The senior Republican on the U.S. Senate health committee Thursday announced the committee approved a bill to continue the successful children’s hospital graduate medical education (CHGME) program that supports the training of pediatricians at children’s hospitals in Tennessee and across the country.

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said: “This bill means that our children in Tennessee and across the nation will continue to benefit from pediatricians trained at children’s hospitals like St. Jude. This continues a successful program that helps ensure children have access to pediatricians when they need them.”

Alexander is a co-sponsor of the Children’s Hospital GME Support Reauthorization Act, which will reauthorize support for a program that trains doctors at freestanding children’s hospitals, including St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. According to the Children’s Hospital Association, the program supports the training of more than 6,000 pediatricians every year and nearly half of all pediatric residency training in the country.

The bill now awaits consideration by the full Senate.