The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee On July 22, 2026, advanced the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2025 (S. 1874), bipartisan legislation to reauthorize federal nursing workforce development programs under Title VIII of the Public Health Service Act.

Sponsored by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and a bipartisan group of senators, the legislation would continue support for nursing education, faculty development, advanced nursing education, workforce diversity initiatives, and programs that help recruit and retain nurses in rural and underserved communities.

The bill was approved by the committee as amended.

Title VIII programs represent the primary source of federal support dedicated specifically to strengthening the nursing workforce pipeline. These programs provide grants and other assistance to nursing schools and workforce development initiatives intended to increase the supply of nurses and expand access to care in communities facing workforce shortages.

During the markup, the committee adopted two amendments by voice vote. The first, offered by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), would establish a Nurse Faculty Demonstration Program to address a longstanding challenge confronting nursing schools: the salary gap between clinical nursing positions and nursing faculty positions. Under the amendment, accredited schools of nursing could receive grants to supplement faculty salaries, helping schools recruit and retain nurse educators who might otherwise remain in higher-paying clinical roles. The program would provide up to three years of support for eligible faculty positions and would prioritize schools demonstrating significant workforce needs, including institutions facing faculty vacancies that limit their ability to train additional nursing students.

The second amendment, offered by Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), would establish a pilot program to support the creation and expansion of state nursing workforce centers. These centers collect and analyze workforce data, support nursing workforce planning efforts, and help states identify and respond to nursing shortages. The amendment reflects concepts advanced in the Senator’s standalone National Nursing Workforce Center Act (S. 1482) and would create a three-year pilot program to expand and establish workforce centers in additional states.

Both amendments are intended to strengthen the broader nursing workforce infrastructure supported through Title VIII programs.

LeadingAge will continue to monitor the progress of S. 1874; reauthorization of Title VIII programs is important because it maintains federal support for nursing workforce development initiatives that help educate, train, and retain nurses, strengthening the pipeline of workers that aging services providers rely on to meet growing demand for care.