The American Hospital Association voiced support July 27 for the National Nursing Workforce Center Act of 2025, a bipartisan Senate bill that would fund state-based nursing workforce centers to address ongoing shortages nationwide.
The bill would establish a two-year pilot program through the Health Resources and Services Administration to create or expand state nursing workforce centers, with the federal government requiring $1 in nonfederal matching funds for every $4 in grant money awarded. Eligible applicants include state agencies, state boards of nursing, nursing schools and community-based organizations.
In a letter to the bill’s sponsors, the AHA said the legislation would help states identify gaps in nursing supply, education and training capacity, and advance strategies to improve recruitment and retention.
“The legislation would support efforts to increase nursing faculty capacity, expand enrollment opportunities, strengthen leadership development, prepare nurses for public health emergencies and improve workforce distribution in rural and underserved communities,” the AHA said in the letter.
The National Nursing Workforce Center Act of 2025 remains in committee. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions held hearings on the bill March 19, and it has not advanced to a floor vote in either chamber since Ms. Blunt Rochester introduced it April 10, 2025.
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions held hearings on the bill March 19, but it has not advanced to a floor vote since being introduced in April 2025. A companion bill, H.R. 4407, introduced in July 2025, is moving on a parallel track in the House but has also not advanced past committee.
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