Sponsors (15)
Introduced December 11, 2025 by Jeff Merkley · Last progress December 11, 2025
The bill makes a substantial federal investment to expand and modernize nursing education—especially in underserved areas—boosting workforce capacity and emergency preparedness, while imposing taxpayer cost, potential uneven distribution of funds, and administrative/reporting burdens that could limit effectiveness.
Students — especially disadvantaged, rural, low-income, first‑generation, and underrepresented individuals — will gain more nursing enrollment slots and retention supports because the bill provides targeted federal funding to expand training capacity in underserved areas.
Nursing schools and the broader supply of nursing labor will benefit from improved faculty hiring and retention supports, increasing the number of students programs can train and addressing faculty shortages that currently limit enrollment.
Hospitals, clinics, and community health centers will gain stronger clinical training partnerships and preceptor support, strengthening the local workforce pipeline into frontline care settings.
Taxpayers will fund the program’s $1 billion appropriation, which could crowd out other federal priorities or increase budget pressures.
Some nursing schools and local areas may receive little or no assistance because HHS will prioritize awards, leaving persistent local shortages despite federal spending.
Grantees will face added administrative and reporting requirements (annual grantee reports and a mandated 5‑year HHS report), which could divert faculty and staff time away from teaching and clinical training.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Authorizes $1 billion in HRSA grants to nursing schools to expand faculty/student capacity, modernize education, and strengthen preparedness, prioritizing underserved and rural programs.
Creates a new HRSA grant program to strengthen nursing education and workforce capacity by funding nursing schools to expand student enrollment and faculty, modernize curriculum and infrastructure, and improve preparedness and response to HHS-declared public health emergencies and pandemics. Grants must prioritize schools that serve medically underserved areas, health professional shortage areas, TRIO-type institutions, and rural or noncontiguous States/territories, and authorize $1,000,000,000 to carry out the program, available until expended. Requires grantees to report annually to the Secretary on uses and outcomes, and requires the Secretary to deliver a public, Congressionally transmitted report within five years summarizing recipients, student and outcome data (deidentified and disaggregated where available), program effects, and recommendations. Also makes a non-substantive change to a statutory heading in Title VIII.