MEDIC Careers Act of 2026

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

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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.''.
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