Chuck Hagel: “I rise today with Senator Durbin to introduce the Public Health Preparedness Workforce Development Act of 2005. This…”

“I rise today with Senator Durbin to introduce the Public Health Preparedness Workforce Development Act of 2005. This legislation aims to increase the pipeline of qualified public health workers at the Federal, State, local and tribal levels by offering scholarships to students going into the public health field. It also encourages current professionals to stay in the public health field by providing loan repayments in exchange for a commitment of a designated number of years of service in public health. The average age of lab technicians, epidemiologists, environmental health experts, microbiologists, IT specialists, public health administrators and others who make up the public health workforce is 47, seven years older than the average age of the Nation's workforce. Over the next five years, my State of Nebraska will have more public health workers who are eligible for retirement than any other state in the Nation. To encourage young people to enter the public health field, this legislation authorizes $35 million per year for scholarships and $195 million per year for loan repayments. Eighty percent of the funds would be dedicated for state and local public health workers, with bonus payments available to those who agree to be placed in under-served areas. There are critical public health workforce shortages. We cannot afford to lose so many experienced workers just when our public health workforce should be expanding to meet increasing health needs.”