Bipartisan group of members reintroduce legislation to modernize crucial health profession training program

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Ways and Means Worker and Family Support Subcommittee Chairman Danny K. Davis (D-IL) and Representative Jenniffer González-Colón (R-PR) led a bipartisan group of Representatives in reintroducing legislation to modernize the Health Profession Opportunity Grant (HPOG) program to better support low-income workers as they seek training and education for in-demand health care careers. The HPOG program has a proven track record of successfully educating workers for in-demand jobs in the health care industry, while also providing career coaching and job placement, along with a mix of other support services.

"Over the years, the Health Profession Opportunity Grant program has successfully provided pathways to well-paying, in-demand jobs in the health care industry for workers in all 50 states, tribal communities, Washington DC, and all five U.S. territories. The program's importance has only grown in light of the COVID-19 pandemic," Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-MA) said. "Not only will this legislation put even more people back to work, it will also help to close our country's health care workforce shortages. Worker and Family Support Subcommittee Chairman Danny K. Davis has been a champion of this program, and I'm grateful to all of our Ways and Means Committee Democrats for strengthening and improving this worthwhile initiative."

"The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated our nation's shortage of allied health care employees and profoundly harmed millions of vulnerable workers - especially women, mothers, and people of color," Ways and Means Worker and Family Support Subcommittee Chairman Danny K. Davis (D-IL) said. "This legislation will help workers with barriers to employment enter health careers that are in high-demand, growing our workforce, strengthening our economy, and improving the health of our communities. I am proud to lead this bill with Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal, Congresswoman Jenniffer González-Colón, and so many of my colleagues."

"I thank my colleagues Chairman Neal and Subcommittee Chairman Davis for working with me to address the disparities in federal programs as they apply to the territories, disparities which negatively affect the health and well-being of the Americans in Puerto Rico," Congresswoman Jenniffer González-Colón said. "The Pathways to Healthcare Careers Act makes U.S. territories eligible for HPO Grant funds, allowing these jurisdictions to benefit from the proven success of this program. This bill addresses, not only the shortage of qualified healthcare staff in Puerto Rico, but also provides an opportunity for Americans in the territories to join the healthcare occupations without the overriding concern that they will have to move away from the place they call their home in order to afford higher education, in light of the lower reimbursement rates from federal territorial healthcare programs."