SECTION 1. Short title.

SEC. 2. Public health workforce loan repayment program.

(1) in subsection (a)—

(A) by striking “supply of” and inserting “supply of, and encourage recruitment and retention of,”; and

(B) by striking “Federal,”;

(2) in subsection (b)—

(A) by amending paragraph (1)(A) to read as follows:

“(1) (A) (i) be accepted for enrollment, or be enrolled, as a student in an accredited institution of higher education or school of public health in the final semester (or equivalent) of a program leading to a certificate or degree, including a master’s or doctoral degree, in public health, epidemiology, laboratory sciences, data systems, data science, data analytics, informatics, statistics, or other subject matter related to public health; and

“(ii) be employed by or have accepted employment with a State, local, or Tribal public health agency, or a related training fellowship at such State, local, or Tribal public health agency, as recognized by the Secretary, to commence upon graduation; or”; and

(B) in paragraph (1)(B)—

(i) in clause (i)—

(I) by striking “accredited educational institution in a State or territory” and inserting “accredited institution of higher education or school of public health”; and

(II) by striking “a public health or health professions degree or certificate” and inserting “a certificate or degree, including a master’s or doctoral degree, in public health, epidemiology, laboratory sciences, data systems, data science, data analytics, informatics, statistics, or other subject matter related to public health”; and

(ii) in clause (ii)—

(I) by striking “Federal,”; and

(II) by striking “fellowship,” and inserting “fellowship at such State, local, or Tribal public health agency,”;

(3) in subsection (c)(2)—

(A) by striking “Federal,”; and

(B) by striking “equal to the greater of—” and all that follows through the end of subparagraph (B) and inserting “of at least 2 consecutive years;”;

(4) in subsection (d)—

(A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows:

“(1) IN GENERAL.—A loan repayment provided for an individual under a written contract under the Program shall consist of payment, in accordance with paragraph (2), for the individual toward the outstanding principal and interest on education loans incurred by the individual in the pursuit of the relevant degree or certificate described in subsection (b)(1) in accordance with the terms of the contract.”; and

(B) in paragraph (2)—

(i) by striking “For each year” and inserting the following:

“(A) IN GENERAL.—For each year”;

(ii) by striking “$35,000” and inserting “$50,000”;

(iii) by striking “$105,000” and inserting “$150,000”; and

(iv) by adding at the end the following:

“(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—The Secretary may take action in making awards under this section to ensure that—

“(i) an appropriate proportion of contracts are awarded to individuals who are eligible to participate in the Program pursuant to subsection (b)(1)(A); and

“(ii) contracts awarded under this section are equitably distributed among—

“(I) the geographical regions of the United States;

“(II) local, State, and Tribal public health departments; and

“(III) such public health departments under subclause (II) serving rural and urban areas.”;

(5) in subsection (e), by striking “receiving a degree or certificate from a health professions or other related school” and inserting “with a contract to serve under subsection (c)”;

(6) in subsection (f), by adding at the end the following: “In the event that a participant fails to either begin or complete the obligated service requirement of the loan repayment contract under this section, the Secretary may waive or suspend either the unfulfilled service or the assessed damages as provided for under section 338E(d), as appropriate.”;

(7) by redesignating subsection (g) as subsection (h);

(8) by inserting after subsection (f) the following:

“(g) Eligible loans.—The loans eligible for repayment under this section are each of the following:

“(1) Any loan for education or training for employment by a health department.

“(2) Any loan under part E of title VIII (relating to nursing student loans).

“(3) Any Federal Direct Stafford Loan, Federal Direct PLUS Loan, Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, or Federal Direct Consolidation Loan (as such terms are used in section 455 of the Higher Education Act of 1965).

“(4) Any Federal Perkins Loan under part E of title I of the Higher Education Act of 1965.

“(5) Any other Federal loan, as the Secretary determines appropriate.”;

(9) in subsection (h), as so redesignated, by striking “$195,000,000 for fiscal year 2010, and such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2011 through 2015” and inserting “such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2025”; and

(10) by striking “tribal” each place such term appears and inserting “Tribal”.

SEC. 3. GAO study on public health workforce.