S1874Reported by Committee

Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2026

Introduced

In Committee

Passed One Chamber

Passed Both

Signed into Law

119th

Congress

2025-05-22

Introduced

Cosponsors

ⓘ

Type

Sponsor

Jeff Merkley

Democrat · OR · Senator

Votes with party: 85.2% (908 recorded votes)

Full profile: /officials/M001176

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

Cosponsors (17)

Members who have signed on to support this bill since introduction. Source: Congress.gov.

Latest Action

The most recent step in the bill's legislative path. Committee Activity below shows referrals and reports; the full action-by-action history including floor proceedings lives at Congress.gov →

Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 527.

2026-07-28

Source: Congress.gov

Committee Activity

Currently in

Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and PensionsReported By · 2026-07-28

Previously

Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and PensionsMarkup By · 2026-07-22
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions CommitteeReferred To · 2025-05-22
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and PensionsReferred To · 2025-05-22

Plain-English Summary

Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2026 This bill reauthorizes through FY2031, revises, and establishes programs that support recruitment, education, retention, and advanced practices of nurses and nursing school faculty. Specifically, the bill reauthorizes programs within the Health Resources and Services Administration that provide grants to support increased enrollment in nursing education (including for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds), advanced nursing education and specialized training, nurse retention, and enhanced patient care. The bill also reauthorizes programs that support student loan repayment and scholarships for nurses who agree to work at facilities with critical nursing shortages and nursing faculty who work at accredited schools of nursing. Also, the bill expands certain grants to include (1) training on the use of new technologies such as telehealth and virtual resources, and (2) care for survivors of sexual assault. Additionally, the bill temporarily establishes (1) grants to nursing schools for supplementing the salaries of eligible faculty for a period of up to three years to enhance faculty recruitment and retention, and (2) grants to state agencies, nonprofits, and nursing schools for establishing nursing workforce centers and collecting data regarding the nursing workforce.

Plain-English rewrite of the Congressional Research Service summary published on Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed.

Subjects

Health

Full Bill Text

Verbatim text published on Congress.gov via GovInfo. Use Cmd+F / Ctrl+F to search within this excerpt.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. 1874 Introduced in Senate (IS)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1874 To amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize certain nursing workforce development programs, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 22, 2025 Mr. Merkley (for himself, Ms. Collins, Ms. Baldwin, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Coons, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Kelly, Mr. Schiff, and Ms. Murkowski) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize certain nursing workforce development programs, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2025''. SEC. 2. ADVANCED NURSING EDUCATION GRANTS. Section 811 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 296j) is amended-- (1) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ``programs.'' and inserting the following: ``programs, including individuals enrolled in-- ``(A) authorized nurse practitioner programs described in subsection (c); ``(B) authorized nurse-midwifery programs described in subsection (d); ``(C) authorized nurse anesthesia programs described in subsection (e); and ``(D) authorized clinical nurse specialist programs described in subsection (f).''; (2) in subsection (d)-- (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``midwives'' and inserting ``nurse-midwives''; and (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``American College of Nurse-Midwives''; and (3) in subsection (h)(1)(A), by striking ``fees'' and inserting ``fees, including costs for clinical education and preceptors,''. SEC. 3. STRENGTHENING CAPACITY FOR NURSE EDUCATION AND PRACTICE. (a) In General.--Part D of title VIII of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 296p et seq.) is amended-- (1) in the part heading, by striking ``basic''; and (2) in section 831 (42 U.S.C. 296p)-- (A) in subsection (a)-- (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ``or'' after the semicolon; (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking ``methodologies.'' and inserting ``methodologies, audiovisual or other equipment, simulation and augmented reality resources, telehealth technologies, and virtual and physical laboratories; or''; and (iii) by adding at the end the following: ``(3) increasing the number of faculty and students at schools of nursing in order to address nursing workforce shortages.''; and (B) in subsection (b)-- (i) in paragraph (2), by striking ``and survivors of domestic violence'' and inserting ``survivors of domestic violence, and survivors of sexual assault''; (ii) in paragraph (3), by striking ``or'' after the semicolon; (iii) in paragraph (4), by striking the period and inserting ``; or''; and (iv) by adding at the end the following: ``(5) partnering with a health care facility, nurse-managed health clinic, community health center, or other facility that provides health care in order to provide education opportunities for the purpose of establishing or expanding clinical education.''. (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 806(f)(2)(C) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 296e(f)(2)(C)) is amended by striking ``basic''. SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. Section 871 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 298d) is amended-- (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``$137,837,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025'' and inserting ``$184,337,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030''; and (2) in subsection (b), by striking ``$117,135,000 for each of the fiscal years 2021 through 2025'' and inserting ``$121,135,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030''. <all>

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