U.S. Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) on April 30 announced plans to introduce the bipartisan Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act to address the nation’s shortage of doctors and nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This legislation will help address our immediate healthcare needs during this unprecedented crisis,” said Sen. Young, who along with U.S. Sens. David Perdue (R-GA), Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Chris Coons (D-DE), will unveil the bill once the U.S. Senate reconvenes, according to his office.
If enacted, the legislation would recapture 25,000 unused immigrant visas for nurses and 15,000 unused immigrant visas for doctors previously authorized and allocated by Congress, according to a bill summary provided by Sen. Young’s office, which said the proposal will not increase current immigration numbers.
“The U.S. Department of Labor has declared that we have a shortage of nurses and need the support of trained professionals from other countries. This is especially true in rural parts of our country that are too often overlooked,” said Sen. Young. “I have been working to remove unnecessary barriers for nurses to get visas to come to the United States and help us combat coronavirus, the opioid crisis and other health challenges.”
If enacted, the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act specifically would recapture unused visas from previous fiscal years for doctors, nurses and their families; exempt these visas from country caps; and require employers to attest that immigrants from overseas who receive these visas will not displace an American worker, according to the bill summary.
Additionally, the bill would require the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. State Department to expedite the processing of recaptured visas and limit the filing period for recaptured visas to 90 days following the termination of the president’s COVID-19 emergency declaration, the summary says.
“The growing shortage of doctors and nurses over the past decade has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis,” said Sen. Perdue. “This shortage is critical and needs immediate attention so that our healthcare facilities are not overwhelmed in this crisis.”