# 119-s-2650: DOCTORS Act

119-s-2650, DOCTORS Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Ernst, Joni [R-IA] (R-IA); status introduced (as of 2026-08-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2650
- As of: 2026-08-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-2650
- Congress: 119
- Title: DOCTORS Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-08-01
- Sponsor: Sen. Ernst, Joni [R-IA] (R-IA)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Immigration
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-08-11

## 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. - 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.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN] (D-MN), 2025-08-01T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- More visa waivers for physicians: benefit, low. 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-thir…

## Related bills

- 119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act
- 119-s-3923: Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026
- 119-s-2886: America’s CHILDREN Act of 2025
- 119-s-5025: Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026
- 119-s-2654: Biomanufacturing and Jobs Act of 2025
- 119-s-1241: Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-s-2650 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/2650)

## Related
- [119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1748)
- [119-s-3923: Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3923)
- [119-s-2886: America’s CHILDREN Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2886)
- [119-s-5025: Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5025)
- [119-s-2654: Biomanufacturing and Jobs Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2654)
- [119-s-1241: Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1241)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2650 (as of 2026-08-11).