The American Nurses Association is raising concerns about proposed cuts to federal nursing research and workforce development programs outlined in a leaked draft of the Trump administration’s fiscal year 2026 budget proposal.
The White House has proposed closing the National Institute of Nursing Research, a part of the National Institutes of Health, and eliminating every Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Program except for the Nurse Corps scholarship program.
These programs, overseen by the Health Resources and Services Administration, offer nursing scholarships, educational grants and loan repayment assistance to expand and diversify the nation’s nursing workforce.
The ANA argues that the proposed program and research cuts would undermine the healthcare industry’s ability to provide evidence-based, patient-centered care. The association emphasized that nurses bring a unique clinical perspective compared to physicians, and that continued nursing research and workforce development efforts are crucial to the overall well-being of the U.S. healthcare system.
“As America’s most trusted profession for the past 20 years, nurses are concerned about the ability of a restructured HHS, without the NINR, to pursue nurse-specific approaches that answer the challenges and demanding needs of our healthcare system and the patients we serve,” ANA President Jennifer Mensik-Kennedy, PhD, RN, said in an April 17 news release.
The association is urging the Trump administration to preserve these programs, citing their cost-effective benefits to the industry and longstanding bipartisan support.
View ANA’s full statement here.
