PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Mar 12, 2019
Physician Assistant Higher Education Modernization Act of 2019
This bill assists qualified individuals in receiving the education and training needed to become a physician assistant.
Graduate students enrolled in physician assistant education programs are eligible for (1) increased Unsubsidized Stafford Loan limits, and (2) loan forgiveness programs for those who serve in areas of national need upon graduation.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
The Department of Education (ED) must
provide historically Black colleges and universities and predominantly Black institutions with grants to fund physician assistant studies at the masters level,
prioritize the awarding of grants for physician assistant education programs at the postbaccalaureate level that will benefit Hispanics and low-income students, and
provide grants to prepare certified physician assistants to become faculty members in accredited graduate-level physician assistant education programs.
In addition, ED is authorized to award grants to rural-serving institutions of higher education for (1) increasing enrollment and graduation rates of students from rural areas in postbaccalaureate physician assistant education programs, and (2) training physician assistants in rural areas through the creation and expansion of physician assistant education programs in rural areas.
ED may also award grants to physician assistant education programs for enhancing the programs and improving patient safety by supporting the purchase of new infrastructure and technology.
People & committees
Rep. Bass, Karen [D-CA-37] · D–CA
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Jul 21, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze H.R.1685 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine H.R.1685 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine H.R.1685 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine H.R.1685 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.