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S 850 115th Congress Senate

Foreign Medical School Accountability Fairness Act of 2017

Official title: A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish fair and consistent eligibility requirements for graduate medical schools operating outside the United States and Canada.

Introduced: April 5, 2017 Introduced by: Durbin, Richard J. Democratic · Illinois See on congress.gov
Education Education programs fundingGovernment lending and loan guaranteesMedical educationStudent aid and college costs
This bill died when the 115th Congress ended
It never became law before the 115th Congress (2017–2018) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Apr 5, 2017
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (text as introduced in Senate: CR S2367-2368)
Apr 5, 2017
Introduced in Senate
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 Latest action April 5, 2017

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (text as introduced in Senate: CR S2367-2368)

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Foreign Medical School Accountability Fairness Act of 2017

This bill amends title I (General Provisions) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise institutional eligibility criteria for a foreign graduate medical school to participate in federal student aid programs.

Current law requires a foreign graduate medical school to meet certain requirements—a minimum pass rate threshold on the medical licensing exam and a minimum percentage of foreign students—to participate in the Federal Direct Loan (DL) program, unless the Department of Education (ED) establishes alternative standards or the school has a grandfathered clinical training program. This bill terminates ED's authority to establish alternative standards and eliminates the exemption for a school with a grandfathered clinical training program (i.e., it requires all foreign graduate medical schools to meet minimum requirements to participate in the DL program).

 Related & companion bills 1
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 850: Foreign Medical School Accountability Fairness Act of 2017. 115th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/115-S-850/
MLA
"S. 850: Foreign Medical School Accountability Fairness Act of 2017." 115th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/115-S-850/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 850, 115th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/115-S-850/.
Markdown link
[S. 850: Foreign Medical School Accountability Fairness Act of 2017](https://openamerica.io/bill/115-S-850/)
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