(a)
Appointment of personnel— Section 207(a)(1) of the Public Health Service Act (
42 U.S.C. 209(a)(1)) is amended by inserting “chiropractic,” after “nursing,”.
(b)
Authorization of appointment of Doctors of Chiropractic— Section 207 of the Public Health Service Act (
42 U.S.C. 209) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
“(j) Appointment of Doctors of Chiropractic—Doctors of Chiropractic who are graduates of colleges of chiropractic whose graduates are eligible for licensure to practice chiropractic in a majority of the States of the United States, or approved by a body or bodies acceptable to the Secretary, shall be eligible for appointment as officers in the commissioned Regular Corps and the Ready Reserve Corps of the Public Health Service. The Secretary and the Surgeon General shall ensure that such Doctors of Chiropractic are trained, equipped, and otherwise prepared to fulfill applicable public health and emergency response service responsibilities in the Commissioned Corps.”
(c)
Required placement of Doctors of Chiropractic into Public Health Service Commissioned Corps—
(1)
In general— Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President, in consultation with the Surgeon General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall commence the appointment of no fewer than 6 Doctors of Chiropractic into the commissioned Regular Corps and the Ready Reserve Corps of the Public Health Service.
(2)
Reports— The Surgeon General 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 quarterly reports on all measures taken by the President, the Surgeon General, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out the provisions of this Act, including the amendments made by this Act. The first such report shall be submitted not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(d)
Authorization of appropriations— Out of the total aggregate appropriations made available to the Department of Health and Human Services through annual appropriations Acts for fiscal years 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, $1,500,000 is authorized and shall be made available in each of such fiscal years only for the salaries and expenses necessary to carry out this Act.