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119-s-2650119th Congress

DOCTORS Act

Sponsored By: Senator Ernst, Joni [R-IA]

Introduced

Summary

Reallocates unused waivers of the J‑visa foreign residency requirement under section 212(e) and sets up annual state reporting plus Secretary of State redistribution to turn unused waivers into supplemental waivers for later fiscal years.

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  • State agencies must report each September 30 starting in 2026 the number of waivers they received but did not use that fiscal year. Only State agencies that used at least 30 waivers in the prior fiscal year are eligible to receive redistributed supplemental waivers.
  • The Secretary of State will total reported unused waivers and reallocate them equally among eligible State agencies for the following fiscal year as supplemental waivers. The number reallocated each year is capped at one third of the difference between waivers available for that year and waivers distributed during that year. The Secretary must notify eligible State agencies on January 1, 2026 and every January 1 thereafter about the number and distribution method of supplemental waivers.
  • Ten percent of supplemental waivers distributed in a fiscal year must support positions in one or more facilities that serve patients who reside in medically underserved communities as defined in section 799B of the Public Health Service Act.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

1 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.

More visa waivers for physicians

This bill would make unused J-1 visa waivers available to other States each year. State agencies that received waivers must report unused waivers by September 30, 2026, and every September 30 after. The Secretary of State would calculate unused waivers and add supplemental waivers equal to one-third of (total waivers available minus waivers distributed) for the next fiscal year. Those supplemental waivers would be split equally among "eligible" State agencies. A State agency is eligible if it used at least 30 waivers in the prior fiscal year. The Secretary would tell eligible State agencies on January 1, 2026, and each January 1 after, how many supplemental waivers they get and how they are distributed. Ten percent of each year’s supplemental waivers would be reserved for jobs at facilities serving patients in medically underserved communities (per 42 U.S.C. 295p).

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Ernst, Joni [R-IA]

IA • R

Cosponsors

  • Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN]

    MN • D

    Sponsored 8/1/2025

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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