H.R. 5984 — Introduced in House

I 118th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 5984 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES October 18, 2023Mr. Lawler (for himself and Mr. Espaillat) introduced the following bill October 25, 2023Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, to award grants for expanding, modernizing, or streamlining emergency room operations. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Streamline Emergency Care Act. 2. Grants for emergency room operations (a) Awards The Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this section referred to as the Secretary), acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, shall carry out a program of awarding grants to eligible entities for expanding, modernizing, or streamlining emergency room operations. (b) Eligible entities In this section, the term eligible entity means a health care provider that— (1) is a nonprofit organization; and (2) at the time of applying for a grant under this section, is already operating an emergency room. (c) Amount The amount of a grant under subsection (a) shall not exceed $500,000. (d) Use of funds A grant received under this section may be used for any of the following: (1) The hiring of individuals to work in the emergency room. (2) The purchase of equipment to optimize and modernize emergency room capacity. (3) Triage and other training to increase the capacity of existing personnel to assist in the emergency room. (e) Report Not later than the end of the third fiscal year beginning after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate a report on the effectiveness and impacts of the grant program under this section. (f) Authorization of appropriations To carry out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028.