,,ii #aadth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #cdjc ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,september #bg1 #bjaf ,mr4 ,sullivan 7for himself and ,mr4 ,tester7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to authorize payment by the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs for the costs associated with service by medical residents and interns at facilities operated by ,indian tribes1 tribal organizations1 and the ,indian ,health ,service1 to require the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs to carry out a pilot program to expand medical residencies and internships at such facilities1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,serving our ,rural ,veterans ,act of #bjaf4 #b4 ,authorization of payment by ,department of ,veterans ,affairs for service by residents or interns at facilities operated by ,indian tribes1 tribal organizations1 and the ,indian ,health ,service 7a7 ,in general ,subsection 7c7 of section #gdjf of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by striking ,department facility each place it appears and inserting covered facility4 7b7 ,covered facility defined ,such section is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection3 7d7 ,in this section1 the term covered facility means-- 7#a7 a ,department facility2 7#b7 a facility operated by an ,indian tribe or a tribal organization1 as those terms are defined in section #d of the ,indian ,self-,determination and ,education ,assistance ,act 7#be ,u4,s4,c4 #ecjd72 or 7#c7 a facility operated by the ,indian ,health ,service4 4 #c4 ,pilot program to create or expand graduate medical residencies at facilities operated by ,indian tribes1 tribal organizations1 and the ,indian ,health ,service in rural areas 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs1 in consultation with the ,director of the ,indian ,health ,service1 shall carry out a pilot program to establish graduate medical education residency training programs at covered facilities4 7b7 ,locations ,the ,secretary shall carry out the pilot program at not more than one covered facility in each of ,alaska and ,montana that has been selected by the ,secretary for purposes of the pilot program4 7c7 ,duration ,the ,secretary shall implement the pilot program during the eight-year period beginning on the date that is #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act4 7d7 ,reimbursement of costs ,the ,secretary shall reimburse each covered facility participating in the pilot program for the following costs associated with the pilot program3 7#a7 ,curriculum development4 7#b7 ,recruitment1 training1 and retention of residents and faculty4 7#c7 ,accreditation of programs of education under the pilot program by the ,accreditation ,council for ,graduate ,medical ,education 7,,acgme7 or the ,american ,osteopathic ,association 7,,aoa74 7#d7 ,the portion of faculty salaries attributable to activities relating to carrying out the pilot program4 7#e7 ,payment for expenses relating to providing medical education under the pilot program in an amount not to exceed-- 7,a7 the amount determined under section #cdj;,h of the ,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bef;h7 that would be paid to a covered facility for such expenses if the covered facility were a qualified teaching health center under such section1 plus 7,b7 an additional amount to account for the increased costs to the covered facility of providing health care and medical education under the pilot program in rural and remote areas4 7e7 ,period of obligated service 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall enter into an agreement with each medical resident who participates in the pilot program under which such medical resident agrees to serve a period of two years of obligated service at a covered facility or a facility of the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs for each year in which the medical resident participates in the pilot program under this section4 7#b7 ,breach ,a medical resident who participates in the pilot program and fails to satisfy the period of obligated service under paragraph 7#a7 shall be liable to the ,united ,states1 in lieu of such obligated service1 for the amount that has been paid or is payable to or on behalf of the medical resident under the pilot program1 reduced by the proportion that the number of days served for completion of the period of obligated service bears to the total number of days in the period of obligated service of such medical resident4 7f7 ,loan repayment 7#a7 ,in general ,a medical resident who participates in the pilot program shall be eligible for participation in the ,indian ,health ,service ,loan ,repayment ,program under section #ajh of the ,indian ,health ,care ,improvement ,act 7#be ,u4,s4,c4 #afaf;a74 7#b7 ,authorization of appropriations 7,a7 ,in general ,there is authorized to be appropriated to the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services1 acting through the ,indian ,health ,service1 such sums as may be necessary to cover loan repayments paid under the ,indian ,health ,service ,loan ,repayment ,program to medical residents participating in the pilot program4 7,b7 ,supplement not supplant ,amounts appropriated or otherwise made available for the ,indian ,health ,service ,loan ,repayment ,program pursuant to the authorization of appropriations under subparagraph 7,a7 shall supplement1 not supplant1 amounts made available to such program under other provisions of law4 7g7 ,report ,not later than two years before the termination of the pilot program under subsection 7c71 the ,secretary shall submit to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,senate and the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives a report on the feasibility and advisability of-- 7#a7 expanding the pilot program to additional locations2 and 7#b7 making the pilot program or any aspect of the pilot program permanent4 7h7 ,covered facility defined ,in this section1 the term covered facility means a facility-- 7#a7 operated by an ,indian tribe or a tribal organization 7as those terms are defined in section #d of the ,indian ,self-,determination and ,education ,assistance ,act 7#be ,u4,s4,c4 #ecjd771 or the ,indian ,health ,service1 that has an existing reimbursement agreement with the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs under section #dje7;c7 of the ,indian ,health ,care ,improvement ,act 7#be ,u4,s4,c4 #afde7;c772 and 7#b7 located in a rural or remote area1 as determined by the ,secretary4 7i7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there is authorized to be appropriated to the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs #bj1jjj1jjj for each year in which the pilot program is carried out4