THE ARMED FORCES TO THE 
 CIVILIAN WORKFORCE IN HEALTH CARE OCCUPATIONS.

    (a) Recommendations Required.--The Secretary concerned, in 
consultation with each of the States (through the Defense-State Liaison 
Office of the Department of Defense), the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Secretary 
of Labor, shall develop recommendations to improve the transition of 
medics under the jurisdiction of the Secretary concerned into the 
civilian workforce in health care occupations, including as certified 
nurse aides, licensed practical nurses, or medical assistants.

    (b) Considerations.--In carrying out subsection

    (a) , the Secretary 
concerned shall--

    (1) identify any barriers--
        (A) to improving the ability of the Secretary 
 concerned to determine and communicate how the military 
 credentials and experience of a medic separating from 
 the Armed Forces translate to credentialed civilian 
 employment in health care occupations;
        (B) that exist to the standardization among the 
 Armed Forces of military medic credentials and 
 experience and the alignment of such credentials and 
 experience to credentialed civilian employment in 
 health care occupations;
            (C) that exist to ensuring members of the Armed 
 Forces with military medic credentials and experience 
 have earned the equivalent civilian credential prior to 
 separation from the Armed Forces in addition to 
 receiving their military credentials;
            (D) to the increased establishment and uptake of 
 accelerated or bridge programs to assist separating 
 members of the Armed Forces in translating military 
 credentials and experience into civilian health care 
 credentials and employment;
        (E) to increasing the availability and 
 accessibility of preparatory activities under the 
 SkillBridge program established under 

section 1143

    (e) of title 10, United States Code, in the health care 
 sector for members of the Armed Forces preparing for 
 separation, to include--
            (i) the approval timeline for separating 
 members to participate in SkillBridge programs 
 in the health care sector; and
            (ii) requirements to return to their duty 
 station for out-processing; and
        (F) to providing information on civilian health 
 care credentials and employment under the Transition 
 Assistance Program to medics separating from the Armed 
 Forces, including information on State-by-State 
 licensing and credentialing; and

    (2) consider the potential impact of--
        (A) clarification by States through legislation, 
 actions of State licensing boards, or actions of State 
 credentialing boards of the civilian equivalents of 
 certain military credentials and experience in health 
 care;
        (B) implementation, including through State-
 provided incentives, of accelerated programs to bridge 
 military medic credentials and experience with civilian 
 health care credentials and licenses;
            (C) financial support or incentives by States to 
 increase the availability and accessibility of such 
 programs;
            (D) requiring the military departments to align 
 military health care credentials with civilian 
 equivalents; and
        (E) requiring the Department of Veterans Affairs 
 and the Department of Labor to track and report the 
 number of separated members of the Armed Forces with 
 health care-related military credentials and experience 
 who continue in the civilian health care sector, 
 including the type of employment they pursue.
            (c) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary concerned shall submit to the 
relevant committees of Congress a report containing--

    (1) the recommendations developed under subsection

    (a) ; and

    (2) a plan to implement those recommendations.
            (d) === Definitions. ===
-In this section:

    (1) Medic.--The term ``medic'' means a member of the Armed 
 Forces acting in a clinical health care-related occupation 
 while serving in the Armed Forces.

    (2) Relevant committees of congress.--The term ``relevant 
 committees of Congress'' means--
        (A) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee 
 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the Committee 
 on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and the 
 Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate; and
        (B) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee 
 on Education and Workforce, and the Committee on 
 Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives.

    (3) Secretary concerned.--The term ``Secretary concerned'' 
 means--
        (A) the Secretary of Defense, with respect to 
 matters concerning the Department of Defense; and
        (B) the Secretary of Homeland Security, with 
 respect to matters concerning the Coast Guard when it 
 is not operating as a service in the Department of the 
 Navy.

    (4) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 
 Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, 
 or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands that have a 
 Defense-State Liaison Office.

    (5) Transition assistance program.--The term ``Transition 
 Assistance Program'' means the program of the Department of 
 Defense for pre-separation counseling, employment assistance, 
 and other transitional services provided under sections 1142 
 and 1144 of title 10, United States Code.

SEC. 3. HEALTH CARE WORKFORCE PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--

Section 1153 of title 10, United States Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
``

Sec. 1153. Health Care Workforce Preparedness and Response Pilot 
 Program
 ``

    (a) Grants.--The Secretary of Defense shall establish a pilot 
program to award grants to eligible providers to support the hiring, 
training, and retention by such providers of members of the Armed 
Forces separating from the Armed Forces to improve access to, and 
enhance the quality of, civilian health care occupations by such 
members.
 ``

    (b) Duration.--The duration of a grant awarded under this section 
shall be for a period of three years, with an option to renew for 
subsequent one-year periods until the earlier of--
 ``

    (1) two renewal periods; or
 ``

    (2) the date on which funds are no longer available for 
 grants under this section.
 ``
            (c) Eligible Providers.--To be eligible for a grant under this 
section, an entity shall--
 ``

    (1) own or operate, or act as a consortium that 
 includes--
 ``
        (A) a rural health clinic, as defined in 

section 1861

    (aa) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
 1395x

    (aa) );
 ``
        (B) a nursing home, as defined in 

section 232

    (b) of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1715w

    (b) );
 ``
            (C) a medical facility, as defined in subsection

    (a) of 

section 332 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
 U.S.C. 254e

    (a) ), located in a health professional 
 shortage area designated under such section;
 ``
            (D) a Federally qualified health center, as 
 defined in 

section 1861

    (aa) of the Social Security Act 
 (42 U.S.C. 1395x

    (aa) ); or
 ``
        (E) a health care facility, as defined in 

section 801 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 296);
 ``

    (2) be a public or private nonprofit organization, as 
 defined in 

section 501
            (c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; 
 and
 ``

    (3) be located in a medically underserved area, as 
 designated pursuant to 

section 330

    (b)

    (3)
        (A) of the Public 
 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 245b

    (b)

    (3) (a) ).
 ``
            (d) Use of Funds.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--An eligible provider receiving a grant 
 under this section shall use amounts received through the grant 
 to implement a new program or enhance an existing program--
 ``
        (A) to assist in the hiring or retaining by an 
 eligible provider of members of the Armed Forces 
 separating or recently separated from service in the 
 Armed Forces;
 ``
        (B) to assist such members who are transitioning 
 to employment with an eligible provider, including--
 ``
            (i) activities relating to the period of 
 time the member is pursuing licensing, 
 credentialing, or certification as required by 
 the State, field of service of the eligible 
 provider, or occupation of the member; and
 ``
            (ii) providing specific training to meet 
 Federal or State licensing or certification 
 requirements; and
 ``
            (C) to coordinate or improve coordination with 
 transition assistance programs operated by the 
 Department of Defense to ensure appropriate transition 
 by such members to civilian employment.
 ``

    (2) Exception for activities eligible for educational 
 assistance under title 38.--In the case of training described 
 in paragraph

    (1)
        (A)
            (ii) , if such training is an eligible use of 
 educational assistance received under subchapter II of chapter 
 33 of title 38 and the recipient of such training is eligible 
 for the receipt of such educational assistance, the Secretary 
 of Defense shall coordinate with the Secretary of Veterans 
 Affairs to ensure that payment for such training is made 
 through the use of such educational assistance instead of 
 through the use of grant amounts awarded under this section.
 ``

    (e) Application.--An eligible provider seeking a grant under this 
section shall submit to the Secretary of Defense an application at such 
time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary 
may require, including--
 ``

    (1) a description of the project that the eligible 
 provider will carry out using the amounts provided through the 
 grant;
 ``

    (2) an explanation of the reasons why Federal Government 
 assistance is required to carry out the project;
 ``

    (3) a plan for sustaining the project for which the grant 
 was awarded after Federal Government assistance for the project 
 has ended;
 ``

    (4) a description of how the population in the area or 
 areas to be served through the grant will experience increased 
 access to quality health care services across the continuum of 
 care as a result of the activities carried out by the eligible 
 provider; and
 ``

    (5) a description of such other priorities as the 
 Secretary of Defense considers appropriate.
 ``

    (f) Allocation of Grants to Rural Providers.--The Secretary of 
Defense shall ensure that eligible providers located in rural areas are 
adequately represented in the total number of grants awarded under this 
section.
 ``

    (g) Maximum Grant Amount.--The amount of a grant made under this 
section to a single grant recipient shall not exceed--
 ``

    (1) with respect to the initial three-year period, 
 $600,000; and
 ``

    (2) with respect to any additional year, $200,000.
 ``

    (h) Reports.--
 ``

    (1) Report to secretary.--An eligible provider awarded a 
 grant under this section shall periodically submit to the 
 Secretary of Defense a report evaluating the activities 
 supported by the grant.
 ``

    (2) Report to public.--Not later than two years after the 
 date of the enactment of the MEDIC Careers Act of 2025, and not 
 less frequently than annually thereafter, the Secretary of 
 Defense shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress 
 and make publicly available a report on the findings of the 
 Secretary with respect to the success of the pilot program 
 under this section in improving access by separating members of 
 the Armed Forces to civilian health care occupations and 
 enhancing the quality of those occupations.
 ``
            (i) === Definitions. ===
-In this section:
 ``

    (1) The term `appropriate committees of Congress' means--
 ``
        (A) the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 
 and Pensions, the Committee on Armed Services, and the 
 Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate; and
 ``
        (B) the Committee on Education and Workforce, the 
 Committee on Armed Services, and the Committee on 
 Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives.
 ``

    (2) The term `eligible provider' means a health care 
 provider, as defined in 

section 3000 of the Public Health 
 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300jj).
 ``

    (j) Authorization of Appropriations.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated 
 to the Secretary of Defense $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
 2026 through 2030 to carry out this section.
 ``

    (2) Administrative costs.--The Secretary of Defense may 
 use not more than 10 percent of the amount appropriated 
 pursuant to paragraph

    (1) for a fiscal year for the 
 administrative expenses of carrying out this section.''.

    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 58 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by striking the 
item relating to 

section 1153 and inserting the following new item:

``1153. Health Care Workforce Preparedness and Response Pilot 
 Program.''.
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