H.Res. 531

119 HRES 531 IH: Recognizing the contributions of academic medicine and observing Academic Medicine Week from June 23 through 27, 2025.
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2025-06-23
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 IV  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  H. RES. 531  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   June 23, 2025   Ms. Castor of Florida  (for herself and  Mr. Fitzpatrick ) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the  Committee on Energy and Commerce    RESOLUTION
Recognizing the contributions of academic medicine and observing Academic Medicine Week from June 23 through 27, 2025.
Whereas the week of June 23 through 27, 2025, is designated Academic Medicine Week to recognize the contributions of academic medicine to medical research, clinical care, medical education, and community health nationwide;
Whereas academic medicine, the Nation’s academic health systems and teaching hospitals, medical schools, resident physicians, faculty physicians, students, and biomedical researchers, serves a vital and unique role in the United States health care system;
Whereas these providers and institutions, including the Association of American Medical Colleges (“AAMC”) network of nearly 500 academic health systems and teaching hospitals and 160 medical schools, focus on four missions—
(1)
educating and training the nation’s health care workforce;
(2)
conducting groundbreaking medical research;
(3)
delivering cutting-edge patient care, including care for the sickest and most complex patients; and
(4)
collaborating with communities to improve the health of communities everywhere;
Whereas the AAMC leads and serves the United States medical schools, academic health systems and teaching hospitals, and the millions of individuals across academic medicine, including more than 210,000 full-time faculty members, 99,000 medical students, 162,000 resident physicians, and 60,000 graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in the biomedical sciences;
Whereas AAMC-member institutions drive medical research and innovation, and the unique partnership between the National Institutes of Health (“NIH”) and the Nation’s medical schools and teaching hospitals, forged just after World War II, deepens the understanding of the mechanisms of human health and disease, leading to advancements in treatments, therapies, and medical technologies that bring hope to patients and families;
Whereas, approximately 60 percent of all NIH extramural research is conducted by AAMC-member institutions;
Whereas the AAMC continues to project that physician demand will grow faster than supply (primarily driven by a growing, aging United States population) leading to a projected total physician shortage of up to 86,000 physicians by 2036, action is needed now to address the physician shortage;
Whereas every community nationwide relies on medical schools and teaching hospitals to prepare future physicians and researchers who will serve all patients, and AAMC-member teaching health systems and hospitals train over 70 percent of medical residents;
Whereas a key element of addressing the physician shortage and ensuring access to care for all communities is increasing Medicare support for graduate medical education, which will help patients receive care when they need it, particularly in rural and other underserved areas;
Whereas continued support is needed for the pathway programs funded and administered by Health Resources and Services Administration title VII health professions and title VIII nursing programs, which invests in K–16 health outreach and education programs through partnerships between health professions schools and local community-based organizations to play an important role in training and supporting a health care workforce in rural and other underserved areas through scholarships, mentorship, community-based and interdisciplinary training, and well-being programs;
Whereas the perspectives of learners have been represented and augmented through the AAMC on important issues including pathways to careers in medicine, STEM education, student loans, faculty mentorship, training programs, and bipartisan approaches to strengthening medical education continues;
Whereas AAMC-member institutions equip medical students with the knowledge, skills, and behaviors to positively impact patients, students, health care organizations, and society generally by improving the clinical learning environment, health care quality, health outcomes, and patient satisfaction;
Whereas medical schools and academic health systems and teaching hospitals collaborate to address the physician shortage by increasing the number of Medicare-supported residency positions and international physicians who are willing to practice in underserved areas after completing residency training, and to share expertise, resources, and responsibility for achieving common goals;
Whereas AAMC-member institutions support the primary care workforce by expanding training for medical students in states with the highest primary care workforce shortages;
Whereas AAMC-member institutions and the Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) have forged and maintained a 79-year partnership, built on the shared missions of education, health care, and medical research, which has improved the lives of veterans and improved health equity for veterans by ensuring they have access to advanced health care;
Whereas, through this historic collaboration, the VA has become the largest single provider of medical training in the country, with approximately 70 percent of all physicians in the United States completing at least part of their training in VA facilities;
Whereas maintaining predictable and reliable investments in medical research, physician training, and patient care leads to lifesaving advancements, stronger patient health outcomes, and improved health of the Nation;
Whereas medical schools and academic health systems and teaching hospitals contributed more than $728 billion in gross domestic product (“GDP”), 3.2 percent of the United States GDP, in 2019, an economic impact comparable in size to other important sectors such as transportation, warehousing, and food services;
Whereas AAMC-member institutions generate approximately $2,218 in economic impact per person and supported more than 7.1 million jobs in the United States across multiple industries, which was approximately 4.4 percent of the 2019 labor force nationwide, and paid an average of more than $68,000 in wages, salaries, and benefits per job; and
Whereas academic medicine’s four mission areas are so deeply interconnected that inadequate financing or reductions in funding for one mission area limit the effectiveness of the others: Now, therefore, be it
That the House of Representatives—
(1)
supports the designation of “Academic Medicine Week”;
(2)
affirms the unique and critical impact of academic medicine on patients and communities nationwide;
(3)
recognizes the importance of ensuring strong Federal support for programs that support academic medicine’s leadership in medical research, cutting-edge patient care, innovative medical education, and critical community collaborations; and
(4)
encourages the people of the United States to recognize the critical role of the Nation’s medical schools and academic health systems and teaching hospitals in improving the health of all.