Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) on September 10, 2025 reintroduced the bipartisan Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act, a pragmatic and urgently needed solution to address the growing health care workforce crisis—particularly in aging services and long-term care.

The bill proposes to recapture 40,000 previously authorized but unused immigrant visas—25,000 for nurses and 15,000 for physicians—without increasing the overall number of visas.

These recaptured visas would help international nurses who are stuck in green card backlogs that are currently causing processing delays of 2-3 years. LeadingAge has long supported this legislation and its previous iterations, recognizing its potential to stabilize the aging services workforce and ensure access to care for older adults.

In past advocacy efforts, we’ve urged Congress to act swiftly on this bill, emphasizing the critical need for skilled professionals in our sector. We continue to advocate for its passage and encourage members to do the same.