PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 527.
Congressional Research Service
Version 25 · Reported to Senate · Jul 28, 2026
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.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
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.
People & committees
Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] · D–OR
Legislative record
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Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 527.
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Reported by Senator Cassidy with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Reported by Senator Cassidy with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Sep 30, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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