On Thursday, a bipartisan group of Senators including Senator David Perdue (R-GA) announced legislation called the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act that will provide a temporary stopgap to address the country’s shortage of doctors and nurses, exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis and potentially a significant risk should the crisis spread further in other areas.
The proposal will be introduced when the Senate reconvenes – announced earlier this week by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as next Monday. The bill would reallocate 25,000 unused immigrants visas to doctors and nurses who can help in the fight against COVID-19. Current immigration numbers would not be increased by the legislation.
“The growing shortage of doctors and nurses over the past decade has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis,” said Senator Perdue. “Fortunately, there are thousands of trained health professionals who want to practice in the United States. This proposal would simply reallocate a limited number of unused visas from prior years for doctors and nurses who are qualified to help in our fight against COVID-19. This shortage is critical and needs immediate attention so that our healthcare facilities are not overwhelmed in this crisis.”
Perdue’s colleagues on the bill, Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Todd Young (R-IN) and Chris Coons (D-DE) point to a number of factors in the importance of the bill, including the portion of existing U.S. healthcare services that are provided by immigrants.
“Consider this: one-sixth of our health care workforce is foreign-born. Immigrant nurses and doctors play a vital role in our health care system, and their contributions are now more crucial than ever. Where would we be in this pandemic without them? It is unacceptable that thousands of doctors currently working in the U.S. on temporary visas are stuck in the green card backlog, putting their futures in jeopardy and limiting their ability to contribute to the fight against COVID-19,” said Senator Durbin.
The senators’ proposal changes normal rules in a number of ways. For one, it would exempt visas from country caps. Normally, a limited number of immigrants would be allowed in from a certain country, with the cap lifted, any doctor or nurse may be able to come in without worrying how many of their fellow ex-pats might be making the trip with them. Assurances are also required from healthcare employers that they will attest that the jobs are not displacing American workers.
“This bipartisan, targeted, and timely legislation will strengthen our health care workforce and improve health care access for Americans in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic,” added Durbin. “I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support these vital health care workers.”
Should the Senate pass the legislation, it remains to be seen when it might pass the House, who have yet to commit to a day for return following a COVID-related recess. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD 5) had originally committed to the same day as the Senate of May 4, but decided earlier this week to delay their return.
The full text of the bill can be found here
