{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.daines.senate.gov/2025/09/04/daines-heinrich-king-introduce-bill-to-support-medical-students/", "Daines, Heinrich, King Introduce Bill to Support Medical Students", "2025-09-04", "2025", "2025-09", "Republican", "Senate", "MT", "Steve Daines", "D000618", "www.daines.senate.gov", "daines", "https://www.daines.senate.gov/news/press-releases/", "scraper", "Provides Equal Opportunities for Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine\n\nU.S. SENATE \u2013 U.S. Senators Steve Daines, Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), and Angus King (I-Maine) today introduced the \u201cFair Access in Residency\u201d Act. This bill would address disparities and barriers within Medicare-funded Graduate Medical Education (GME) programs that often exclude or impose undue burdens on DOs.\n\n\u201cDOs are essential to the physician workforce and provide millions of people in Montana and across the nation with quality care. DOs put in countless hours of hard work and personal sacrifice to help others, but often face unnecessary barriers when applying for residency programs. I\u2019m glad to work with my colleagues on the FAIR Act, which will increase transparency into Medicare-funded residency programs and help expand access for DOs, so we have more doctors serving our country,\u201d said Daines.\n\n\u201cNew Mexicans already face too many barriers to accessing care, especially in rural and Tribal communities. We cannot afford to leave qualified medical students on the sidelines because of outdated barriers in the residency process. The bipartisan FAIR Act will bring greater transparency and fairness to residency programs, helping ensure that both DO and MD students have equal opportunity to complete their training and serve patients. By opening the door to more highly trained physicians, this bill will help strengthen our health care workforce and expand access to care for New Mexicans,\u201d said Heinrich.\n\n\u201cOsteopathic medicine is one of the fastest growing health professions in the United States, including in Maine, and is integral to our state\u2019s health workforce. The FAIR Act is a commonsense measure, aimed at ensuring fairness in the medical residency process and affirming that residency candidates graduated from osteopathic schools have an equal shot at these positions. Expanding access to residency slots for Dos means expanding access to healthcare, and primary care in particular, for those in the most rural communities to those in our major urban centers,\u201d said King.\n\nRead the bill text HERE.\n\nStatements of Support:\n\n\u201cIt is difficult to overstate the importance of the Senate\u2019s FAIR Act introduction. Having both congressional chambers advance this bill brings us one step closer to parity for DOs and improved access to healthcare for communities across the country, especially those in rural and underserved areas. AACOM deeply appreciates the leadership and support of Senators Daines, Heinrich and King in championing this vital effort.\u201d\u2014 AACOM President and CEO Robert A. Cain, DO\n\n\u201cRocky Vista University and the Montana College of Osteopathic Medicine proudly support the Fair Access in Residency (FAIR) Act. This legislation is essential to ensuring that qualified DO graduates have equitable access to federally funded residency programs, alongside their MD peers. At a time when Montana and communities across the nation face growing physician shortages, the FAIR Act will help us continue fulfilling our mission of educating tomorrow\u2019s healthcare leaders. We are proud to stand alongside Senator Daines in support of this critical effort to strengthen the physician workforce and improve the health of communities here in Montana and across the country.\u201d \u2013 Dean John E. Moore, DO, MPH, DABFM, DABOFP, FAAFP\n\n\u201cAt TouroCOM-MT, we are proud to support Senator Daines\u2019 leadership on the FAIR Act, which ensures our students are evaluated on their merits and have equal access to residency opportunities. By recognizing COMLEX-USA and USMLE equally, this legislation removes unnecessary barriers for future physicians and helps Montana address its critical shortage of rural healthcare providers.\u201d \u2013 Interim Associate Dean Stephanie Zeszutek, DO, FACOG, RPh\n\nBackground:\n\nThe FAIR Act would require all hospitals participating in Medicare-funded graduate medical education (GME) programs to annually report to HHS the number of DO and medical doctor (MD) applicants and accepted residents, and to affirm that DO applications and the COMLEX licensing exam are accepted for consideration of residency. The bill does not federalize medical education or impose quotas on any residency programs.\n\nMontana is home to two colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, Rocky Vista University in Billings and Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in Great Falls.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:10:29Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.daines.senate.gov/2025/09/04/daines-heinrich-king-introduce-bill-to-support-medical-students/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.1228430084884167, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}