119th Congress Health
S. 1874: Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2026
Reported
- Introduced (completed)
- Passed Senate (not reached)
- Passed House (not reached)
- To the President (not reached)
- Became law (not reached)
Summary
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.
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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.
Written by the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.
Roll calls
No roll call votes have been held on this bill.
Amendments
No amendments were offered to this bill.
Cosponsors
- Tammy Baldwin D-WIOriginal
- Marsha Blackburn R-TNOriginal
- Richard Blumenthal D-CTOriginal
- Susan Collins R-MEOriginal
- Christopher Coons D-DEOriginal
- Kirsten Gillibrand D-NYOriginal
- Mark Kelly D-AZOriginal
- Lisa Murkowski R-AKOriginal
- Adam Schiff D-CAOriginal
- Cindy Hyde-Smith R-MS
- Lisa Blunt Rochester D-DE
- Ben Luján D-NM
- Jeanne Shaheen D-NH
- Jon Ossoff D-GA
- Ruben Gallego D-AZ
- Gary Peters D-MI
- Angela Alsobrooks D-MD
Who scored on this bill
- 1Jeff Merkley SponsorDrew cross-party cosponsors, introduced, reported3 events+26
See all scorers and every scoring event
Introductions and cosponsorships count toward weekly caps and show no points.
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History
- Introduced in the Senate by Jeff Merkley.
Show the full action history (5 actions)
- Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Reported by Senator Cassidy with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
- Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 527.
- Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
- Introduced in Senate
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.