Sponsors (8)
The bill provides targeted, multi-year federal pay support to recruit and retain nurse faculty—helping train more nurses and reach shortage areas—while trading off short-term, limited funding, added administrative requirements, and risks that gains will fade without sustainable long-term financing.
Nursing schools, students, and the healthcare workforce: salary supplements and higher pay parity for nurses entering academia increase faculty recruitment and retention, enabling training of more nurses.
Nursing schools and underserved communities: the program prioritizes schools serving health professional shortage areas, which should boost nurse training capacity in rural and vulnerable areas.
Secretary of HHS and nursing programs: multi-year federal funding certainty (authorization of $15M/year for FY2027–2031) supports program operations and planning.
Taxpayers, schools, and faculty: the program authorizes $15M/year for up to five years (FY2027–2031), increasing federal spending while providing only time-limited support that risks lack of long-term sustainability and potential faculty loss after subsidies end.
Schools and students: directing limited program funds primarily to faculty salaries could reduce resources available for other nursing school needs (education, training infrastructure) if schools cannot secure matching or ongoing funds.
Nursing schools: requirements to collect and report detailed salary and vacancy data create administrative burden and ongoing compliance costs for institutions.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates an HHS demonstration grant program to supplement nursing faculty salaries and reorganizes nurse faculty loan-fund provisions in federal law.
Creates a new HHS demonstration grant program to supplement nursing faculty salaries at eligible accredited schools of nursing to improve recruitment and retention, and reorganizes existing nurse faculty loan-fund provisions in the Public Health Service Act. Schools apply with salary histories, vacancy data, and plans to sustain salaries after a three-year grant period; successful applicants receive time-limited salary supplements and related grants to recruit and retain faculty.
Official title: To provide for a wage differential program to support new nursing school faculty members.
Introduced January 30, 2026 by Suzanne Bonamici · Last progress January 30, 2026