H.R. 9140

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9140 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9140

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

June 4, 2026

Ms. Dexter (for herself and Mr. Hamadeh of Arizona) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

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 2026'' or the ``MEDIC Careers Act of 2026''.

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.--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--
``(1) 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;
``(2) to assist such members who are transitioning to 
employment with an eligible provider, including--
``(A) 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
``(B) providing specific training to meet Federal 
or State licensing or certification requirements; and
``(3) 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.
``(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 2026, 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 
2027 through 2031 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.''.
<all>