Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2026

Raises the cap on federal nurse training grants to $184 million a year and tests grants that raise nursing teachers' pay.

More about this bill

Nursing schools could get more federal help to hire teachers and train new nurses. The bill would allow up to $184 million a year for nurse training grants from 2027 through 2031. The last plan allowed about $138 million a year from 2021 to 2025. Nurse student loan programs could get up to $121 million a year, up from $117 million. These are spending limits. Congress would still set the actual amounts each year. A new test program would help schools pay nursing teachers more. Many nurses earn more working in hospitals than teaching. For up to three years, a school could get a grant to close that pay gap for each eligible teacher. All of the grant must go to the teacher's pay. At least 20% must go to states with fewer than 1.5 million people. The program would get $15 million in total for 2027 to 2031. No new grants could be made after September 30, 2031. Grants for nurses in advanced training could also pay for hands-on clinical training and the nurses who supervise it. Nurse education grants could buy simulation tools, telehealth gear, and labs. They could also help schools add teachers and students to ease nurse shortages. Some grants already pay for nursing care for high-risk groups, such as survivors of domestic violence. The bill adds survivors of sexual assault to that list. A separate three-year pilot would fund state nursing workforce centers. They would track nurse shortages and share that data with the public. Each center must put up $1 for every $4 in federal money. The pilot gets up to $1.5 million a year, but only if nurse training funding rises above 2026 levels. It would fill an empty part of the nursing law. That part once covered public ads promoting nursing careers. Congress repealed those sections in 2020.