Sponsors (16)
The bill strengthens and clarifies support and funding for advanced nursing education and public‑health programs—boosting training capacity and preparedness and directing resources to high‑need populations—while increasing potential federal costs, risking unequal benefit distribution across institutions, and creating some regulatory uncertainty unless appropriations and oversight follow.
Hospitals, public‑health programs, and state health agencies would have increased annual authorizations (Parts B–D and Part E), enabling expanded public‑health preparedness and program capacity.
Students in advanced nursing programs (NP, nurse‑midwifery, nurse anesthesia, clinical nurse specialists) become explicitly eligible for advanced nursing education support, increasing access to funding and workforce entry.
Nursing schools could hire more faculty and enroll more students, expanding training capacity to help address nursing shortages.
Taxpayers and the federal budget could face higher outlays because the bill increases authorized funding levels and expands allowable grant activities (preceptor payments, technology, etc.).
Programs and providers may not actually receive the higher funding because authorization increases do not guarantee appropriations from Congress.
Expanding eligible activities and allowable costs (technology, simulation, preceptor payments) may shift limited grant dollars toward institutions that can rapidly adopt them, widening disparities and diverting funds from other training priorities or smaller programs.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Clarifies eligible advanced nursing programs and costs, expands allowable grant uses (simulation, telehealth, faculty/student expansion, clinical education), and raises Title VIII authorized funding for FY2026–2030.
Amends Title VIII of the Public Health Service Act to clarify and expand which advanced nursing education programs and costs are eligible for federal support, broadens allowable nursing education grant activities (including technology, simulation, telehealth, and faculty/student expansion), and raises authorized annual funding levels for several nursing workforce programs for FY2026–2030. It also updates terminology and removes a named accreditor reference. The bill increases flexibility in how nursing schools and programs may use grant funds (including clinical education and preceptor costs), adds new education priorities to address faculty and student shortages, adds survivors of sexual assault as a practice priority population, and increases authorized appropriations for the covered Title VIII programs for the 2026–2030 period.
Official title: Amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize certain nursing workforce development programs, and for other purposes.
Introduced May 22, 2025 by Jeff Merkley · Last progress May 22, 2025